A Surprise Mix of Fundraising, the Super Bowl and Neighborhood Development

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of visiting one of our new Bloomerang customers. This was not just a drop in visit, but an in-depth discussion with the entire top management team of the John H. Boner Community Center. The picture below does not do justice to one of the busiest community centers I have ever been inside of. Literally every room, lab and office was brimming with activity allowing the needs of the near eastside of Indianapolis to be served.

The nearly hour and half meeting with the John H. Boner senior management team allowed me to present the core concepts of our new Bloomerang fundraising database. I only mention that fact because they stated emphatically to me their commitment to improve Donor Retention and Donor Loyalty in conjunction with the implementation of Bloomerang. Perhaps a marvelous case study to share with the non-profit world is in progress.

Once that important discussion was completed, the rest of time with their team allowed them to share the rich history of the center. I was most impressed with impact they are having on the near eastside of my home city. They are truly living up to the Mission Statement:

“The John H. Boner Community Center inspires neighbors and partners to improve the quality of life on the near Eastside by providing tools for change and growth.”

The senior leaders outlined what was involved in their successful capital campaign to build the new center complex you see pictured above.  Like so many projects in our city, it reflected the coming together of the foundation and corporate communities as partners with the support of individual donors to surpass the campaign goal. The amount of dedication exhibited by the senior leaders and volunteers of the John H. Boner Center was inspiring to hear about!  Even though I have heard the inside details of many successful capital campaigns over the years this campaign was quite special to hear all the details of the strategies involved.

Such a successful campaign would have certainly been enough for any meeting discussion; however our talk ventured much deeper explaining the bringing together of the NFL, the Super Bowl and once again amazing corporate/foundation partners to build the Chase Near Eastside Legacy Center pictured below.

All of the partners who made such a splendid new community center happen are listed here.

Like so many of citizens of Indiana who were part of our first Super Bowl and its ensuing fever, I had heard bits and pieces about the Legacy Center. Sitting on East 10th street I was enthralled listening to the inner workings of how this campaign achieved such a success.

My hope is these two amazing illustrations of multi-level partnerships and commitment inspire other communities world-wide to come together in the same manner. Can you just imagine the impact if this could evolve in every urban area in need?