INDIANAPOLIS — LISC Indianapolis and the city will work together on creating a Small Business Technical Assistance Hub and Capacity Building Program, as well as supporting the growth of LISC’s Equitable Food Access Initiative and Food Justice Collaborative. The grant funds are made possible through $3.2M in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
LISC Indianapolis will create a TA Hub for small businesses to provide needed operations assistance including bookkeeping assistance, marketing and branding assistance, legal assistance, tax preparation, HR support, and more. In addition, the TA Hub will link businesses to credit repair and credit building loans available through the LISC-hosted Indianapolis Small Business CDFI Collaborative.
In addition, funds have been allocated for LISC’s Equitable Food Access Initiative. The initiative is driven by the creation of the Food Justice Collaborative, whose membership consists of 40 individuals and 24 organizations that meet monthly under a community agreement to build a sustainable food system that assures food security for all residents. With this funding, LISC will work with food expert consultants for much-needed ecosystem mapping. In addition, the funding will allow the placement of seven community food builders within Indianapolis’ food deserts who are tasked with representing their neighborhoods and engaging with partners and public policy experts.
Also, LISC will administer subgrants to six organizations to support operations and logistics related to food security of underserved populations in Marion County, including Nine13 Logistics (a division of Nine13 Sports), Edna Martin Christian Center, Christamore House, Flanner House, CAFE (Community Alliance of the Far Eastside), and Growing Places Indy.