Indianapolis, Indiana – When Elizabeth Greene decided to change the direction of her career, she believed her background would be enough to make the leap into nonprofit work. She had already spent time supporting grant distribution at the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority and assumed that experience would naturally lead to a position as a grants officer. Instead, she ran into an unexpected barrier. Applications went unanswered, interviews were rare, and the same feedback kept surfacing: she lacked hands-on experience managing major grants and overseeing a funding portfolio.
Greene described the process as hitting a “brick wall,” a frustrating pause that forced her to rethink how to bridge the gap between her passion for nonprofit work and the qualifications employers were seeking. The turning point came through a conversation with a friend who was attending Indiana University Indianapolis. That friend suggested Greene explore the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, a recommendation that would soon reshape both her career and the organization she now serves.
What surprised Greene most was learning that the world’s first school dedicated entirely to philanthropy was located so close to home. After researching her options, she enrolled in the online graduate certificate program in philanthropic studies. The format allowed her to balance full-time work and a busy family schedule while gaining targeted, practical skills. Looking back, she describes the decision as transformative.
“Once I had the graduate certificate on my resume, it was a night-and-day difference in terms of all kinds of emails and phone calls for interviews,” Greene said. “I think employers just see that and know you’ll be able to hit the ground running.”
The immediate impact of the credential encouraged Greene to continue her studies. She rolled the certificate into a Master of Arts in philanthropic studies, deepening her understanding of how nonprofits function, how donors think, and how funding strategies can shape outcomes. That education soon led her to her current role at Sheltering Wings, one of Indiana’s largest domestic violence shelters.
As the organization’s sole grants officer, Greene oversees what she calls the “big picture” of funding. Her responsibilities include applying for grants, tracking restricted gifts, and ensuring funds are used exactly as donors intend. Those funds support essential services such as rental assistance, children’s programming, and emergency shelter operations. In many ways, her work sits quietly behind the scenes, yet it directly affects the quality and consistency of care survivors receive.
Sheltering Wings was founded in 2002 by members of Cornerstone Christian Church and now serves roughly 350 clients each year. Its services extend beyond emergency shelter to include community education, advocacy, and prevention programs. About half of the clients are children who arrive with a parent while fleeing an unsafe home. The need for these services remains urgent, particularly in Indiana, where domestic violence rates exceed national averages. According to the National Coalition Against Violence, 42.5 percent of Indiana women and 27.9 percent of Indiana men experience domestic violence.
“While we remain true to our faith-based roots, we serve all survivors fleeing domestic violence,” Greene said. “Sadly, the need continues to grow.”
As the number of clients rises, so does the demand for stable and diverse funding. Greene’s supervisor recently asked her to explore new support opportunities, including government grants, foundation funding, and partnerships with faith-based organizations. The timing aligned perfectly with Greene’s academic work. In her final year of graduate school, she is completing a practicum course that allows students already working in nonprofits to take on a special project that directly benefits their organization.
For Greene, the assignment became an opportunity to create a detailed report examining how Sheltering Wings could broaden its funding base. The project allowed her to apply classroom concepts to real-world challenges while earning course credit. It also provided leadership at Sheltering Wings with research-backed recommendations for long-term financial sustainability.
One of the courses shaping Greene’s approach was economics of philanthropy, taught by Ph.D. candidate Shinyoung Park. The class emphasized the importance of diversified funding streams and introduced behavioral economics as a tool for understanding donor behavior. Those lessons helped Greene think critically about how Sheltering Wings structures its funding and how it might appeal to new supporters.
Still, one question remained: where else could the organization turn for meaningful financial partnerships? To answer that, Greene sought guidance from assistant dean of academic programs Kathi Badertscher, whose own career path mirrored her journey. Badertscher transitioned from corporate insurance into philanthropic research and now volunteers with Coburn Place, another organization that provides housing and support for domestic violence survivors.
Badertscher connected Greene with the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The institute focuses on the intersection of faith, generosity, and social impact. Through this lens, Greene began studying patterns of religious giving across different Abrahamic faiths. She discovered shared values centered on compassion, service, and action, even as traditions and practices varied.
One concept that stood out was the Jewish principle of tikkun olam, often translated as “repairing the world.” Greene also learned about the work of the Islamic Association of North America in Plainfield, Indiana, which promotes interfaith collaboration on both local and national levels. These insights expanded her understanding of how faith-based partnerships could support Sheltering Wings in new and respectful ways.
A second layer of Greene’s research focuses on storytelling and ethics in fundraising. She is examining how faith-based nonprofits portray domestic violence survivors and people experiencing homelessness in donor communications. Greene is especially mindful of language and imagery that can unintentionally strip individuals of dignity or agency.
She emphasizes the importance of framing survivors as resilient individuals rather than passive victims. In her view, effective fundraising invites donors to stand alongside people facing hardship without reducing them to their trauma. That balance, she believes, strengthens trust and aligns fundraising practices with the organization’s mission.
As she finalizes her report, Greene says the process has brought clarity to both her professional role and her academic journey. The research will help Sheltering Wings make informed decisions about future partnerships, while also reinforcing Greene’s belief in the power of thoughtful philanthropy.
“It’s an honor to be behind the scenes ensuring case managers and advocates can hold the hands of survivors through the hardest part of their life,” Greene said. “I’m grateful that IU helped me get to the next chapter of my story. Now, I can help the organization and survivors write their next chapter too, because every Hoosier, every person deserves a safe place to live.”
For Greene, philanthropy is no longer just a field of study or a line on her resume. It has become the bridge between her skills and a mission-driven career, one that continues to shape the future of a nonprofit working on the front lines of domestic violence prevention and survivor support.
