The nonprofit, which raises money to support Indiana Economic Development Corp. activities, was singled out by Gov. Mike Braun amid calls for greater transparency regarding taxpayer dollars.
Gov. Mike Braun ordered the audit in April, citing unspecified concerns about transparency at the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and its related entities.
The move came hours after Gov. Mike Braun—whose administration last spring froze funding for the nonprofit—made an unscheduled appearance at Elevate’s Rally innovation conference.
Boston Consulting Group was hired in April to prepare a report that seeks to answer “whether data centers provide sufficient return on investment for Indiana.”
“The governor has been very clear: We’re just not in the land development business, and it’s not a core competency,” Commerce Secretary David Adams told IBJ.
Indianapolis-based Elevate, a nonprofit venture investment firm, has been operating under a cloud since late April when state officials froze its funding.
Boston Consulting Group is researching the economics of data centers and is expected to produce a white paper report detailing the best way for the state to approach such proposals.
Jeff Blade has served as the Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s executive director for less than a year.
The warning comes after the venture development firm defaulted on an angel investment program.
Indiana’s new Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is expected to focus on Main Street businesses—small businesses that are not venture-backed, not easily scaled and found in many towns and cities across the state.
Also, at Wednesday’s meeting, the IEDC board’s entrepreneurship committee updated the investment policy for the Indiana Angel Network Fund III LLC—the investment fund managed by Elevate Ventures through which the SSBCI money flows.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. estimates that the data center incentives are worth an estimated $168 million in total tax savings for the combined projects over the next 35 years.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp.-approved funding exceeds initial requests for the project, which would include a Shinola Hotel and a venue to be managed by Live Nation.
The sweeping move fulfills a pledge Braun made Thursday when he confirmed he planned to dismantle and reconstruct the existing board of the state’s economic development agency.
Elevate Ventures and Indianapolis-based marketing, strategy and investment firm Prolific have merged their fall conferences.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun confirmed Thursday that he plans to reconstruct the board of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. with new members beginning Monday.
The Governor’s Office confirmed that agencies under both the education and commerce verticals announced staff reductions on Tuesday. The Indiana State Museum also let go of several employees last week.
Almost exactly one year ago, Indiana officials publicly announced a significant entrepreneurial resource the state had been quietly working on for several years—the launch of a $100 million investment fund to help young companies scale up their businesses. A lot has changed since then.
Business leaders are encouraging state commerce officials to retain the programs that have led to what they say has been a “strong ROI” in the past.
Gov. Mike Braun announced the audit last month, citing potential “impropriety” at the IEDC. He also announced a freeze of all state funds associated with Elevate Ventures.
