INDIANAPOLIS – Today, Mayor Joe Hogsett, the Indianapolis Foundation, and the Indianapolis City-County Council announced the sixth round of recipients for the Elevation Grant Program. In all, 51 grants totaling more than $9 million will be distributed to Indianapolis organizations. The funding supports local, grassroots nonprofits working to address root causes of violent crime and comes as part of Mayor Hogsett’s three-year, $150 million comprehensive violence reduction strategy.
“When we listen to our neighbors and empower them to make the changes they want to see in their own neighborhoods, our whole community moves forward,” said Mayor Hogsett. “The Elevation Grant Program allows organizations in our city to expand and enhance the good work that is making Indianapolis a better, safer place for all.”
The Elevation Grant Program is a partnership between the City of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Foundation. Through six rounds of funding granted over three years, the program is investing $45 million in Indianapolis neighborhoods to address the root causes of violent crime through a comprehensive approach, including neighborhood empowerment and community building.
“The Indianapolis Foundation is proud to administer the Elevation Grant Program, which has provided funding to organizations working day in and day out to reduce gun violence in Indianapolis,” said Lorenzo Esters, president, Indianapolis Foundation. “We believe community action is best when led by the people who live in the community. Through the Elevation Grant, we have supported the expansion, reach, and impact of community organizations working to reduce gun violence.”
Round six grants focused on organizations providing direct services to priority populations with immediate intentionality around violence reduction using evidence-based programming that elevates the assets, aspirations, and hopes of neighborhoods impacted by violence, and improves their overall safety. With round six being the final round to include federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in addition to City budget funds, additional consideration was given to organizations that had developed sustainability plans, demonstrated strong past performance, and displayed effective program design as well as collaborative approaches to providing services.
The final round of grantees was announced at a news conference this morning at Deborah’s Place donation center on the east side. Representatives from two grantees were present, including the Children’s Policy & Law Initiative of Indiana (CPLI). CPLI advocates for systemic changes for children so that programs, policies, and practices are developmentally appropriate, equitably administered and fair, and provide the necessary support for a child’s successful transition to adulthood. With support from the Elevation Grant Program, the organization will engage youth in advocacy, gun violence prevention, and peer-led conflict resolution and empowerment to prevent their delinquency and reduce recidivism rates among Indianapolis youth.
“Young people must have a voice in shaping the world in which they live, and we hope to see change in our communities through them,” said Meisha Wide, executive director, Children’s Policy & Law Initiative of Indiana. “The Elevation Grant will allow us to invite more young people into our Youth Justice Leadership Program, which gives high school students the tools and confidence to become future leaders in systemic change and address the root causes of issues impacting our communities to end the school to prison pipeline.”
Representatives from Deborah’s Place, a round six Elevation Grant recipient, were also present. Deborah’s Place is a grassroots, community-based non-profit that serves battered/homeless women, children, and nonviolent offenders. Named for the founder’s mother, Deborah, who always had an open door for those in need, Deborah’s Place is dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence, poverty, and abuse by restoring balance and harmony through individual empowerment and education. With support from the Elevation Grant Program, Deborah’s Place is expanding its programming to provide career development and education workshops for more individuals.
“At Deborah’s Place, we are about helping build character and getting to the root cause of issues, so that individuals and families can heal. Through this grant, we’re helping those involved in the criminal justice system for non-violent crimes to see a path forward,” said Deborah’s Place founder, Dr. Jessica L. Braidden. “For example, a mom arrested for stealing diapers, who now has to complete community service hours, can do it at Deborah’s Place, where we will also offer her character development workshops, opportunities to earn career certificates, and ensure her family’s basic needs, like diapers, are met.”
Since 2022, 238 total grants have been made to 127 non-profits.
The recipients of Elevation Grant Round Six are:
91 Place Incorporated
Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis
Brightwood Community Center Inc.
Business Ownership Initiative of Indiana Inc.
Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana
Community Action of Greater Indianapolis, Inc.
Community Alliance of the Far Eastside, Inc. (M.O.V.E. Barbershop Talk and Back to the Table)
Community Alliance of the Far Eastside, Inc. (Lifting Up the Far Eastside)
Crown Community Development Corporation Inc.
DEBORAHS PLACE INC
DREAM Alive, Inc.
Eclectic Soul VOICES Corporation
Edna Martin Christian Center
Elevate Indianapolis, Inc.
Englewood Community Development Corporation
Fathers and Families Resource-Research Center, Inc.
Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center at Crooked Creek (The Power of TRU Generations Leadership Cohort)
Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center at Crooked Creek (CRT – Engage: Collective Impact 1.0)
Flanner House of Indianapolis, Inc.
George Washington HUB Club Inc.
Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee
Groundwork Indy
Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County
Horizon House, Inc.
INDIANA CONSTRUCTION ROUNDTABLE FOUNDATION INC
Inner Beauty Program, Inc.
Judah Ministries
Kheprw Institute.
Kids’ Voice of Indiana, Inc.
Laundry and More, Inc.
Lutheran Child and Family Services
Martin Luther King Community Center
Martindale-Brightwood Community Development Corporation
MCCOY
Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic
New Breed of Youth Mentoring Program, Inc
Nova X-STREAM, INC
Outreach, Inc.
PACE, Inc.
Partners In Housing
Pathway Resource Center, Inc.
Peace Learning Center
Project Free University
Reach For Youth, Inc
Step-Up, Inc.
The Comfort Home Place Incorporated
The Domestic Violence Network
Thomas Ridley’s 1 Like Me
Warren Arts and Education Foundation Inc
We Bloom Inc.
The City of Indianapolis has proposed to continue crime prevention funding in its 2025 budget proposals, which would include programs like Elevation Grants and Indy Peace. The City-County Council’s Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee unanimously passed the Public Safety portion of the proposed 2025 budget last week. The proposed 2025 budget is up for a final vote by the City-County Council on Monday, October 7.
To learn more about the program, visit www.cicf.org/not-for-profits/elevation-grant/.
ABOUT MAYOR HOGSETT’S VIOLENCE REDUCTION PLAN
Announced in the fall of 2021, Mayor Hogsett’s comprehensive violence reduction strategy emphasizes continued law enforcement investments as well as addresses root causes of violence through funding to uplift grassroots violence prevention organizations, 50 peacemakers to engage with those at risk of becoming perpetrators or victims of gun violence through Indy Peace, funding for mental health resources, and more. Indianapolis experienced a total 32% reduction in criminal homicides and a 20% reduction in non-fatal shootings over the first two years of the strategy’s implementation.
ABOUT THE INDIANAPOLIS FOUNDATION
The Indianapolis Foundation, founded in 1916, is Indiana’s oldest and largest community foundation. The Indianapolis Foundation aims to mobilize people, ideas and investments to make this a community where all individuals have equitable opportunity to reach their full potential—no matter place, race or identity. It awards approximately $6.1 million annually from its endowment to support current and future community needs in Indianapolis and Marion County. The Foundation is governed by a board of six publicly appointed directors. Learn more about The Indianapolis Foundation.
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