READI funds to establish charity hub in Shelbyville
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Rendering of $8.5 million not-for-profit center planned in Shelbyville. (Rendering courtesy of Healthy Shelby County)
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Rendering of $8.5 million not-for-profit center planned in Shelbyville. (Rendering courtesy of Healthy Shelby County)
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Rendering of $8.5 million not-for-profit center planned in Shelbyville. (Rendering courtesy of Healthy Shelby County)
A new center of not-for-profit activity is coming to Shelbyville thanks to Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI, funding from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
The IEDC announced this week it’s providing $1 million for a new center that will host multiple different not-for-profits and social services. The total cost of the project is $8.5 million, and construction is scheduled to start in June of next year.
The goal of the center is to combine multiple community organizations in one space so those in need can more easily navigate service offerings from housing to food insecurity to transportation. The project will convert a vacant 30,000 square-foot building on the south side of Shelbyville into office and meeting spaces, play areas for children, showers, a computer lab and a food pantry.
Healthy Shelby County will operate the center. The IEDC estimates the not-for-profit center will open in 2026.
Healthy Shelby County President Stephen Black said the new space will have a multiplier effect in helping those in need.
“Shelby County has many nonprofit organizations dedicated to caring for neighbors through their most vulnerable and challenging moments in life,” Black said in a news release. “To pull those resources together under one roof embodies the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. This is truly a force multiplier for Shelby County and the region.”
Shelby County is considered part of the Accelerate Rural Indiana region for the state’s READI program. The new not-for-profit space is the first project in that region which was been awarded READI 2.0 funding, the IEDC says.
“This new non-profit center in Shelby County will not only help community-focused organizations operate more efficiently, but will also make it easier for Hoosiers across the region to learn about and access the critical services these non-profits provide, thereby bettering the quality of life for individuals and the community at large,” said Gov. Eric Holcomb in a press release.
The region—which covers Decatur, Rush, and Shelby counties, as well as the city of Batesville—received a $30 million READI 2.0 allocation earlier this year.