United Way of Central Indiana will give $110,000 to nonprofits May 8

On May 8, seven local nonprofits will compete for thousands of dollars in grant money at United Way of Central Indiana’s Propel pitch contest.

They’ll present in front of an audience at Salesforce tower, before judges decide which worthy causes to give grants to. Plus, there’s a People’s Choice Award the audience votes on.

This year, Mirror Indy is one of the finalists. You can come to the event at Salesforce tower and watch Ariana Beedie, our community journalism director, talk about the impact Indy Documenters is having on our city. Documenters are Indianapolis neighbors trained and paid to take notes at public meetings.

You can grab a free ticket to the event, or join Propel through a livestream.

What is Propel?

Propel is an annual contest the United Way of Central Indiana has hosted for the last three years. At the event, nonprofits from around Indianapolis pitch their mission and story. United Way will give out at least $110,000 to the winners.

United Way has given out more than $250,000 to local nonprofits through Propel competitions since the event’s start in 2022.

You help choose who gets the money

At 5 p.m. on May 8, the seven finalists in the Propel competition will make their pitches at the Salesforce tower downtown. The audience votes on who wins money from the People’s Choice Award.

Who are the seven finalists?

Coburn Place Safe Haven

Coburn Place Safe Haven provides housing and rent support to survivors of domestic abuse. It’s for whole-family support, so there are programs for kids, too.

Deeply Ingrained, Inc.

The “grain” in “ingrained” is for wood grain. Deeply Ingrained, Inc. teaches woodworking skills to young people in underserved communities, and then gives the projects they create to nonprofits and educational partners for free.

Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis

Congregations and community organizations come together to share resources for people experiencing homelessness. Instead of building more shelters, Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis works with its partners to find housing solutions.

Free Press Indiana/Mirror Indy

If you’re reading this, hopefully you know Mirror Indy is a local nonprofit newsroom that provides community-based journalism. We’re here to inform and empower residents of Indianapolis to shape our city for the better. Free Press Indiana is the organization that launched Mirror Indy.

P30 Inc.

P30 is a coworking space, event space and community center at Post Road and 30th Street. The nonprofit was started to launch businesses, create jobs and build wealth for residents of the Far Eastside.

Pink-4-Ever Ending Disparities

Two organizations came together to form Pink-4-Ever Ending Disparities, which supports Black women and minority communities with breast cancer. There are four pillars to their mission: advocacy, education, research and empowerment.

reversebus foundation

At the Center Township Trustee’s office, you can see an example of reversebus foundation’s work. The foundation turns city buses and vending machines into resource hubs for people who are homeless. Their vision is to create buses where you can eat, sleep, shower and receive medical care.

If you’re inspired by this pitch competition, take advice from some of Propel’s past winners on how to pitch your own story to funders.

Mirror Indy reporter Sophie Young covers services and resources. Contact her at [email protected].

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