Old National Bank Foundation 20 for 20 Grantee Profiles: New Hope for Families Provides Stability, Hope and a Path Forward in Bloomington
As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, and two decades of helping build stronger, more vibrant and prosperous communities, the Old National Bank Foundation in 2026 is donating a total of $20,000 to 20 nonprofit organizations throughout its nine-state footprint, including New Hope for Families in Bloomington, Ind.
New Hope for Families is dedicated to ending family homelessness in Southcentral Indiana by providing shelter, early childhood education and comprehensive support services that help families achieve lasting stability. Founded on the belief that families should be able to stay together during times of crisis, the organization serves families with children regardless of marital status, family composition, sexual identity or orientation.
Addressing a critical gap in Monroe County
The organization's roots trace back to 2011, when a small group of five community leaders came together to address a critical gap in Monroe County: the absence of an emergency shelter for families experiencing homelessness. Among those founders was Ken Ritchie, a longtime member of the Old National Bank team. What began as a community response to a pressing need has grown into a comprehensive organization serving families throughout the region.
Using largely volunteer labor, including support from several Old National team members, the founders transformed a former hospital property into a shelter serving three families at a time. As demand grew, additional renovations expanded the organization's capacity, and in 2022 New Hope opened a new campus that includes a family shelter serving up to 12 families each night and an early learning center serving up to 60 children. Today, the organization provides shelter, education, homelessness prevention and case management services that help more than 150 families annually move toward long-term stability.
“Family homelessness affects every aspect of a child's life, from education and health to emotional well-being,” said Emily Pike, Executive Director of New Hope for Families. “Our mission is to ensure families have the support, resources and opportunities they need not only to overcome a housing crisis, but to build a stronger future together.”
Moving from temporary to permanent housing
One of New Hope's proudest accomplishments is a promise it has kept to the community for nearly eight years: no child in Monroe County should ever have to sleep outside, live in a vehicle or be separated from their family simply to have a safe place to sleep. Since opening its doors, the organization has sheltered more than 500 families while focusing on helping families secure permanent housing as quickly as possible.
That commitment has produced remarkable results. More than 80% of families who stay at New Hope move into stable housing, more than two-and-a-half times Indiana's statewide average. The organization credits that success to its focus on comprehensive support, including shelter, case management, early learning opportunities and homelessness prevention services that help families address the underlying challenges contributing to housing instability.
“Our work is not about filling shelter beds. It is about emptying shelter beds,” Pike said. “Every family that moves into stable housing represents a child with greater opportunity, parents with renewed hope and a stronger future for our entire community.”
Old National Bank Foundation and New Hope for Families
The partnership between the Old National Bank Foundation and New Hope for Families has played an important role in the organization's growth and impact. In 2013, a Foundation grant helped create a program focused specifically on the needs of children affected by homelessness. That effort ultimately grew into the New Hope Early Learning Center, which opened in 2015 and helps children impacted by poverty gain the skills and support they need to succeed in school while allowing parents to focus on achieving family stability.
A second grant from the Foundation in 2021 helped support construction of New Hope's expanded campus, which opened in 2022. Most recently, the Foundation has supported case management services that help prevent homelessness before it occurs, providing critical interventions that can change the trajectory of a family's future.
“Old National has been part of our story from the very beginning,” Pike said. “From the leadership of Ken Ritchie and other Old National team members to Foundation grants that helped launch our children's programming, expand our campus and strengthen homelessness prevention services, Old National has consistently invested in families facing some of life's most difficult challenges. Their partnership has created opportunities and hope for hundreds of families in our community.”
Together, the Old National Bank Foundation and New Hope for Families are helping ensure that family homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring. By providing shelter, education, prevention services and pathways to stability, the partnership continues to create brighter futures for children and families throughout Southcentral Indiana.
“Our ‘20 for 20’ campaign recognizes 20 organizations that have helped strengthen communities and expand opportunity through their partnership with the Old National Bank Foundation,” said Old National Bank Foundation President Joe Kiser. “Their leadership, innovation, and commitment to serving others reflect the very best of what can happen when communities come together around a shared purpose. As we celebrate the Foundation’s 20th anniversary, these organizations represent the many communities, causes, and partnerships that have shaped the Foundation’s work over the past two decades.”
To learn more about New Hope for Families, visit New Hope for Families.
Each year, the Old National Bank Foundation endeavors to fund as many initiatives that meet our funding priorities as possible across our footprint. For more information on grants or the Old National Bank Foundation, click here.
