Background
In 2020, Lilly Endowment invested $100 Million to support the quality of life for African Americans in Indianapolis/Marion County. The Indianapolis African American Quality of Life Initiative (IAAQLI) is a place-based community change project established through a partnership between the National Urban League, the Indianapolis Urban League, and the African American Coalition of Indianapolis. IAAQLI implemented a Comprehensive Opportunities Assessment (COA) and an Issue Prioritization Process (IPP) to engage stakeholders in discussions to help us identify current issues impacting the quality of life of African Americans in Indianapolis/Marion County and potential solutions to resolve the issues.
Using findings from the COA and IPP studies, IAAQLI created Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in nine strategy areas to address critical quality of life concerns of African Americans in Indianapolis/ Marion County. IAAQLI is committed to working in five areas: 1) Business Development and Entrepreneurship, 2) Education, 3) Employment, 4) Health and Wellness, and 5) Housing and Home Ownership.
Work to Date
Beginning in August 2021, IAAQLI reviewed a list of 5-6 recommended priorities in each issue area to determine which strategies might be used to address community concerns. We also determined which strategies needed to be released first and which ones needed more time for relationships, organizational capacity, potential creative ventures, additional resources, and/or interest to develop.
IAAQLI decided to develop RFPs in all five issue areas simultaneously rather than staggering them. We then identified 3-to 4 people teams for each issue area to prepare the request for proposals for the first round of grant funding for nine strategies across the five issue areas. It is important to note that strategies from other listed priorities will be addressed in future funding rounds. Potential grantees of IAAQLI must be registered not for profit (501c3) organizations and have liability insurance coverage.
For grantees, we recommended to the National Urban League, grant amount ranges consistent with costs associated with market conditions for project implementation and the timeline to complete them. All first-round grant awards may have up to a maximum of three years to complete funded projects. Please feel free to review the website, which includes several resources, research, and reports related to IAAQLI. The website will continue to be the landing site for important announcements, including future RFPs. The RFPs will be on the IAAQLI website by March 2022.
Next Steps
Timeline: In March 2022, the first round of RFPs will be announced with the process of review occurring in April 2022. IAAQLI will recommend successful grant applications to the National Urban League by early May 2022. Announcements of grant recipients will occur in June 2022.
The specific strategies selected from each issue area for Round 1 Funding are indicated below:
Funding Equity and Capacity Development for Black Business Development Organizations
Improving Educational Outcomes for Black Youth
Technical Skill Development and Employability
Food Justice and Quality Options
Racial Equity in Housing Development
Homeowner Repair and Economic Mobility
IAAQLI will publish the 2nd round of funding in the Fall of 2022
Future rounds of funding will be as follows:
Two (2) rounds in 2023
One (1) round in 2024
IAAQLI looks forward to partnering with organizations, foundations, and corporations to collaboratively advance the quality of life for African Americans in Indianapolis/Marion County.
Regards,
IAAQLI Leadership Team
Tony Mason, Indianapolis Urban League
Co-Director African American Quality of Life Initiative
Willis Bright, African American Coalition of Indianapolis
Co-Director African American Quality of Life Initiative
Karlin Tichenor, PhD
African American Quality of Life Initiative
Visit Our Website at www.iaaqli.org
