It’s that time of year again. There’s a crisp bite in the air mixed with a hint of evergreen. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument has donned colorful lights, Newfields has transformed into a winter wonderland, and a fresh cup of hot cocoa from Christkindlmarkt is calling your name.
With so much holiday cheer in the Indianapolis community, it’s easy to get inspired by the spirit of giving. There are many ways to give your time, talent, and treasure. One way Orr Fellows give all three is through consulting.
The fall round of Orr Fellowship Consulting recently wrapped up, and Orr Fellows are looking to 2023 to impact a new set of local nonprofits and small businesses.
This fall, Orr Fellowship Consulting teams partnered with Momentum Indy, FIDO, and the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site on a variety of projects from a comprehensive social media strategic plan to best practices for search engine optimization and Google Ads.
Director of Community Engagement Alea Rashid said the goal of Orr Fellowship Consulting is to build mutually beneficial relationships with Indianapolis nonprofits that go beyond a one-time consultation.
“The reason I love this side of Orr Fellowship’s Community Engagement is because it has longevity and sustainability. We’re not one-off impacting an organization,” Alea said. “We are all here in this community, and it’s an interconnected community, and we need to work together.”
Sophia Kardadi worked closely with the FIDO consulting team as they built a comprehensive social media plan. Sophia has volunteered with FIDO for several years, and she now serves on the Marketing and Development Committee.
She said the results provided a clear plan of action for FIDO.
“It definitely helped to center us and prioritize where to start on implementing all the wonderful ideas that they brought to us,” Sophia said. “There was just a multitude of knowledge bases to pull from which resulted in a great conversation backed by experience and research.”
While there are many routes that nonprofits can take when choosing consultants, Sophia said Orr Fellowship brings fresh new ideas and perspective to the space by utilizing recent college graduates.
“It’s a really important perspective. It really is our future, so I think it’s wonderful to be able to have really intelligent young minds come and build something,” Sophia said.
Orr Fellows not only bring perspective to the table, but also their talent and desire to impact the Indianapolis community.
For Carson Bailey, working with the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site allowed him to dig deeper into his passion for history and explore a potential career path in law.
“It’s a great opportunity for a few different reasons. One, it’s a chance for Fellows to develop their career expertise,” Carson said. “Then also, you’re able to provide a lot of meaningful change for local nonprofits.”
As team lead, Carson was able to watch the relationship between Orr Fellowship and the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site grow, as well as work closely with other Orr Fellows.
Nick Roethlein, who also served as a team lead, said his reason for joining the FIDO consulting team was the ability to enhance skills he uses in his current role and learn more about the nonprofit world. He is also proud of how well his team worked together.
“Everyone delivered above and beyond, and I was blown away,” Nick said.
Andrea Hagener and Hannah Robinson worked with Nick on the FIDO project and brought their passion for helping animals to the team.
“I thought that this would be a great way through Orr to use some of what I studied in a way that’s also helping people,” Andrea said. “As soon as they presented it, I was like I have to sign up immediately because I love dogs.”
After completing the project, Hannah said she had a lot of great takeaways, including new relationships with other Fellows.
“I learned a lot about the Indianapolis community that I had no idea about before going into this,” Hannah said. “We were all passionate about social media, and we all love dogs, so it was a way for us to connect on something we might have never even known about each other.”
Orr Fellowship Consulting Coordinator Jessie Wisniewski said working with the teams gave her the opportunity to engage with the Indianapolis community in ways she wouldn’t otherwise.
“I think it’s really cool to be able to tap into the community in a way that I don’t get with my position,” Jessie said. “I really enjoy being able to work with Orr Fellows on the teams because I get to see their skills in action.”
With 2023 right around the corner, new nonprofits will be selected and Orr Fellows will have the opportunity to make a further impact on the Indianapolis community. If you’re a local nonprofit interested in working with Orr Fellowship, reach out to Alea Rashid at alea.rashid@orrfellowship.org.
FIDO Team
Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site Team
Momentum Indy Team
Miguel Diaz
