Summary of 2025 Arago Honor Recipients
Case studies showcase six remarkable disruptive innovators, one start-up and one incremental nonprofit recipient from Meridian Foundation
Eight nonprofits shared $145,000 in the fifth year of the Meridian Foundation’s recognition program for innovating nonprofits. The Meridian Foundation seeks to encourage nonprofits in our community to create better and more creative solutions.
Among the projects receiving funding this year are Marian University’s classroom inside a prison for incarcerated women, a new source of local journalism at Mirror Indy, NeuroHope’s new affordable neurological healthcare recovery facility and partnership, new playwright development with the New Harmony Project, PACE’s new workforce development for individuals released from prison, Triple T Academy’s drone education programming, and a new nature preserve from a repurposed/abandoned golf course by Zionsville Parks Foundation.
Each recipient of an Arago Honor award has been assigned a ranking, from start-up to disruptive, to show nonprofits that there is more than one kind of innovation when implementing creative community solutions. For the first time in 2025 a record number of six nonprofits earned the disruptive innovator ranking, showing how robust the entrepreneurial spirit is in central Indiana.
Marian University’s Women’s College Partnership (WCP)
Earns recognition for providing liberal arts college degrees to women at the Indiana Women’s Prison and for replicating the classroom experience. WCP began in 2019 with just 16 enrolled students and has grown to 53 women during the 2025-26 academic year. Forty-seven degrees have been conferred. WCP graduates have a recidivism rate of 1.25. percent compared to 24.4 percent for women released in Indiana.
WCP receives $20,000 as a disruptive innovator.
Educational opportunities inside prison walls are not a new innovation as numerous programs have come and gone over the years. But Marian University’s commitment to create an environment that is as close to college as possible for incarcerated women sets it apart and affirms their passion for changing women’s lives.
“We are proudly committed to creating a college environment for these women,” says WCP’s Director Justin McDevitt. “At new student orientation, we even talk about how, when that door closes, this classroom is no longer Indiana Women’s Prison; it is Marian University.” Justin further explains that “we always refer to our students as ‘students’, not by any language that foregrounds their place in prison.” For these incarcerated women pursing their own liberal arts education it is life-changing to be seen first and foremost as students.
Recently, in December 2025 WCP was selected as a founding partner in a groundbreaking national initiative to advance postsecondary education for incarcerated learners. As part of this inaugural Prison Education Research Initiative (PERI) cohort, Marian University will join 22 colleges and universities nationwide in a multi-institutional study aimed at improving outcomes. The collection of reliable data and the belief that programs like WCP significantly contribute to success upon release, will strengthen the measurement of WCP and the broader college-in-prison field.
Marian University has enrolled over 8 percent of the total population of the Indiana Women’s Prison in WCP.
Rationale for Selection: WCP, began as a collaboration between Marian University and Bard College, then continued between Marian University and the University of Notre Dame, and is now housed fully at Marian. This strong foundation of supporting incarcerated women in prison and current deep commitment by Marian University to educational access, human dignity and the transformative power of learning for all will continue to power WCP forward.
Mirror Indy/Free Press Indiana
Is honored for its strong start using a new form of local journalism. In two years, it has become a leader in nonprofit-community centered news, giving residents of Indianapolis vital information to navigate daily life and improve their communities. Mirror Indy is rebuilding trust in local media by producing accessible service-oriented journalism. The newsroom is part of American Journalism Project’s Start Up Studio, a national network to strengthen communities, preserve democracy and rebuild local news, while acknowledging a news industry in crisis.
Mirror Indy receives $18,000 as a disruptive innovator.
By blending national insights with local listening, Mirror Indy is building a newsroom that is both forward thinking and deeply grounded. Their work is proving that when local journalism centers community needs, learns from peers, and puts innovation to work for people it can be transformative.
In 2021 a steering committee of local journalism, community and business leaders worked with the American Journalism Project to conduct a comprehensive statewide research study to determine if Hoosiers wanted more unbiased, fact- based information about their communities. Feedback from 1100 supportive respondents in 79 counties set the stage for launching Free Press Indiana, a new nonprofit organization with a mission to fill information gaps. The coalition raised almost $10 million for the start-up organization and formed a search committee for a new leadership team.
Mirror Indy is at the forefront of a new kind of local journalism –one that prioritizes services over clicks, and access over algorithms.
These key innovations set Mirror Indy apart:
Service- driven content that improves lives.
Collaborative, not competitive news partnerships free to access, and available for republishing.
Multi -channel distribution using texts and social media that meets people where they are.
The Indianapolis Documenters, a program that trains and pays residents to participate in news gathering, while empowering citizens to become involved.
A DEI approach that informs reporting by embedding journalist in neighborhoods and uses plain language to prioritize trust-building over extraction.
This new restructured from of journalism has a goal to have less half of their annual revenue from grants and foundation gifts before their fifth year of operation.
“We are building something at Mirror Indy, rather than tearing down and working in the struggling current news industry,” explains Free Press Indiana CEO Bro Krift. “I don’t have all the answers. But I am hoping that this new model of local journalism is more sustainable than the industry that trained me 20 years ago. “
Rationale for Selection: It is an honor to recognize this new innovative nonprofit newsroom in Indianapolis that is challenging the status quo on so many fronts –-no paywall, no subscriptions, newsletter distribution, strong initial seed funding, seasoned professionals plus emerging journalists on staff, strong partnerships with other local news gathering sources, embedding reporters in neighborhoods, and peer learning from a national network to strengthen local communities and preserve democracy. We wish them success as they assess how they improve citizens’ lives, build trust and become a sustainable nonprofit in our city.
NeuroHope of Indiana
Bridges the gap in care for individuals recovering from neurological conditions by offering affordable, long-term rehabilitation and wellness services outside the constraints of health insurance. The nonprofit is serving more clients in a repurposed 25,000 square foot space in a new campus it shares with Conquer Paralysis Now. In 2015 NeuroHope served 50 individuals and ten years later it has grown to 300 patients annually.
NeuroHope is recognized with $18,000 as a disruptive innovator.
The inception of NeuroHope began when its founder Chris Leeuw sustained a spinal cord injury in a 2010 swimming accident at the age of 28 that initially left him paralyzed from the neck down. Chris’ personal experience drove him to create a facility that would provide the kind of rehabilitation he sought during his lengthy recovery. Chris rehabbed in Utah at a unique clinic with affordable, cutting-edge therapies, not available in Indiana. This vision and experience laid the groundwork for NeuroHope, founded in 2014 as a 501(c)(3) public charity.
At the program level NeuroHope may not be considered innovative. What sets it apart and makes it distinctive is NeuroHope provides a cost-sensitive model for complex neurological injuries. Traditional healthcare insurers cover an average of 30 visits per year. Self-pay visits cost between $400 and $500 per hour of care (if self-pay is available). The fee schedule at NeuroHope is a flat $75 per hour of care, roughly 16% of traditional costs. Financial assistance patients can apply for pro-bono care and Medicaid eligible patients can apply for grants that cover pro bono care. In addition to therapy programs, NeuroHope offers a wellness program and gym membership to an adaptive fitness center and daily group classes for $50 a month.
Every neurological injury is different and no recovery is the same. However, every recovery journey requires long- term access to rehabilitative care for the central nervous system to repair within a critical two -year window, following the initial injury.
Over the past decade, NeuroHope has forged significant partnerships signifying immense trust and validating the model’s strength. An early partnership with the University of Indianapolis provided operating space, research programs and interns to educate a new generation of professionals in neurological rehabilitation. The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation has allowed NeuroHope to integrate cutting edge therapy tools in its clinic. The new partnership with Conquer Paralysis Now is allowing them to build a larger rehabilitative campus to reach more patients in central Indiana.
Rationale for Selection: This nonprofit has grown in stature since it began in 2014. The impact of NeuroHope’s mission is validated by a two-year research study by the Indiana Department of Health. Survey results reveal that NeuroHope patients experience a 50 % reduction in readmissions compared to national averages, and patient hospital stays were 71% shorter. NeuroHope has also earned a net promoter score (NPS) of 91, significantly higher than the healthcare industry average of 58.
The New Harmony Project (NHP)
Earns recognition for its artist-centered pairing of professional playwrights with local producing theatres to reverse the decline of new play development in the U.S. NHP is an incubator, covering all exploratory costs and supporting early writing development expenses to prepare plays for production. By reimagining new play development, partnering theatres participate without financial risk and writers are more likely to succeed.
NHP’s PlayFest Indy earns $12,5000 as an incremental innovator.
The NHP’s mission is to nurture writers first and foremost. Their distinctive approach begins with building relationships between writers and theatre leaders. NHP’s centers relationship-building and partnership in a way that no other new work incubator in the country can match.
By nurturing relationships, NHP builds a foundation for future projects and has stronger potential to impact a writer beyond just one play. By paying the artists directly for their work (rather than subsidizing a theatre), the artist and theatre both continue to benefit from the relationship over a longer time. Whether the theatre-writer partnership is based in Indianapolis through PlayFest Indy or at their residency program in New Harmony, NHP commits to making the relationship successful-- beyond just providing funding.
Linking early-stage development to producing partners and removing cost barriers, NHP not only expands creative opportunity for artists but deepens civic dialogue, strengthening the local arts economy, and modeling a sustainable future for new play development. This simple solution and redirection of focus on the playwrights, creates more new plays, enhances a more diverse community of writers and extends valuable workshop time for writers honing a new play.
The NHP mission began in 1986 when a group of theatre, film and television professionals gathered in New Harmony to explore the trend in entertainment arts of exploitative and sensational themes. They concluded there was a need to engage and support writers with different goals. The peaceful serenity of New Harmony served as the backdrop for writers, allowing them time and space to dream, create, develop, and workshop new scripts. In more recent years the mission has been updated to reflect a new set of values, and recognize that hope is complicated and deeply personal. PlayFest Indy is the latest iteration of their innovative work to support playwrights.
Rationale for Selection: Strong financial support for NHP comes from local foundations who believe in the benefits of nurturing playwrights. NHP says their innovative artistic fermentation and discovery benefits both creators and Institutions and reverses the contraction of new play development. We applaud NHPs continual evolution.
PACE (Public Advocates in Community reEntry)
Is addressing unemployment and under employment for men and women released from incarceration. PACE designed Launching Your Career (LYC) on an “ABC Model” (Any Job, Better Job, Career) to provide a holistic, phased pathway that moves participants beyond basic employment to sustainable, higher wage-careers. In one year, 22 formerly incarcerated students have graduated from LYC and 12 in the program have achieved 6-month job retention.
PACE receives $16,500 as a disruptive innovator.
PACE has taken an overall complex problem of workforce development for the formerly incarcerated and broken it down into a multi-phased simple solution. Moving from Any Job --> Better Job --> Career is a smart, incremental strategy that realistically acknowledges immediate needs of returning hard- to- employ citizens to the job market.
By reframing the reentry journey as a career pathway—not just a job hunt—they are establishing a mindset that reflects modern workforce principles.
PACE has been in the reentry space since 1960 and LYC shows they are constantly evolving. Few nonprofits in Indianapolis work in reentry using a holistic lens. PACE’s multi-prong approach removes employment barriers:
Participants are paid a stipend while in training, with wages increasing over time. The stipend removes a major barrier to access and allows participants to focus on education and training, leading to better long-term outcomes.
By incorporating Moral Recognition Therapy (MRT), a proven cognitive-behavioral curriculum that reduces criminal thinking and behavior, PACE is encouraging positive thinking, open discussion, and how to reach employment goals
Practical immersion (over 8 weeks) combines foundational financial literacy and job readiness in 160 classroom hours and 80 hours of manufacturing or construction training for participants.
LYC targets “second-chance employers” to create more direct pipelines to high-demand jobs.
The Lilly Endowment, Inc. and Indianapolis Urban League African American Quality of Life Initiative (IAAQLI provided $300,000 of seed funding for PACE’s LYC in 2023 after extensive research identified gaps in Central Indiana’s existing reentry services. PACE presented a compelling case to funders, emphasizing their holistic model and the potential for the formerly incarcerated for long-term independence. Grant funding paid to write program curriculum, formalize partnerships, build a first- floor PACE classroom, and hire a dedicated employment and education coach.
Rationale for Selection: The impressive 90% job placement rate from PACE’s initial cohorts is the program’s most powerful advocacy tool. This tangible impact has generated significant funder interest. PACE reports that foundations and government agencies are increasingly attracted to programs that demonstrate, clear measurable outcomes and address systemic issues of recidivism and workforce employment.
P 30
An entrepreneurial support nonprofit, earns recognition for transforming a 30,000 square foot-space donated by Volumod (modular home factory) into a community hub that stimulates economic development on the Far Eastside by providing entrepreneurs access to resources and creating pathways to strengthen local residents. This innovator uses a hybrid approach to serve 500 members by building sustainable, viable, and community-driven businesses. Housed in the ecosystem are work and meeting spaces, a commercial kitchen, coffee house, laundry facilities, game room, art gallery, fitness, printing and technology access. A blended funding formula allows P30 to cover 70 percent of its operating budget through earned income revenue, making the nonprofit less reliant on grants and more resilient.
P30 receives $20,000 as a disruptive innovator.
Launch Business in a Box (LBNB) offers a fellowship that provides deep sustained support to business leaders for three years, integrating personal, financial and social impact development. The design goes beyond individual entrepreneurs to reshape how ecosystems serve underrepresented communities and measure success.
Most entrepreneurship initiatives have a single focus as a co-working space, accelerator or mentoring facilitator. P30’s holistic approach produces stronger results and impact because they are serving the whole business enterprise.
Tamise Cross, CEO of P30 explains the program’s inception, “P30 began with my work in youth development, where I saw a gap. Youth would grow through leadership programs, but their households could not support that growth. We created this project to empower families through entrepreneurship, recognizing that building generational wealth transforms the entire household, not just an individual.”
Replication of the P30 model is underway in Anderson, Indiana in a space called InerG. Cory Graham, CEO of InerG, was introduced to the P30 business support model by a friend, who is a pastor of an Anderson church and its building owner. The church was seeking to launch a co-working space that would stimulate Anderson’s economic growth similar to P30. InerG and P30 share the same operational model and vision.
Meaningful partnerships have also been instrumental in building P30’s innovative tenant space:
Volumod’s modular pods, built in the factory behind P30 and rolled out upon demand, are placed in P30’s HUB or in the heart of the tenant workspace. Each pod offers 120 square feet of modern building materials and white walls for each tenant to customize.
Innopower and Emil Ekiyor partner with P30 to ensure that minority-owned businesses within their network fully utilize P30 amenities. This reciprocal relationship amplifies impact for both organizations.
Anthony Murdock, recognized local minority-owned business entrepreneur, has also created a dynamic partnership with P30 by hosting his community programs on site.
JPMorgan Chase Bank has provided crucial CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) funds that support P30’s networking opportunities and community engagement.
Key Bank has similarly invested in P30’s mission by providing entrepreneurial funds.
Indianapolis Urban League jumpstarted the entire P30 ecosystem with a transformational grant in 2022.
Rationale for Selection: P30’s story shows that the nonprofit has been able to overcome fear of collaboration. In many communities, competition overshadows connection. P30 disrupts the narrative. “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together,” is the core of the work accomplished by P30 CEO Tamise Cross and her entrepreneurial team.
Triple T Academy
Is an innovative STEM program introducing students to potential careers in aviation using drones. Triple T is the only nonprofit Indiana offering hands-on FAA Part 107 commercial drone pilot training, including a drone soccer program to spark student interest. Triple T Academy is recognized for demonstrating highly creative thinking and for reframing students’ intense engagement with screens and video games into a viable workforce solution.
This nonprofit receives $15,000 as a start-up innovator.
Ron Berry started Triple T Academy with few resources after retirement. His passion to make a difference in the nonprofit sector led him to enroll in classes at the Fundraising School, hosted by the I. U. Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In class he built Triple T from the ground up and took the blueprint to the Indiana Secretary of State and the IRS to apply for Triple T Academy’s nonprofit status.
This nonprofit, started in 2018, demonstrates highly creative thinking by reframing a perceived problem--students’ intense engagement with screens and video games. The innovation lies not just in using drones, but using it as a gateway. This nonprofit creatively leverages students’ existing technological fluency as a foundational skillset, effectively speaking their language to introduce new career paths.
Triple T Academy is introducing youth to drone technology through creative play by a game called drone soccer. In this team-based sport players pilot small, lightweight drones inside a protective spherical cage, aiming to score points by flying their drone through a “goal” hoop suspended in the air. The game demands not only expert drone piloting skills but also strategic thinking, teamwork and communication. New drone soccer players with a keen interest in the game and technology can build their skills with further training.
Research by the Central Indiana Small Business Development Office shows that Triple T Academy has certified and trained 10% of Indiana’s drone pilot workforce. Over 100 students trained by Triple T Academy have earned a 97.4 % pass rate on the FAA federal commercial license certification test.
Triple T Academy says it is simultaneously tackling student debt loan, workforce gaps and lack of access to high wage employment with drone training. The quickly rising drone industry has few barriers to entry. The minimum age to obtain a federal license to operate a drone is 16 with no high school or college diploma requirement.
Rationale for Selection: While the case for support for this start-up could be strengthened, altogether the initiative of combining drone training and drone soccer is incredibly distinctive. We are inspired by Triple T Academy’s youth engagement program and how it is introducing an analogous STEM career as a new aviation industry career.
Zionsville Parks Foundation
Is recognized for the 2026 opening of the 215-acre Carpenter Nature preserve. The land, formerly an abandoned private golf course, is being transformed into walking trails, boardwalks, nature inspired playgrounds, outdoor classrooms, Eagle Creek overlooks, and enhanced wetlands, woodlands and prairies. Strategic public-partnerships are at the core of this incredible land transformation as only 28 former golf courses in the U.S. have become public green spaces in the last 15 years.
Zionsville Parks Foundation receives $25,000 as a disruptive innovator.
The Carpenter Nature Preserve when it opens in 2026 will be the crown jewel of Zionville’s park system and represents a once in a generation opportunity to preserve and protect natural habitats along the Eagle Creek corridor in Boone County. The project began after a failed attempt by the owner of the abandoned Wolf Run Golf Course’ to zone the land for residential and commercial development.
Zionsville residents Nancy and Jim Carpenter were approached by former Zionsville mayor Emily Styron to initially purchase the property and hold it as caretakers, with the hope that it could become a public nature preserve. The Carpenters are the founders of Wild Birds Unlimited. Nancy formed the Zionsville Parks Foundation to seek grants and private support allowing the time necessary for the property to transfer from a golf course to a nature preserve to be owned by the Town. The gradual handoff also allowed the land time to begin to revert to its natural state.
The story of building a new nonprofit, Zionsville Parks Foundation, also tells how passionate and patient environmentalists proudly created a supportive structure, partnerships, identified funding, and enhanced sustainability for the innovative 215 -acre Carpenter Nature Preserve to open six years later.
The public-private collaboration garnered state funds from three separate grant programs, including $4 million in vital funding to restore habitat along Eagle Creek from the Indiana Stream and Wetlands Mitigation program. The town of Zionsville voted to approve a $5.5 million bond to cover the cost of purchasing the property. The Carpenters donated $1.5 million as the discount price of the land to the town.
In 2021 the Zionsville Parks Department contracted respected landscape firm, REA, to engage stakeholders in an extensive master planning process that continues to be vision for the land today. The Foundation was formed in 2020 with three board members and currently has 17 members guided by a three- year strategic plan and working committees of executive, governance and marketing/development.
Rationale for Selection: The most impressive part of creating the Zionsville Parks Foundation and the Carpenter Nature Preserve is the risk everyone took. Credit the city of Zionsville for taking a long view of quality of life for residents and being intentional to model a better way to leverage a legacy property and maximizes community benefits.