You know the year is coming to a close when you finally get used to writing the correct year on a document. While this particular year started off a little rough (I mean…that weather?), we had a lot of high moments that have made 2014 one to remember.
Last week we shared some of these big wins with our boards of directors (don’t know them? We bet you do…). We thought our friends might also be interested in hearing them. After all, we share these accomplishments with each of you.
Thanks to some amazing investors and penny pinching wherever we could, we were able to close a significant gap in our approved 2014 budget and head into 2015 with a bit of cushion. As with every year, IndyHub is grateful for those corporations, small businesses, individuals and foundations that understand the value of engaging young professionals in our community.
February was a month to rejoice. Not just because the snow was melting (oh wait, there it was again…) but because we met the third piece of the IndyHub puzzle. Jenny Walton joined our staff and hit the ground running. In the last nine months, Jenny has completely overhauled IndyHub’s internal systems, expanded our social channels, gave our blogs new life and has been an all-around awesome person to be with on a daily basis.
A constant cause for celebration has always been the breadth and variety of our events under the sage and ever-attentive guidance of Karissa Hulse. In addition to two fantastic Raise Your IQ events – The Chasm between Rural and Metro Indiana and Live Indy: A City Budget Primer, we also launched a new neighborhood series in late summer. These evenings took us on tours of two of Indy’s hottest neighborhoods: Fletcher Place/Fountain Square and Irvington. Get ready for more of that in 2015!
We also launched a new annual event, Indy Redefined. Achieve, our partners in this half day celebration of some of our community’s change makers and innovators, have become great friends in the process. We felt like our staff multiplied again and again in the several weeks leading up to the big day…and can’t wait to do it again in 2015.
Our last event of the year was by far our most powerful. Awkward Conversations, part of the Spirit & Place Festival, invited attendees to have some real conversations about race and difference. In my nearly ten years of working on engaging twenty and thirty-somethings in our city, this ranked in my top five. With the final event capped off, we hosted 36 original events in 2014. Not too shabby.
Our Passport to the Arts series, presented by Lilly, continues to amaze us. This year we are encouraged by a 14% increase in subscribers. We added a new partner in the IMA in 2014, allowing us to provide a visual arts component to the mix while continuing to expand the base of young professional patrons of the arts.
Our annual signature event, Get IndyVolved, logged another record setting year with 80 organizations and 850+ in attendance. We had new sponsors, Apparatus and Buckingham Foundation, as well as a new promotional partner, Old Soul Entertainment, who collectively added to our attendee base.
You might have noticed that our volunteer database is fully up and running, providing a way for organizations to list ways for young professionals to engage all year long. We are really excited about this new piece of our site; frankly it’s been something we’ve aimed to do for some time!
The IndyHub Foundation enjoyed its first full year of operation and, in turn, enhanced IndyHub’s relationships with each of its supporting organizations. We are lucky to have the chance to work with these folks and can’t wait to see what 2015 brings in the way of events and partnerships.
Next year IndyHub turns ten. Wow. When I think back to my first day on the job, I never could have envisioned where we would be today. Everyday I work alongside team of passionate, brilliant and ever-ready staff and a host of equally energetic and ready-to-do-anything volunteers. Most of all, we have the privilege of working with a network of twenty- and thirty-somethings who are eager to make their mark on Indy all the while making Indy their home.
Thank you all for a great year and have a very safe holiday season.
