Beginning in January 2025, the Indianapolis Foundation deepened its efforts to advance equity and opportunity across Indianapolis and Marion County through the launch of the Equity Imperative 2030 — a five-year strategic plan. Building on the momentum and impact of the 2018–2023 Inclusive City plan, the Foundation will expand its work to remove systemic barriers and create a more inclusive and thriving community for all.
The Indianapolis Foundation has defined a four-dimension vision for advancing equity that builds on our past experiences while forging a more focused pathway:
Four-Dimension Vision
- Housing Equity will exist when all residents of Indianapolis and Marion County can access quality, safe, and affordable housing in communities with an appropriate combination of supportive and enabling services.
- Economic Equity will exist when prosperity is widely shared and all in Indianapolis and Marion County can earn a living wage, participate in a thriving economy, and build generational wealth.
- Health Equity will exist when all in Indianapolis and Marion County enjoy conditions necessary to support healthy lifestyles for them and their families without undue differences in health outcomes based on age, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, race, income, or geographic location.
- Environmental Equity will exist when all in Indianapolis and Marion County can live in a healthy built and natural environment.
Housing
Due to elevated prices and rising interest rates, the affordability of purchasing a home in Indianapolis is near its lowest point in more than 15 years. In 2022, on average, more than 920 evictions and 110 foreclosures were recorded in Indianapolis each month. Community members most often cited job loss and lack of income as the main cause of their homelessness. According to a Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, which provides a single-night snapshot of homelessness in the community, Marion County had 1,701 unhoused and unsheltered individuals on Jan. 24, 2024. Black residents continued to be overrepresented among neighbors experiencing homelessness, with 53% represented in the 2024 PIT count. Also, 37% of the total 2024 PIT count were women and girls.
Economic
As of July 2024, an estimated 257,449 Marion County households were below the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) threshold. While ALICE households earn above the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), they cannot afford basic costs of living in their county, especially as the cost of basic necessities increases faster than the overall rate of inflation. Childcare costs also can present one of the highest Survival Budget costs for households with children.
ALICE households earn above the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but cannot afford basic costs of living in their county, especially as the cost of basics increases faster than the overall rate of inflation.
Health
Prioritizing health equity ensures that all members of the community have a fair and just opportunity to attain their optimal health. It means that a ZIP Code, or one’s race or ethnicity, should not determine access to health care, the quality of the care received, and health outcomes. Achieving health equity in Marion County and Indianapolis means improving access to necessary services, particularly in areas with significant shortages or barriers, such as mental health and substance abuse treatment. It also requires tackling systemic issues that disproportionately affect marginalized and underserved communities.
The Elevation Grant Program
- Addressing the root causes of violent crime.
- Empowering communities.
The grant program will give priority (through an equity framework) to organizations that clearly demonstrate immediate intentionality around violence reduction and support programs using evidence-based violence reduction programming or promising strategies that, in addition, elevate the assets, aspirations, hope, and improve the safety of neighborhoods impacted by violence:
- Are place-based efforts designed to promote neighborhood safety and reduce or prevent crime in a specific geographical area as defined by a neighborhood and/or community.
- Led by engaged and mobilized residents and community leaders.
- Focus their efforts on providing supportive services (such as employment, education, mentoring, recreation, mental health supports, and family support services) to youth and young adults who face unique challenges and may have a higher likelihood of community disengagement without the proper intervention strategies.
- Provide supports to youth (16-24) and young adults (24-35) currently interacting with the criminal legal system to community-based services to build the necessary infrastructure to prevent violent crimes in Indianapolis with wrap-around services.
- Focus on individuals most at-risk of violent victimization or perpetration of violent acts (previously shot/known gun activity, close friend/family member shot in last 12 months), providing 24/7 crisis response services and supports for the priority population, ages of 18-35.
- Partner with public agencies in collaboration (The Office of Public Health & Safety, the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, law enforcement, courts, probation, and parole) to help prevent crime in our community.
Geographic location: Marion County
Environmental
Environmental justice will be achieved in Marion County “when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to decision-making processes in order to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn and work.”
A focus on environmental justice is critical to addressing disproportionate environmental burdens found in Marion County for specific ZIP Codes and neighborhoods, such as high energy costs, pollution, and excessive utility shut-offs. It also includes ensuring that environmental justice initiatives involve addressing historical inequities, such as redlining, by creating equitable access to clean energy, and improving infrastructure.