Indianapolis – February 8, 2023 –  EmployIndy, Mayor Joe Hogsett, and the Office of Minority and Women Business Development are proud to announce the 22nd Annual Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards will take place on Thursday, April 27th at Ivy Tech Community College – Indianapolis. Beginning at 8 AM, the event will celebrate local employers who have excelled in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion and feature local leaders as they share insights, success stories, and best practices for fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. 

This event places a special emphasis on the importance of supporting youth employment in Marion County as proceeds go to support Project Indy, Mayor Joe Hogsett’s youth jobs initiative. Project Indy is a location-based job search platform that has connected over 13,000 of Indianapolis’ young people, since its launch in 2016, to employment opportunities near them. 

Nomination forms for this year’s awards are now available. Submit a local employer excelling in one of the areas outlined below at: employindy.org/MCODNomination. All nominations must be submitted by March 31st. 

Awards include: 

• Sam H. Jones ‘Best of the Best’: This award is named in honor of the Indianapolis Urban League’s first president, a tireless advocate for peace, justice, and racial understanding. An organization nominated for this award is recognized for exemplary performance in all aspects of diversity. In order to be considered for this award, employers will be expected to additionally fulfill the criteria of the Diversity in Leadership and Diversity in Workforce awards. 
• Diversity in Leadership: This award celebrates an organization who cultivates an atmosphere of growth, particularly when considering upper-level diversity as well as actively supporting a diverse organizational culture. This includes those who create and implement strategies to provide opportunities for all employees to feel integrated and valued within their workplace.
• Diversity in Workforce: This award celebrates an organization who, in the past year, successfully implemented best practices to support workforce diversity. These employers promote opportunities that engage and recognize diversity within their place of business.
• Excellence in Youth Employment: This award celebrates an organization who has shown a commitment to offering youth and young adults in Indianapolis the opportunity for that first job and embraces a culture that promotes the personal growth of those individuals through mentoring and advancement
• Youth Apprenticeship Employer: This award celebrates an organization that is dedicated to providing high school students with a positive trajectory to actively pursue a career by providing valuable, paid apprenticeship opportunities that complement their traditional coursework. 
• Choice Employer: An organization nominated for this award offers all full-time employees a good wage of $18 an hour and benefits and embodies the traits of “Choice Employer,” by creating a work environment that focuses on supporting Career Pathways, Culture and Diversity, and Employee Resources. 

Additionally, sponsorships for this year’s Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards are now open. Sponsorship forms can be found at: employindy.org/MCODSponsorship. Help support the 22nd annual event by committing to one of the packages below:

• Title Sponsor – $25,000
  • This sponsorship level includes:
    • Event sponsored by YOU!
    • 2 seats at Mayor Hogsett’s table
    • 2 Corporate tables – 16 seats total
    • Acknowledgment in printed program (prime placement)
    • Full-page ad in printed program
    • Event sponsor signage (prime placement)
    • Large logo on sponsorship appreciation slides during presentation
    • Sponsorship acknowledgment from Mayor Hogsett
    • Social media acknowledgment 
    • EmployIndy website acknowledgment with logo

• Platinum Sponsor – $15,000
  • This sponsorship level includes:
    • 2 Corporate Tables – 16 seats total 
    • Acknowledgment in printed program (prime placement)
    • Half-page ad in printed program
    • Event sponsor signage (prime placement)
    • Large logo on sponsorship appreciation slides during presentation
    • Sponsorship acknowledgment from Mayor Hogsett
    • Social media acknowledgment 
    • EmployIndy website acknowledgment with logo

• Gold Sponsor – $10,000
  • This sponsorship level includes:
    • 1 Corporate Table – 8 seats total 
    • Acknowledgment in printed program
    • Event sponsor signage 
    • Large logo displayed on sponsorship appreciation slides during presentation
    • EmployIndy website acknowledgment with logo
    • Social media acknowledgment

• Silver Sponsor – $5,000
  • This sponsorship level includes:
    • 1 Corporate Table – 8 seats total 
    • Acknowledgment in printed program
    • Event sponsor signage 
    • Company logo displayed on sponsorship appreciation slides during presentation
    • EmployIndy website acknowledgment with company name
    • Social media acknowledgment

• Bronze Sponsor – $2,500
  • This sponsorship level includes:
  • 1 Corporate Table – 8 seats total 
  • Acknowledgement in printed program
  • Company logo listed on sponsorship appreciation slides during presentation
  • EmployIndy website acknowledgement (name only)
  • Social media acknowledgement

• Award Sponsor – $800
  • This sponsorship level includes:
    • Five event tickets
    • Acknowledgment in print program (name only)
    • Company name listed on event presentation
    • EmployIndy website acknowledgment (name only)
• Purchase a Table for $625
• Purchase Individual Tickets for $80 (1 ticket = 1 table seat)

Those who are interested in supporting youth employment in Marion County through Project Indy can donate online at https://employindy.org/connect/donate/. Select “Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Awards (Project Indy)” in the dropdown menu of the form. More information about Project Indy can be found at projectindy.net.