IndyEast Promise Zone

Helping the IndyEast Promise Zone keep its word

In 2007, the residents of the IndyEast neighborhood came together to reclaim their once prosperous neighborhood and make it a better place to live.

We got involved from the start—helping them to create a Quality of Life plan that would give their initiative a strong foundation.

In 2015, IndyEast was named a federal Promise Zone which gives it an advantage on applications for future federal funding to implement the changes outlined in their Quality of Life plan.

The Office of Community Engagement is one of the Promise Zone implementation partners.

Setting goals and making promises

The IndyEast Promise Zone has identified four promise areas that we are working with them to address:

  • Work IndyEast—Focuses on economic development and securing living wages for its residents through entrepreneurship, industrial reuse, and job training.
  • Buy IndyEast—Aims to establish healthy commercial areas in the neighborhood that serve as a destination for shopping, dining, and recreation for the entire region.
  • Safe IndyEast—Works to create a welcoming, secure neighborhood for everyone through crime prevention, youth intervention programming, and supportive reentry services.
  • Learn IndyEast—Focuses on ensuring all residents get an excellent education from birth to adulthood by providing developmentally appropriate early childhood services, high-quality and innovative schools, and access to postsecondary education and training.

Partnering with the community

For many years, IU Indianapolis has partnered with the John Boner Neighborhood Centers on the Near Eastside. The center provides multiple services for the community, and schools and units across campus are partners through work study jobs, community-engaged research, service learning and more.

Together, the community and IU Indianapolis work to address significant challenges in the Near Eastside, including education, health and community development.

Read more about the partnership

Help us revitalize our urban neighborhoods

Partner with us