IndyEast Promise Zone

The IEMD was born out of the collaboration formalized by its predecessor initiative, the IndyEast Promise Zone. Promise Zones are high-poverty and high-capacity communities where the federal government worked with local leaders to increase efforts to achieve neighborhood-created goals and priorities.

Designated by the Obama Administration in 2015, the IndyEast Promise Zone (IEPZ) was one of only 22 Promise Zones selected nationwide through a competitive federal process. Led by John Boner Neighborhood Centers, the initiative brought residents, community organizations, major institutions, and public partners together around shared neighborhood priorities in housing and redevelopment, employment, economic activity, education, and public safety.

Over its ten-year designation, the IEPZ helped partners align resources, strengthen collaboration, and leverage more than $240 million in federal funding for 34 neighborhood organizations from 15 federal agencies. That collaboration created a strong foundation for the next chapter of this work: the IndyEast Economic Mobility District (IEMD), which builds on the partnerships and collective impact infrastructure established through the Promise Zone.

Read more about the initiative and explore its history at the IEPZ archive site.