The Indianapolis Foundation, an affiliate of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, has announced that it will withhold funding for the Indianapolis Public Library until issues of racial bias and inequity are addressed.

"As stewards of the $28 million Library Fund, the Indianapolis Foundation believes that libraries are important cornerstones of healthy and equitable communities," the foundation stated in a Facebook post. "We are disheartened and concerned by ongoing testimonies from Indianapolis Public Library staff and board members — particularly Black women and other BIPOC — about experiences of inequity and bias. Libraries are critical community and education centers that must be spaces where all members of the community are welcome and have equitable access to knowledge and culture — no matter place, race, or identity. That cannot happen if all staff do not feel welcome, included, and supported in doing their work."

In May, the Indianapolis Foundation Library Fund awarded a $60,000 grant to the Indianapolis Public Library in support of its Dismantling Institutional Racism Initiative.

"[W]e are withholding future funding to the Indianapolis Public Library until the planned race climate improvement process has concluded and significant, meaningful, and measurable change toward a more equitable internal environment is evident," the foundation said in the post.