rooted. | issue 1
According to Leigh Riley Evans, IF vice president of equity and policy, the impact has been structural.
“The biggest benefit is that it keeps us externally focused,” she said. “Community ambassadors help center community voices in our grantmaking. They guide where funds go, what we prioritize, and when we need to course-correct.” Rather than relying solely on internal assumptions or shifting political winds, the foundation stays grounded in what residents are experiencing in real time.
“It keeps us focused on what matters,” Evans said. “Not what’s trending, but what’s true.”
Proximity in practice For Fabio Yataco, IF senior community leadership officer, the ambassadors are essential to how the foundation shows up day to day. “They keep us grounded in our mission,” Yataco said. “They keep us accountable. And they keep us proximate to the issues impacting everyday people in Indianapolis.” That proximity often looks practical, immediate, and deeply human. Yataco recalled a recent moment when a colleague encountered an undocumented Spanish-speaking resident seeking help at a community event. “It was six o’clock on a Friday,” he said. “I called one of our ambassadors, and they were able to step in right away with resources and information. At this moment in our history, that kind of support can be life-changing.” The relationship works because ambassadors are trusted voices in their own communities … people with lived experience who understand both the systems at play and the realities on the ground. “They act as a bridge,” Yataco said. “They allow us to work with community, not to community. That’s the difference between transactional engagement and authentic partnership.” Changing how philanthropy shows up The long-term impact of the Community Ambassadors program is visible not only in stories, but in outcomes. The foundation’s grantmaking has shifted toward deeper relationships, greater accessibility, and increased investment in BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving organizations.
“We’re better grantmakers because of this,” MacPherson said. “The community is better served because of this.”
Perhaps just as importantly, the program has reshaped the foundation’s standing in the neighborhoods it serves.
“Our reputation is more trusted and more credible than it’s ever been,” he said. “Not because we talk about equity, but because we keep showing up and sharing power.”
For Evans, the model offers a lesson for other institutions navigating a changing philanthropic landscape.
“This kind of collaboration helps organizations stay centered in their mission,” she said. “Whether equity is popular or politicized, we’re not reacting to swings. We’re listening to the community.” MacPherson added, “The most important thing is that the feedback loop goes in—not out. When you listen first, everything else follows.”
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