CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH DONATES
TO INDIANAPOLIS URBAN LEAGUE’S
NEW ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVE 

INDIANAPOLIS—Central Christian Church, located in downtown Indianapolis since 1833 and a supporter of many progressive causes over the years, has awarded a $40,000 gift to the Indianapolis Urban League, earmarked for its new Entrepreneurship Center. Using its own resources and funding from other sources, such as Central Christian, the center will begin to offer grants and other means of economic empowerment to support many local minority-owned businesses. This will be the 13th Urban League Entrepreneurship Center in the U.S.

The announcement of the awarding of the grant was made by Linda McCrae, senior pastor of Central Christian, and Anthony Mason, President & CEO of the Indianapolis Urban League. McCrae said the church’s board selected the Urban League as the recipient of the funds in hopes of addressing economic inequity and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on minority-owned businesses.

McCrae said, “We encourage other faith-based institutions to contribute to the Urban League’s aid of small businesses in need.” She added, “This gift from our congregation is intended to demonstrate our faith in and our commitment to building our community by seeking to dismantle historic inequities. We want to continue our congregation’s mission of building bridges across our urban landscape by investing in a program that will strengthen and grow businesses run by minorities at this critical time.”

The origins of Central Christian Church, now at 701 N. Delaware Street, has always located in downtown Indianapolis in its 187-year history. Its congregation has included such notables as Lew Wallace, author of Ben Hur, and Ovid Butler, founder of what became known as Butler University. It is a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation. The Urban League, founded in New York in 1910, is the oldest and largest community-based organization of its kind in the nation. The Indianapolis affiliate, founded in 1965, is one of 90 Urban Leagues in the U.S., with “empowering communities and changing lives” as its mission.

For further information, contact info@indplsul.org or (317) 693-7603 or  info@indyccc.org or (317) 635-6397.