Just over a year ago, Indianapolis native Deonna Craig was among a group of 18 artists who gathered in downtown Indianapolis — committing their talents and points of view to create a street mural during one of the most turbulent periods in American history. 

Craig recalls the experience on Indiana Avenue as a peaceful refuge, even as people gathered just outside of a barricade to protest them painting the phrase “#BlackLivesMatter” (BLM) on a segment of Indiana Avenue.

“It was like I was in a bubble,” recalls Craig, who included the names of people who had been killed by local police in the letter V, her contribution to the project approved by the City-County Council of Indianapolis and Marion County. 

About a week later, the street mural was vandalized with splatters and streaks of gray paint — similar to the acts of vandalism on #BlackLivesMatter public artwork across the nation.

Craig, an art instructor who regularly talks to youth at area schools about current events and the power of artistic expression, said the defacing of the mural did little to minimize the voices of the artists who gathered that day. While the vandalism was discouraging, she said, it wasn’t entirely unexpected given the tensions in the community throughout 2020.

And with a recent exhibit launched by The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis those moments will reach a larger audience — as many as the 1.2 million visitors who visit the attraction each year.

Under a special initiative, the museum commissioned the artists to recreate miniaturized versions of their street artwork on 16x20 canvases, said Monica Ramsey Humphrey, director of exhibits and interactive media for The Children’s Museum. Of the 18 artists, 14 artists, including Craig, participated — recreating their artistic lettering and recording a video in which they share their personal stories, inspiration and experiences of how the mural impacted their lives. The exhibit also includes some of the concept art renderings, tools, shirts, badges and clothes the artists were wearing as part of the event.

“It’s an incredibly important movement,” Ramsey Humphrey said of the massive outpouring of people who demonstrated on behalf of the #BlackLivesMatter campaign. “The museum has a responsibility to collect and preserve moments in history for generations to come.”

Giving USA 2021: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2020 reports that individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations gave an estimated $471.44 billion to U.S. charities in 2020.

Total charitable giving grew 5.1% measured in current dollars over the revised total of $448.66 billion contributed in 2019. Adjusted for inflation, total giving increased 3.8%. (Please see below for a more detailed breakdown of the numbers for each philanthropic source and sector.)

Giving USA, the longest-running and most comprehensive report on the sources and uses of charitable giving in America, is published by Giving USA Foundation, a public service initiative of The Giving Institute. It is researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IUPUI.

“Unprecedented developments in 2020 including the global pandemic, the ensuing economic crisis, and efforts to advance racial justice created intense, widespread need and significantly increased the demand upon nonprofit organizations. Remarkably, generous giving coupled with the stock market turnaround in the final months of the year boosted contributions.

As a result, 2020 is the highest year of charitable giving on record,” said Laura MacDonald, CFRE, chair of Giving USA Foundation and Principal and Founder of Benefactor Group. “Amid these unique circumstances, however, the nation’s overall economic picture remained mixed. It is important to recognize that the picture for individual households and organizations may have looked quite different, with many facing hardship even though total giving posted strong growth.”

“In some ways, 2020 is a story of uneven impact and uneven recovery. Many wealthier households were more insulated from the effects of COVID-19 and the ensuing economic shock, and they may have had greater capacity to give charitably than households and communities that were disproportionately affected and struggled financially,” said Amir Pasic, Ph.D., the Eugene R. Tempel Dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. “Similarly, growth in the S&P 500 in recent years and the market recovery in 2020 positioned foundations to respond to the year’s challenges, with the result that giving by foundations reached its largest-ever share of total giving, at 19 percent. Still, for many people and communities, the need remained great throughout the year and beyond.”

Happy hour weeding on Aug. 20 from 3-5 p.m. at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB), 1029 Fletcher Ave. Must be at least 21 years old. Volunteers needed for plant care, weeding, and mulching of the native plant beds and rain gardens. KIB will wrap up the project with beers from Chilly Water as a thank you to volunteers. Register

The Belmont Beach Project is seeking volunteers for beautification efforts at a pop-up park located near the White River on the westside of Indianapolis. Interested volunteers must be able to lift 20 pounds and be comfortable with using simple tools. Volunteer dates run through Sept. 10. Shifts are from 10 a.m.-noon or 1-3 p.m. Register

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