Donation Match Through June 30th: Elevate Indy's 2025 Spring Appeal

Hello friends,

I'm writing to you with an urgent request to consider, asking for your continued support, as our Class of 2025 seniors will experience the power of a post-secondary plan this month, and you have an opportunity to double your impact, up to $30,000.

Many of our city’s urban students and alumni are facing challenges related to poverty and inequality, but you may be thinking your support can’t make an impact. 

However, I’d like to tell you a personal story to offer encouragement. In mid-January, we took a foster placement of 2 little girls. While a family member works to get custody again, we’re the foster parents, as we’ve done many times in the past 8 years. 

These girls were dropped off around 9 pm with a trash bag of their belongings by a DCS staff member. While my wife was talking to DCS, I took the girls upstairs to their bedroom. When I showed them their bedroom and told them it was theirs. The first thing they both did was get on their beds, as one declared, “Look sissy we each have our own beds.” They’d been moving often, including living in a shelter. 

Today, it’s easy to believe that we don’t have enough and forget the “little” things we have, like two extra beds and a small bedroom in a warm house with food.  Those words reminded me that small things I take for granted can be a profound blessing to someone else.  

Remember a time when someone did something for you that they thought was small, but it was life-changing for you? Right now, your “little” donation may be someone else’s profound blessing in a time of need. Many of the kids in our city need each of us to offer the best we have to do our part on their behalf. 

Sadly, many Elevate students are often not equipped to overcome the barriers that stand between them and future success. With Elevate, and a supportive community, our graduates will graduate with a post-secondary plan and hope! 

Through March, Elevate has served over 1,200 students and alumni!

Right now, thanks to an anonymous donor, the first $30,000 of this $100,000 spring appeal through June 30th will be matched dollar-for-dollar, in support of establishing a new position of Family & Alumni Growth and Persistence Manager. The remaining $70,000 provides much-needed funding to sustain great impact. 

You can help make it possible to fully support our current students and young alumni, with a generous gift. 

Your gift will help ensure that students are supported with one-on-one mentoring, education, life and character skills training, and a plan for the future.

• Year-long, day-by-day classroom learning, character development, and essential workforce skills preparation. 
• Goal setting and post-secondary preparedness for our seniors can be on a path to upward economic mobility, to realize the power of having a plan. 
• Elevate has had a 5-year running 99% high school graduation rate!

Will you help give our city’s youth the attention and support they need to achieve success? Your support now will mean that no changes to programming will need to be made, with the first $30,000 of giving to establish our first full-time Family & Alumni Growth and Persistence Manager to continue the life-changing mission with families and alumni. 

Please send your best gift by June 30th to help Elevate Indy end this fiscal year strong, or commit to being a monthly donor securely online.

Thank you for helping us finish our fiscal year strong and for being an incredible part of the Elevate Indy family.

Kindest regards, 

Aaron Story

President & CEO

Elevate Indianapolis

P.S. If you have any questions about this campaign or need assistance with making your donation, please don't hesitate to contact me at Aaron@elevateindy.org.