2024 is shaping up to be an unprecedented year for Orr Fellowship. In partnership with the Evansville Regional Business Committee (ERBC), Orr Fellowship has taken a significant step toward deepening its impact across the state of Indiana by expanding to the Southwest Indiana region. The organization was also recently awarded a Lilly Endowment Grant to invest in capacity-increasing activities.
Read the full conversation with Orr Fellowship President, Steven Emch, to learn more about the exciting opportunities on the horizon for this growing organization.
Southwest Indiana Chapter
Orr Fellowship has been focused on recruiting and developing the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs since 2001 and we now have the opportunity to broaden that impact outside of the Indianapolis region. A Southwest Indiana chapter would never have been possible without the great partnership we’ve been lucky to develop with the team and board of ERBC. Our organization looks forward to welcoming its first class of Fellows based in Evansville in June of 2025.
View the official Press Release for more information.
How did this idea for expansion initially begin?
“In my first month of taking the role as President of Orr Fellowship, I was approached by the Evansville Regional Business Committee (ERBC), a group of seasoned business professionals with a passion for further developing their city and cultivating the talent within. They were highly impressed with Orr Fellowship and its impact on the city of Indianapolis and were looking to partner with the organization to bring the same benefits to the Evansville region.
ERBC was continually optimistic about pursuing the partnership and was excited to do what was necessary to make it work when the time came for us. The city of Evansville is going through a revitalization period full of multiple platforms of exciting growth. They feel passionate about Orr Fellowship being one of those pillars. The entire city’s willingness to cooperate and coordinate began to make this expansion feel feasible.
Deliberation with our Board Members helped to uncover the most important questions weighing on the decision to pursue expansion or not: Does this strategically align with our mission to recruit and develop the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs?
Scott Brenton, Co-founder and Board Member of Orr Fellowship leaned into the opportunity for expansion, explaining how the founders never imagined the program staying in just Indianapolis. The mission rests on the goal of spreading talent and opportunities across all of Indiana. Piloting a new chapter in Evansville aligned with our organization’s goal, and so we are taking the leap.”
Will Orr Fellowship be growing its Executive Leadership Team to support this expansion?
“We are looking to expand our Executive Team to best ensure proper coverage of needs with the new chapter. While the titles may change, we’re targeting the following roles on the Executive Team: President, Director of Fellow Engagement, Director of Recruitment & Events, Director of Partnerships, Director of Operations & Success, and Executive Director of the Southwest Indiana Chapter.”
What will the Partner Company experience look like for Fellows in the SW Indiana chapter?
“The landscape of businesses will be different in Evansville. There is a heavy presence of manufacturing in the business sector and fewer tech and software groups than we see in Indy. There are also some really cool start-ups that I am interested in pursuing partnerships with, as well as publicly traded corporations and private businesses that house over 50,000 employees. I think the diversity of partnership experiences that we see in Central Indiana will ring true in this new chapter as well.
What’s important is that the mission of what we’re trying to do in the SW Indiana Chapter is the same. Sure, it’s going to have a different flavor, and it should be. It’s different people, different companies, and a different city. It will have its own unique fingerprints.”
How will the Indianapolis chapter programming translate into Evansville?
“We are still in the process of mapping this out. I’d love to do an event twice a year that would include both chapters. Operationationally, these would be wholly distinct chapters that are independent of one another on a day-to-day basis. We anticipate the newly hired Executive Director will be planning their own chapter-specific events, such as the Business Leaders Speaker Series, and Pitch and Case Competition, and will have the opportunity to connect with the Indianapolis chapter throughout the year.”
How will this affect recruitment for current fellows? What is the goal size with the first class?
“Current Fellows will be taught language about each chapter and how they will interact. Applicants will apply for the specific chapter they are interested in and candidates will attend separate Finalist Days.
In year one, we’re looking for between 15-20 Fellows. In year two, we’d like to get to 20-25 Fellows. It’s not clear right now how big or small this chapter ultimately is. We don’t want to put a definite number when we’re still early in the development phase.”
Lilly Endowment Grant
Lilly Endowment recently provided a grant to Orr Fellowship to invest in the capacity-increasing activities of the organization. Orr Fellowship is grateful for the Lilly Endowment coming alongside organizations like Orr Fellowship to support its mission of recruiting and developing the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs.
What did the application process look like?
“Organizations must be formally invited to submit a proposal. Once you’ve submitted a proposal and received staff approval, formal board approval is the final sign-off. We were formally invited to submit a proposal, received staff approval, and board approval over the course of the fall and the beginning of winter.
What was the intention of pursuing this grant?
“The Board and I were mindful of the reason we were even pursuing grant funding at all and why we would choose the Lilly Endowment as part of that. We do not intend to be an organization that requires grant funding to survive perpetually. Maintaining the independence that Orr Fellowship has established as an organization remained a top priority throughout this process. The Lilly Endowment made specific sense for Orr Fellowship because it allowed us to hold onto our goal while still pursuing substantial funding.”
How is Orr Fellowship going to use the funds from this grant?
“The Lilly Endowment gave us a “capacity increasing grant,” meaning they asked for ideas on where we would invest to increase our ability to do our jobs, impact Fellows, recruitment, storytelling, etc. The specific funding areas are Software & Technology, PR & Advertising, Advisory Support, and Staff Training & Development. Specific applications of funding that fall within these ranges come with the ultimate goal of increasing the capacity of the Executive Leadership Team and Fellows alike so that we can all do more and handle more.
Looking Ahead
What excites you most about the future of Orr Fellowship?
“Despite what it feels like, the Lilly Endowment Grant & Southwest Indiana Chapter are wholly separate and unique developments. They just so happened to land at the same time. Nonetheless, there is a LOT to be excited about.
I have to say, the success of Orr Fellowship is directly correlated to the dense network of support that has been laid through years of intentional relationship-building. My advice to Fellows and young professionals alike is to continue to expand your network in every chance possible. You may not know at the moment why these relationships are valuable but at some point, you won’t be able to imagine your journey without them.
I think what I ultimately keep coming back to is the sense of pride in this organization. Both the Lilly Endowment Grant and the Southwest Indiana Chapter represent examples of outside groups seeing Orr Fellowship and recognizing it as something really special. Evansville is one of five different communities that have approached the organization. We are not perfect by any means, but I think there is something to celebrate.
We have something incredibly unique in the Orr Fellowship. We will continue stewarding it as best we know how and cannot wait to see what the future holds.”
