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Gov. Mike Braun, who has previously raised concerns about transparency at the Indiana Economic Development Foundation, announced Wednesday that his administration is assembling a plan to dissolve the nonprofit booster of the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
“We are putting together a plan to wind it down,” Braun said. “We have and will be implementing new internal policies and controls to ensure full transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars.”
Braun’s remarks came during the IEDC’s quarterly board meeting at the Indiana State Library. As governor, Braun chairs the IEDC board.
Braun did not specify how long it will be before this takes place, and it’s unclear exactly what steps the state plans to take toward that end. He left immediately after the meeting and was not made available to answer questions.
The IEDF is a nonprofit organization that raises private funds for IEDC activities such as travel and business-attraction efforts. According to the IEDC’s website, the foundation’s supporters include 14 companies and entities, including utility companies, developers and others.
The IEDC and the IEDF share the same staff and board.
In April, Braun signed an executive order requiring all state-affiliated nonprofit foundations and corporations to comply with mandated reporting requirements and catch up on all missed reports within the last 10 years, even if they had been granted an exemption.
In a news release at the time, the Governor’s Office called for greater transparency about how the nonprofits operate, singling out the IEDF as an example.
At the time, the office said the IEDF had not filed a required annual report with the State Budget Committee since 2019. In 2012, it had received an exemption from the IRS for future filings of the Form 990, which would include information about donors, fundraising totals and expenses.
The IEDF released its financial reports by the end of April, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported at the time. Those reports showed that the foundation spent $13.2 million from its 2019 through 2024 fiscal years, with $10.9 million of that spent on meals, travel and entertainment. The foundation also took in about $11.7 million in donations, but did not disclose the identity of those donors.
Also at Wednesday’s IEDC board meeting, the governing body unanimously voted to allow Elevate Ventures, the agency’s venture-capital spinoff, to resume investment activities, which had been on pause since Braun ordered a forensic audit of the IEDC and its affiliated entities. The board also voted to publicly release the results of that audit, although it will first be reviewed by a legal team and redacted. It’s expected that audit will be made available to the public in the coming weeks.
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