Take Action!

We need YOU to help us change systems to better serve Hoosier families. Below are several ways you can engage beginning TODAY. 

Sign up for Institute Updates & Action Alerts

By signing up for our email list, you receive action alerts with quick, just-in-time asks and be the first to know about our research publications. Sign up below!

Send a Letter for Ongoing Advocacy Campaigns

We have custom letters to support engagement with your legislators on topics that matter to you! Take a look at our ongoing letter campaigns: 

• Stop the Explosion of Predatory Lending in HB 1174: Predatory lenders are back in the State House asking for an incredible array of new loans that violate our criminal loan-sharking law and will shackle Hoosiers to long-term, damaging debt. Please join the Institute in contacting your legislators to vote NO on HB 1174.
• 'Earned Wage Access' Should be No Worse than a Payday Loan: We all know about payday loans - these expensive advances on your pay or income are due on the next payday, with a price tag that exceeds Indiana's loansharking laws. Now, "Earned Wage Access" providers that give you an advance on your pay (sound familiar?) want to classify themselves as "not a loan" with NO limits on fees and charges - and they will also be allowed to ask for tips. Please reach out to your policymakers with a clear message: these products are unlikely to increase long-term financial well-being for Hoosiers and have questionable value on the whole.
• We Care About Care Policies: We all deserve an Indiana where we can care for ourselves, our family members, and our loved ones. Unfortunately, as highlighted by recent rankings from The Century Foundation, Indiana is falling behind in terms of key legislation that would make this a reality, ranking 38th in the nation and receiving a D- grade overall. Please join the Institute in contacting your legislators to implement more care-friendly policies this upcoming session that allow our families to thrive.
• Letters for LIHEAP: Since 1981, the federally-funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has provided financial assistance for paying rising electricity bills in crucial winter months. In Indiana, 109,750 households are helped each year by this program, with the vast majority of this funding going towards heating assistance. But these households represent only 16 percent of those eligible–a total of 689,734 households. As winters get colder, summers get hotter, and cost of living stretches budgets thinner, it is imperative to not only continue funding LIHEAP in the coming budget year but to increase the amount of funds available to not just keep pace with inflation, but to outpace it so that more families can benefit from the program. Please join the Institute in contacting your representatives to urge them to increase funding.

Share Your Story

Through stories, we can support existing policy priorities and identify new areas where change is needed. Sharing a personal story can interrupt damaging rhetoric and break down existing stereotypes or false beliefs about how the world works. When permission is granted, we share stories submitted to us on social media, in publications, in meetings with lawmakers, and at public events. Wherever possible, we connect storytellers to opportunities to share their story in their own voice.

• Share your story about having or not having paid leave
• Share your story about damaging financial products or practices
• Share a story about a safety net program (TANF, SNAP, Section 8, CCDF, etc.)
• Share another story

Donate

Your donations are what make it possible for us to bring grant-funded research directly to policymakers. If you have the means to make a contribution, please do so here!

Become an Institute Changemaker

Do you have time or talent you'd be willing to contribute? Email us! We've worked with committed advocates on a variety of initiatives, including launching social media campaigns, writing letters to the editor, setting up advocacy trainings for their group, and connecting with lawmakers.

• We Care About Care Policies: We all deserve an Indiana where we can care for ourselves, our family members, and our loved ones. Unfortunately, as highlighted by recent rankings from The Century Foundation, Indiana is falling behind in terms of key legislation that would make this a reality, ranking 38th in the nation and receiving a D- grade overall. Please join the Institute in contacting your legislators to implement more care-friendly policies this upcoming session that allow our families to thrive.