A New Year, Rooted in Resilience
As we step into a new year, one word keeps coming to mind: resilient.
2025 asked a lot of our neighborhoods. It asked a lot of our leaders, our systems, and our hope. And still, our community showed up. That’s what makes me so proud of the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center and the people who make this work real: neighbors, partners, volunteers, donors, board members, and leaders who believe strong neighborhoods don’t just happen. They’re built.
What We Built Together in 2025
Last year, INRC focused on strengthening our foundation and listening deeply to our community.
We trained leaders through the Indianapolis Community Building Institute. We celebrated and graduated the 16th and final class of Public Allies Indianapolis, honoring a powerful legacy of leadership while making space for what’s next. We launched an alumni support program to continue walking alongside Public Allies graduates.
We hosted one of our strongest Neighbor Power Indy gatherings yet, and Jubilee reached its highest attendance ever. We formed new partnerships, delivered more customized trainings than ever before, and expanded how we support neighborhood groups across the city.
We also went on a Listening Tour, hearing directly from neighbors and leaders about what they need, what’s working, and what must change. And we strengthened our governance by welcoming seven new members to our Board of Directors.
Behind every milestone is something even more powerful: people who refuse to give up on their block, their neighbors, or their city.
The Moment We’re In
This is a complicated moment. Rising costs, changing systems, and uncertainty touch many of our communities.
But challenge is also an invitation: to reimagine, to reclaim what community really means, and to build power from the ground up. At INRC, we don’t believe change happens to neighborhoods. We believe it happens through them.
What’s Ahead in 2026
This year, we’re turning what we heard into what we build.
Guided directly by feedback from our 2025 Listening Tour, we are:
Launching Legacy Allies, our new intergenerational leadership program
Relaunching the former Presidents’ Roundtable as the Neighborhood Leadership Network
Rolling out revamped Spark Sessions for accessible, practical learning
Planning this year’s Neighbor Power Indy and Jubilee events with deeper community voice
We are committed to helping neighbors move from participation to power, from surviving to shaping their own future.
This is deep work. Long work. Necessary work.
Why INRC’s Work Matters
Neighborhoods are where life actually happens. They are where belonging is learned, history is held, and care becomes change.
When neighbors are supported and connected, they become unstoppable. They advocate, organize, create, heal, and lead. INRC exists to equip, not control; to listen, not dictate; to build with, not for.
Every leader trained and every neighbor empowered brings us closer to a stronger, more just, more connected Indianapolis.
A New Year Invitation
As we begin 2026, my invitation is simple:
Stay rooted.
Stay hopeful.
Stay connected.
Choose community, even when it’s hard. Choose collaboration, even when it’s messy. Choose belief in what’s possible.
Thank you for believing in neighborhoods. Thank you for believing in people. I can’t wait to build what’s next with you.
With gratitude,
Akilah Webster
Executive Director, Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center