Q&A with Sue Welch, 2014 Chair of the Arts and Culture Committee

Sue Welch answers some questions about chairing the 2014 Arts and Culture Committee. If you are interested in joining the Arts and Culture Committee or one of the other Focus Area Committees for 2014 (Environment, Health and Wellness, Education, and Family), please contact Andi Cohen at joinus@impact100indy.org.

Arts and Culture Committee Chair: Sue Welch
Email address: suewelch5990@aol.com
Meeting Location: Bingham Greenbaum Doll, 10 W. Market St.
Meeting Dates and Times: Tuesday, 12 -1:30pm, on January 21,  February 11,  and April 8

Question: This is your first year chairing the Arts and Culture Focus Area Committee. What are you most looking forward to about chairing this committee?

Sue: I have never served on this Focus Area Committee and I am excited to hear what is happening with the city’s arts and culture organizations!

Question: Last year, you were the Grants co-chair. Can you talk about what you did as co-chair and what some of the highlights were?

Sue: I have been Grants co-chair for the past three years. My first year I worked with the members and the committee chairs, helping organize the committees. The past two years were spent managing the proposals from the not-for-profits. During our grant cycle–that time that we solicit proposals and then winnow and choose our finalists–the job of the Grants co-chair is to serve the committees. The committees do the important work, and the Grants co-chairs try to remove the distractions. We also are the “bearer of bad news” to those organizations whose proposals are not invited to move forward.

Question: What was the most surprising or interesting about being the Grants co-chair?

Sue: Just when you think you have the process down cold, you “learn” something you hadn’t thought of… so every year the selection process gets better.

Question:  Which focus area committees have you participated in in the past? Can you share a story from a past year?

Sue: Family, Environment, and Education. The year that I served on the Environment Committee, our finalist  was Improving Kids’ Environment (IKE), and they had a compelling lead-based paint abatement project. Even though they weren’t the winner, our residual grant gave them enough money to redo three houses–a very worthy use of our money. As a real estate agent, I thought I was pretty well versed on that topic, but after my committee experience, I realized I didn’t have a clue as to the scope of the problem.

Question: Why should Impact 100 members consider participating in a Focus Area Committee?

Sue: Unless you are professionally involved in the not-for-profit arena, there is no better way to find out what is happening in this community.

Question: What brought you to Impact 100?

Sue: I was approached by Laurie Boyd, and I have such respect for her that I felt I needed to hear what she had to say. I really liked the idea of pooling the money to make a big donation (impact) and I frankly did not have a strong financial tie to any particular group–therefore, the democratic process of Impact 100 fit me.

Question: How long have you been with Impact 100?

Sue: I am a founding member,  so 9 years.

Question: What do you love about Impact 100?

Sue: I love the smart, compassionate, engaged women that I have met–that I would have never encountered without Impact 100.

Question:  What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming an Impact 100 member?

Sue: You make a difference, and in the end, there is nothing better.