For the second consecutive calendar year, the Regional Economic Development Fund granted a record number of awards to Indiana University campuses and academic centers.

Thirteen grants totaling more than $30,000 were approved by the Council for Regional Engagement and Economic Development in 2019. The RED Fund awards cost-share grants of up to $2,500 to projects at all IU campuses and regional academic centers.

“Not only was 2019 a record year for the RED Fund, but it also marked the fourth consecutive year when awarded amounts exceeded the previous year’s total,” said David Gard, associate vice president of economic engagement. “CREED representatives are committed to building on this trend to produce another banner year in 2020 as we mark the university’s bicentennial.”

Projects that received RED Fund grants in 2019 were:

• “LEAD Conference” at IU Kokomo.
• “Wearables and the Internet of Things Symposium” at IU Bloomington.
• “Bringing For-profit Marketing Techniques to Nonprofits” at IU Northwest.
• “Opioid: Data to Action: Combating Addiction through Innovation” at IUPUI.
• “Carver Community Center Partnership” at IU Kokomo.
• “How the Art of Marketing Can Help in the Marketing of Arts” at IU Northwest.
• “Center for Entrepreneurship BOSS Youth Program” at IU East.
• “PopUp Business School” at IUPUI.
• “Lead by Design: Inclusion Revealed” at IUPUC.
• “Startup Weekend” at IU Bloomington.
• “Prevention is Better than Cure: Identifying the Critical Success Factors for an Opioid Addiction Awareness Program” at IU Northwest.
• “Integrated Technology Programmatic support for Kokomo Domestic Violence Shelter” at IU Kokomo.
• “Lead by Design: Unveiling the Bias” at IUPUC.

“The fact that seven IU campuses/centers received RED Fund awards with six campuses earning multiple grants speaks volumes to the statewide impact of CREED’s efforts,” Gard said. “Many of these key initiatives would be unable to come to fruition without the cost-sharing grant support provided by the RED Fund.”

Since the RED Fund was launched in 2011, 57 projects across the state have been awarded more than $118,000.

CREED is an Indiana University initiative that addresses regional economic concerns and identifies ways IU can use its resources to advance economic development efforts in the state. It is part of the university’s Office of the Vice President for Government Relations and Economic Engagement.