What’s in it for the individuals, organizations and companies that donate money to the efforts? Not typically tickets or advertising or big shout-outs. It’s civic pride more than anything else.
Over the past few weeks, Jennifer Pope Baker has spent pretty much every waking moment overseeing Indy’s effort to host this year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Indianapolis-based Sport Graphics is best known for its record-setting NCAA Final Four creations and the massive banners it creates to festoon the exteriors and interiors of everything from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Lucas Oil Stadium.
For international students seeking degrees at Indiana universities and hoping either to gain employment with domestic firms or start their own U.S.-based companies, the next four years promise to be far less angst-ridden and uncertain than the previous.
Maurer bought IBJ Media with a partner in 1990 with a goal of keeping the newspaper under local control. He also co-founded the National Bank of Indianapolis, served as Indiana secretary of commerce and had IU’s law school in Bloomington named in his honor.
Robbins has helped guide the massive Lilly Endowment as it switched from funding numerous high-profile brick-and-mortar projects to strengthening central Indiana’s human capital.
Under Payne’s leadership, the CICF doubled its annual grant-making to more than $50 million. And the nature of those projects has evolved.
Jones headed the Indianapolis Urban league from 1966 to 2002, devoting himself to such issues as housing, health care, education and improving police and community relations
A longtime activist on behalf of minority communities and public education, Brown covered a lot of professional bases during his eclectic on-air career, which began in 1976.
Harris has devoted her entire professional life to Wishard Hospital, which became Eskenazi Hospital, thanks in large part to her fundraising and organizing efforts.
Hudnut served an unprecedented four terms as mayor of Indianapolis, racking up an impressive list of accomplishments. He hosted the city’s first NCAA Final Four, presided over the construction of the Hoosier Dome, and lured the Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis.
Harris spent five years as the mayor’s charter schools director, and in 2006, he co-founded The Mind Trust, which has developed 29 schools and 12 education not-for-profits.
MacAllister ran mayoral campaigns for Richard Lugar and Bill Hudnut, founded the Indianapolis Parks Foundation, and, as a member of the Capital Improvement Board, played a vital role in developing the Hoosier Dome.
Thompson serves as chairman and CEO of four Indianapolis companies, including First Electric Supply Co. and Thompson Distribution Co. But over the years, he has built an equally impressive resume for volunteer service and philanthropy.
Crawford’s legislative accomplishments included co-authoring the Second Chance Act, which gave those with criminal records a path to rejoin society; creating the Low-Income Housing Trust Fund and the Minority Teachers Scholarship Fund; and supporting the drive to ban the execution of the mentally ill in Indiana. He died in 2015.
Though the redevelopment of downtown was the work of many, it’s hard to argue that the single, most game-changing moment wasn’t the sudden arrival of the Colts from Baltimore in 1984.
Becker has launched five Inc. 500 tech companies during his career and served as the first chairman and a founding member of TechPoint.
The Simon brothers not only founded and ran the nation’s largest shopping mall company, they saved the Indiana Pacers by buying the franchise at a crucial moment and helped make Circle Centre mall a reality.
A former Anthem executive, Frick helped broker some of the biggest deals in Indianapolis, including those to bring the Colts to the city and keep the Indiana Pacers here.
The former CEO of Long Electric Co., Shaheen has been active for decades at the University of Indianapolis, Arts Council of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Symphony, and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, where several dinosaurs on the museum’s exterior are named for her and her family.
