Keep Indianapolis Beautiful: Helping People and Nature Since 1976

Over the last 40 years, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) has been, well, doing just that: creating initiatives to make Indianapolis an ever-better place to call home.

KIB is a nonprofit, award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, a national organization that’s dedicated to preserving the environment in communities across the country.

While the work KIB does today differs from its early days in 1976, the mission remains the same: “to engage diverse communities to create vibrant public places, helping people and nature thrive.”

Every year, KIB supports an average of 500 community improvement projects with more than 30,000 volunteers. To accomplish this, for the last 30 years, KIB has partnered with neighborhoods and the public sector, as well as local community groups and businesses.

Transforming Neighborhoods One Block at a Time

In order to achieve its mission for a beautiful city, KIB relies on six core values:

• Teamwork
• Responsibility
• Excellence
• Openness
• Balance
• Joy

KIB showcased all of these values in 2016, and the numbers prove it.

                                                                Source: Keep Indianapolis Beautiful

The 366 community cleanups and 2.1 million pounds of litter and illegal dumping collected was a result of the Great Indy Cleanup (GIC).

The GIC is designed to help individuals and community groups combat heavy litter and debris that has accumulated in the city’s streets, alleys, greenspaces and waterways.

Cleanups are held every weekend from April through October. KIB provides the dumpster, trash bags and gloves. The volunteers do the rest.

"The Great Indy Cleanup has become a catalyst for neighborhood resilience. Indianapolis is full of people who strive to make a difference on their street, in their neighborhood, and across the city. All it takes to create change is for one person to pick up on piece of trash. KIB's volunteers demonstrate that strong sense of pride for the city we call home."

David Forsell I KIB President

The GIC is just one of KIB’s many beautification programs. Indy Do Day is another annual initiative in which Indianapolis residents take ownership of their neighborhoods through tree plantings, native landscaping, mural painting and habitat restoration.

Want to volunteer for Keep Indianapolis Beautiful? Visit their volunteer page for ways to get involved. Don’t live in Indianapolis but still want to be a part of Keep America Beautiful? Find an affiliate near you.