INDIANAPOLIS — The IndyGo Foundation is thrilled to invite local 501(c)3 nonprofits to apply to its 2024-25 Bus Fare Grant Program that awards up to $4,000 in transportation funding to each selected organization.
Applications are now open until Monday, Sept. 30. Grants are expected to be announced in early 2025, culminating in a celebratory event on Transit Equity Day, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.
Through a partnership with IndyGo, the IndyGo Foundation is entering its fourth year of offering this competitive grant program which underscores the organization’s foundational message that public transit is essential.
Director of Essential Services at the Damien Center and a 2023-24 Bus Fare Grant recipient Jaime Reynolds explains, “These passes enabled us to provide transportation to participants who do not qualify for other transportation services due to funding restrictions. They have helped decrease food insecurity, improve health outcomes, and allowed participants to make important appointments with their care teams.”
Cornerstone Ministries of Indiana Vice President Michelle Miller adds, “This allowed some of our people to get and maintain employment, which then helped them to be able to get housing and break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness that comes along with it.”
Last year, the Foundation’s Bus Fare Grant Program awarded $339,030 to 100 local nonprofits to increase public transportation accessibility for Marion County residents. Since the program’s inception in 2021, awareness has rapidly grown, and the number of applicants has more than doubled.
“Thanks to the support from our partners, such as the IU Health Community Impact Investment Fund and the Nicholas H. Noyes, Jr. Memorial Foundation, we are pleased to open another round of Bus Fare Grants for distribution in 2025. These grants are a tool for equity, ensuring the most vulnerable individuals in our community have access to affordable transportation,” said IndyGo Foundation Executive Director Emily Meaux.
The IndyGo Foundation also offers nonprofit organizations a 50% discount on purchasing full-fare bus passes. Nonprofit discount applications are currently open and accepted year-round. The goal of these programs is to make it easier for nonprofits to assist under-resourced clients with transportation freedom. Using the bus passes provides Indianapolis residents the opportunity to seek employment and education and obtain food, healthcare and other essential services. In addition to these resources for nonprofits supported by the Foundation, IndyGo offers free and reduced programs to individual veterans, seniors, those with disabilities and students.
These fare assistance programs are supported by the IndyGo Foundation’s Mobility Access Fund in partnership with IndyGo. Donations can be made to support these programs online here. To learn more, register for an information session or apply for Bus Fare Grants or discounts, see the IndyGo Foundation’s Nonprofit Resources Page.
If you have any questions about the nonprofit grants, please contact IndyGo Foundation Director of Programs and Operations Rachel Moss.
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