Mirror Indy won nearly $40,000 in grant money May 8 at the United Way of Central Indiana’s Propel pitch contest.
Launched in December 2023, the local newsroom was among six nonprofits that vied for around $100,000 during the pitch competition before a panel of community leaders who judged the competition at Salesforce Tower.
Mirror Indy won $19,994.95 through the People’s Choice Award, which was based on votes submitted by community members in person and virtually. It won an additional $20,000 from Audiochuck, the Indy-based media company behind the podcast “Crime Junkie” that also helped fund the Propel competition. That award is typically given to one participant, but Audiochuck made a surprise announcement to split it between two contestants.
Ariana Beedie, Mirror Indy’s community journalism director, made the successful pitch to the judges. She said the funds will support Indy Documenters, which covers public meetings in Marion County. It also will support Mirror Indy’s work to help people who feel disconnected from local information and produce stories that fill gaps in local news coverage.
“We’re different,” Beedie said. “As a mission-aligned nonprofit, we measure the value of our work on the impact it creates for neighbors.”
The top prize of $40,000 went to Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis, an organization that provides wraparound services and shelter to people experiencing homelessness. One program places people in apartments instead of a traditional homeless shelter.
Executive Director Matt Fultz’s presentation captivated panelists by describing how the organization helped a woman with two children who were experiencing homelessness. She became a homeowner in roughly a year.
The organization’s apartment shelter program has served 355 families, according to Fultz, and 70% secured their own housing.
“It extends privacy and dignity to these families,” Fultz said. “It can reduce the trauma associated with homelessness. Oftentimes, the children in our program don’t even realize they’re in a homeless shelter.”
In its fourth year, United Way of Central Indiana’s Propel pitch competition awards local organizations for innovative projects that seek to improve socioeconomic barriers for Indy residents. The competition is open to nonprofits in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion, Morgan and Putnam counties. This year’s competition was sponsored by Audiochuck, J.C. Hart Co., Resultant and UNITY Tek Systems.
“Central Indiana is not unique in that it has its challenges,” said Jonathan Jones, United Way’s senior director of social innovation. “But we know that the solutions to those challenges are ultimately going to be done by us coming together and by us getting a little more creative about how we choose to tackle the future, and what we choose to do for our neighbors.”
Instead of writing a traditional long-form grant application, community members submit a five-minute video explaining why they need the funds in order to continue their work. Then they complete a virtual interview with judges. Once the finalists are selected, each group is allotted five minutes to pitch their work to local business leaders and community judges.
In splitting its award, Audiochuck also gave $20,000 to P30 Inc, an organization that provides a coworking space and wraparound resources, educational support and mentorship to budding entrepreneurs on Indy’s far east side. By 2032, they hope to support 300 businesses, create 3,000 jobs and generate $30 million in equity.
In the future, P30 Inc wants the initiative to become a model that can be replicated in two additional Indianapolis communities.
“We don’t need another program that comes and goes,” P30 Inc’s executive director Tamise Cross said. “We need an ecosystem that stays and grows.”
Mirror Indy ‘thankful’ for the support
Peter Hanscom, chief development officer for Mirror Indy’s support organization Free Press Indiana, said he was grateful to share the stage with other nonprofit leaders working to shape the community’s future.
“We’re especially thankful to everyone who voted for us in the People’s Choice and the Audiochuck team for lifting up the vital role that local news plays in sharing information, connecting people to resources and ensuring Indy residents have a newsroom whose coverage reflects their lives,” Hanscom said.
Bro Krift, CEO of Free Press Indiana, said it’s an honor to be a part of competition and among “amazing nonprofit organizations changing lives across central Indiana.”
“Ari did a tremendous job showing off the community-changing work she and her peers do on a daily basis,” Krift said. “To be recognized with the People’s Choice and honored by Audiochuck fills us with pride.”
Other competitors included:
- Coburn Place Safe Haven, which provides housing and rent support to survivors of domestic abuse.
- Deeply Ingrained, Inc., which teaches woodworking skills to young people in underserved communities, and then gives the projects they create to nonprofits and educational partners for free.
- Pink-4-Ever Ending Disparities, which supports Black women and minority communities who have breast cancer.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Elizabeth Gabriel covers the south side of Marion County. Contact her at elizabeth.gabriel@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X at @_elizabethgabs.
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