United Way initiative empowers parents, caregivers – and incorporates their voices into decision-making

Since early 2022, 14 parents and caregivers have been meeting as the inaugural cohort of the Parent Advisory Council, a new initiative from United Way of Central Indiana. (Photo by United Way of Central Indiana)

For Adea Gumm, joining the Parent Advisory Council was a way to put her passion into action, advocating for parents and children. 

For Hannah Wagner, it has provided a place for parents and caregivers to share their experiences and inform United Way’s decisions based on what’s most important to them.  

And for Kisha Walker, it has been a way to give back: “I love getting my hands into the soil of the community.”  

Since early 2022, 14 parents and caregivers have been meeting as the inaugural cohort of the Parent Advisory Council, a new initiative from United Way of Central Indiana. The council brings parents to the table – with the goals of strengthening parent leaders and also tapping into community voice to inform and influence United Way’s work.  

The result: The parents created a first for United Way, a grant fund developed by them. In April 2023, they awarded $200,000 in grants to seven organizations, focusing on four areas the parents identified as having a high need in the community: financial stability, mentorship, mental health and well-being, and social and emotional learning.  

“With this united effort, we’re going to help somebody. We're going to be able to make a difference for someone. That's the best thing,” said Walker, who also serves as a parent leader with the nonprofit EmpowerED Families.  

The parents and caregivers represent 10 different zip codes in United Way’s seven-county service area and meet monthly at the nonprofit, where they learn about United Way’s work and the grantmaking process and share what they are seeing, hearing and experiencing in their communities. They also dig into United Way data to understand what the numbers show about community need.  

Funds were set aside for the council, but it was up to the members to decide what to do with it – whether to put it toward designing programs, supporting existing ones or awarding grants. Drawing on the data and their own experiences, they created the Power to the Parent Fund. The parents developed a request for proposals, reviewed applications and selected grant recipients.  

For a long time, United Way has invested in other organizations that uplift parents’ voices, said Shannon Jenkins, Family Opportunity senior director. But there was still room to do that within United Way. It was something the nonprofit hadn’t done before.  

To drive equitable outcomes in the community, decisions shouldn’t be made solely by United Way’s team and its supporters, Jenkins said. Outside voices must be brought in to inform and influence those decisions.  

“We know how critical it is to be making investment decisions that pull in external voices – and in this case, especially voices of parents who represent neighborhoods and represent residents in the decision making,” she said.  

Added Dionna El, Family Opportunity project specialist: “It’s important because it brings the community – it brings parents and caregivers – to the table, which is not something that United Way has traditionally done.”   

To build the Parent Advisory Council, United Way learned from similar programs at United Way of Greater Austin and Ascend at the Aspen Institute. The Aspen Institute developed the concept of 2Gen – short for two-generation – programming, which focuses on supporting the whole family to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. The practice serves as a model for United Way’s Family Opportunity work.  

“When we think about whole-family, 2Gen work, we know that centering parent voice and community voice is key – in a way that leads to outcomes that support households and families throughout Central Indiana,” Jenkins said.  

United Way worked with local organizations EmpowerED Families and Social Legends to aid with parent recruitment, training and meeting facilitation. 

While United Way serves as the backbone and fiscal support for the council, it’s the parents who are in the driver’s seat when it comes to decision-making, Jenkins said.  

Child care, transportation, food and stipends are provided to eliminate any barriers that could stand in the way of a parent participating.  

Since council members began meeting, their work has grown to influence other aspects of United Way’s work. Parents have served on workgroups that award grants from United Way’s other funds and have shared their voices on community panel discussions.  

Jenkins said she hopes that community influence in United Way’s work continues to grow. And she hopes the parents feel they can be community leaders: “I have a hope that council members are applying (their skills) in other spaces and that they feel empowered to use their voice in spaces outside of PAC as well.” 

Many parents have told El, who facilitates the meetings, that the council is the highlight of their week. She’s seen their relationships with one another deepen – an immeasurable benefit of the program.  

Since finishing their round of grant funding, the parents have been asking her: What happens with the next year of the council?  

But like everything else with the council, it’s not for United Way to decide.  

Said El: “They are eager to know what’s next, and I enjoy smiling and saying, ‘I don’t know, because you all are going to create the next cohort and what this looks like.’”