Groundwater Institute Workshops

-Presented by the Groundwater Institute

When The Indianapolis Foundation announced its new mission in 2018, it committed to a journey of expanding an understanding of the impact systemic racism has on Marion County communities. As valued partners, fundholders,  and community members, we invite you to join us by signing up for an upcoming racial equity workshop.

Learn more about the Groundwater Institute and its work before your session or to help inform your decision on your participation.

the Groundwater approach

In this virtual webinar, GWI program leaders will use stories and data presented through video modules and facilitated conversations to demonstrate a perspective that racism is fundamentally structural in nature. The groundwater metaphor is based on a simple tale of dying fish that goes like this: If you see a fish in a lake by your house that is floating belly-up dead, you’ll wonder what happened to that one fish. But, if in that same lake half of the fish are floating belly-up dead, you’ll wonder what’s going on in that lake. Now, imagine five lakes in your neighborhood and in each and every one lots of fish are floating belly-up dead. It’s time to analyze the groundwater feeding all the lakes in your community. This metaphor is designed to help people internalize the reality that we live in a racially structured society using three key truths:

  • racial inequity looks the same across systems
  • socio-economic difference does not explain the racial inequity
  • inequities are caused by systems, regardless of people’s culture or behavior.

Each virtual session is three hours.

New for 2025 – Payment is required

The May 16th, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM session is $10/person and is intended for grantee leaders and staff, community organizers, educators, faith leaders, people managers, and human resource professionals.

Please have each person register and pay for the session separately.

Once you submit the form, you will be redirected to the payment page to complete your payment.

Groundwater Training
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Participants are encouraged to sign-up for the post-workshop debrief and dialogue after the session. Would you like to attend the debrief from 12:00-1:00 PM on Tuesday, May 20th?
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If you have any questions, please email Rob MacPherson, Vice President of Development & Strategy at robm@indianapolisfoundation.org.