Other Eligibility/Process Requirements

View LOI application questions before applying

Applying nonprofits in 2023 will again be asked to share the number of Full-Time Employees (FTEs) of the nonprofit in their self-nomination form (called LOI last year) as a method of determining an organization’s size.  The range of FTEs will be used to assess the resources of a nonprofit.  We found in 2022 that the ranges of 

  • 1-10

  • 11-25

  • 26-100 and

  • More than 100 employees

did not influence/limit the number of awards given or considered.  The innovation strength of the nominated projects will determine the award pool and will vary each year.  FTEs should be for the entire nonprofit and not for an individual program.

Innovation always has a start date marking when it began and requires sufficient time for outcomes to achieve measurable results. For the Arago Honors, we seek to honor nonprofits that began their innovative program in 2018 or within the past five years. We realize that setting a marker for innovation is somewhat arbitrary, but will help our honor focus on more recent programs. This year we are allowing exceptions beyond the five-year window for innovation by an applying nonprofit if the start-up funding for better implementation and sustainability has occurred within five years.

Applicants must be a 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Service Code and be based in Marion County or the seven donut counties of Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Shelby, Johnson, Morgan, or Hendricks.  Applicants are encouraged to self-nominate or apply on their own behalf.

Understanding our innovation definition

We realize that one of the hardest parts for applicants has been decerning what they have done that is innovative and meets the Meridian Foundation’s definition. We offer these suggestions:

  1. Read all of the information on the Meridian Foundation website.  Pay special attention to the articles posted on our News tab, especially the Summaries of 2021 and 2022 Arago Honor Recipients with Rationale of Recognition.

  2. Understand the definitions of innovation, both the new shorter and longer version detailed on the website. The shorter innovation definition has been altered slightly to include solving a community problem. Another indicator of innovation is that few nonprofits are doing similar work to your nominated project, or you are working to help an at-risk population.

  3. Sign up for the June 23, 1:30 p.m. live Zoom session for potential applicants by sending an email to indymeridianfoundation@gmail.com.  We will record the session and we can share the slides upon request.

  4. We will offer private 20-minute “office hour” appointments on Zoom on July 11 and July 12. Email indymeridianfoundation@gmail.com to make an appointment. This is an opportunity to ask one-on-one questions of the Meridian Foundation staff.

The first step in the application process will be for a nonprofit to complete the self-nomination form on the Meridian Foundation website and submit it as a Google Form with two attachments—

  • Proof of IRS 501c3 eligibility from the IRS and

  • A budget for the nominated program.

The deadline for the self-nominated short form is August 1, 2023, 11:59 p.m. (midnight).

Reviewers of the Arago Honors for Innovation by the Meridian Foundation will be focusing on the strength of the applying nonprofit’s innovation concept as it is a creative break from practice, large or small, solving a community problem. We seek to understand what has changed in the lives of individuals, families, the organization, or the community as a result of the innovation. In 2023 the Arago Honors will focus on the broader impact of nonprofit innovation. We are asking more about your start-up funding for the initiative to help others in the sector who also wish to be more innovative.

We seek to better understand if a nonprofit’s innovation is designed to incrementally improve an existing body of work or is a brand-new idea disrupting an entire sector.  There will be no right or wrong answers, but it will be helpful to understand the vision of leadership.

We are also keeping the question from last year to understand how the individual or team managing the nominated innovation project embodies DEI.  We seek to understand not only who makes up your staff, board members, volunteers, or partners, but also how your team is working to further diversity, equity, and inclusion in your sector. 

Lastly, we are now asking nonprofit nominators to self-select the appropriate focus area their project addresses. As many as three areas may be selected. Focus areas include:

  • culture,

  • education,

  • environment,

  • food insecurity,

  • housing,

  • health and well-being.

 

The Process of Selection After Self-Nominating

The step-by review process is also detailed in the Frequently Asked Questions on the website. In a nutshell:

  • The Meridian Foundation will do the first review of applications to assess the strength of innovation.

  • Volunteer readers will assist the Meridian Foundation in selecting nonprofits to advance using a uniform criteria sheet.  Advancing nonprofits from the first review stage will be contacted by  October 1 to submit additional information for the next stages of due diligence by the Meridian Foundation.  

  • The second review stage will involve an internal compilation of readers’ comments and a thorough internet sources review to create individual questions for finalists in October 2023

  • Specific questions and an additional financial request will be sent to top applicants with a two-week turnaround in October/November 2023.

  • A third internal review of the nonprofit’s individual answers and financials will occur in November 2023.