| Kheprw Institute | |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) Public Charity |
| Tax Id: | 20-0820589 |
| Location: | 3802 N. Illinois Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 |
| Key People: | Executive Director, Imhotep Adisa Director of Operations, Paulette Fair |
| Area Served: | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Homepage: | Kheprw Institute |
The Kheprw Institute is a nonprofit organization located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It focuses on community organizing and leadership development and serves hundreds of people through its programs.[1] Kheprw Institute is a member of the Climate Justice Alliance.
Kheprw Institute (KI) was founded in 2003 and established as a nonprofit in 2004.[2] The founders Paulette Fair, Pambana Uishi, and Imhotep Adisa report that the organization was named after the Kemetic word for the scarab beetle, a symbol of renewal. KI began as youth outreach and leadership development program to mentor African American males enrolled in Indianapolis schools.[3] KI's philosophy and approach to community development is framed around the Empowerment, Economy, Education, and Environment (the "Four E's").[4]
Kheprw serves hundreds of people in Indianapolis through community programs. Some of these programs have included the Good Stuff Thrift Store (2004–2009), KI Paint (2006–2010), a fair-trade coffee café that provides free Internet access (2006–2012), and a variety of other social enterprises. Kheprw also manages a charitable trust that serves as a community investment fund.[5] In 2016 the Institute launched a Community Controlled Food Initiative to connect community members to produce grown by local farmers. The Initiative also supported a monthly Good Food Feast, a neighborhood potluck and cooking demonstration.[6] In February 2020, the Institute launched Alkhemy, an entrepreneur hub for under-resourced communities.[7] Like many community organizations, Kheprw moved many of its community meetings online during the pandemic. Other programs were postponed.
In 2022 the city of Indianapolis chose to invest $1.5 million in a KI program to promote home ownership and to counteract gentrification. That same year, the organization coordinated a community gardening program, Growin' Good in the Hood, to alleviate food shortages.[8]
At the end of 2022, the Institute received a $90,000 grant to support Octavia's Visionary Campus, a seventeen acre urban farm on the south side of Indianapolis.[9] [10]
In early 2023, Kheprw released a report with the Polis Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis focused on disparities in Marion County's criminal justice system.[11]