Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Central Indiana and United Way of South Central Indiana have shared an office since January as part of a cost-saving strategy expected to save each nonprofit more than $25,000 and redirect more funding to community programs.
BBBS moved into United Way’s office at 431 S. College Ave., allowing the two organizations to combine utilities and other daily expenses while maintaining separate operations. The consolidation followed both nonprofits reevaluating their budgets and space needs last year, as rising costs and growing demand pushed them to cut overhead without reducing programs.
BBBS CEO Jennifer Quick-Cook said the organization was underutilizing its former office at 1802 W. 17th St., a space that no longer matched its staffing needs, at the same time the nonprofit was preparing for a major geographical expansion. After previously serving three counties — Monroe, Owen and Lawrence — BBBS expanded into 10 additional counties across southern Indiana and northern Kentucky in January.
Quick-Cook said the upcoming rapid growth reshaped the organization’s operations, making it even more important to reevaluate its administrative structure and physical space.
United Way President and CEO Randy Rogers said his team began exploring partners toward the end of 2024 after identifying unused office space. Around the same time, BBBS was also searching for a new location and reached out to United Way in October 2024 about sharing space. The two nonprofits connected quickly once they realized their needs aligned.
“When you have an office space, you have to pay a lease, lights, furniture, utilities, heat, water, trash removal, cleaning services — all these expenses,” Rogers said. “If you combine that, we have one person that cleans the office, one copier, one internet. Those are things you can split.”
The nonprofits formally marked the consolidation Wednesday afternoon with a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. BBBS waited until November to hold the event because the organization needed to complete major operational transitions this fall, including its 10-county expansion.
Kaytee Lorentzen, the chamber’s director of communications and events, said the celebration recognized the importance of two non-profits' role in the local economy.
“Nonprofits specifically don’t get as much love as some other organizations do,” Lorentzen said. “We want to make sure that because they are a part of our economic fabric, they also get the love and support as well.”
The shared space has already improved day-to-day workflow, particularly for staff who spend much of their time out in the community. Having another nonprofit down the hall, Quick-Cook said, has strengthened morale and created new opportunities for informal problem-solving.
“We’ve had a couple of collective meetings together just about office conversations, but it’s been really nice to be able to talk to others outside of your organization — to collaborate on things that really aren’t specifically pertaining to your mission but overall in general in a nonprofit,” Quick-Cook said.
As BBBS expanded to 10 additional counties, demand for services continues to grow. Quick-Cook said more than 175 youth are currently on the chapter’s waitlist, a number that has risen “organically” through school referrals, parents and existing matches — even without additional advertising.
While the nonprofit has an abundance of volunteers, Quick-Cook said, one of its biggest challenges lies in securing funding.
For United Way, the consolidation of cost savings directly support programs such as grants to partner agencies, community tax assistance and services for families experiencing financial instability. Rogers said reducing overhead allows the organization to direct more money toward those priorities
“Anytime you can save money, it allows you to put more money toward your mission,” Rogers said.
Despite the shared office, the nonprofits emphasized they remain independent and continue to operate with separate boards, staff and missions. Rogers said that distinction is important as both organizations work to address different — but complementary — community needs.
“I don’t want people to walk away thinking that Big Brothers Big Sisters and United Way are now one and the same, because we are not,” Rogers said. “We both serve different missions. We’ve just been smart about how we partner to lower our expenses.”
Quick-Cook said the move positions BBBS for a strong year ahead.
“Since we’ve been able to do the expansion and have this opportunity to move inward, we’re pretty excited that we’re going to hit some record numbers this year with the youth that we’ve served,” Quick-Cook said.
