Elevate Ventures Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Elevate Ventures' mission is growing the state's economy, driving economic development, helping businesses launch, grow and locate in the State of Indiana. We increase the amount of capital available to Indiana startup and early stage innovation driven companies to spur economic development through growth, research and development. IEDC has contracted with Elevate Ventures since 2011 to carry out the required tasks associated with making direct investments in private Indiana companies and the associated programming and technical support required to build a sufficient pipeline of investable companies and to support Indiana's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- Income
- $9.2 million
- Spending
- $10.8 million
- Spent on programs
- 72%
- Reserves
- 24.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 86%
- Employees
- 33
- Volunteers
- 8
- Highest pay
- $480,128, chief executive officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 76 out of 100. Higher than 56% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 24.1 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 18% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 17% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 7% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1572% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 68% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 8 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $7.7 million spent. In 2024, Elevate Ventures furthered its mission with the mantra 'Committed Beyond Capital'. We are a venture development organization which means we execute both venture development and venture capital initiatives. Our focus is supporting and helping to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem throughout the entire State of Indiana. Our strategic initiatives are centered on helping businesses launch, grow, and locate in the state by leveraging modern expectations and technology. We achieved this through multiple initiatives including education, programming, workshops, events, networking, mentoring, coaching, direct capital deployment and post investment value add solutions. We completed a three phase strategy this year that included (1) Digital Transformation, (2) Physical Transformation and (3) Operational Transformation. At a high level, we modernized Elevate Ventures to position for how we best serve the State of Indiana's entrepreneurial ecosystem for the next 25 years. This involved retooling the organization, structuring 2tb of deal data and locating to a geographic area that is more accessible to the statewide ecosystem. The Digital Transformation included several areas of transformation. The first step was redesigning the web presence foundation. The new website prominently shares the portfolio and highlights success stories of founders that we serve. In addition, it serves as a repository of best practices and resources for anyone to access as they think about starting and growing a business. Secondly, we created a portal for our Operating Partners to streamline how they engage with us through their service on the boards, or as observers, for the portfolio companies in which we have a seat. Finally, these improved digital capabilities help us to better spread the word across the globe about the incredible assets, startup community and entrepreneurial ecosystem that exists in Indiana. The Physical Transformation enabled multiple points of value we can now provide for the ecosystem. We relocated to downtown Indianapolis which is more accessible for all stakeholders. The new headquarters location allows for those frequently traveling through the capital city to have a place to call home through our new memberships, provides space for events that are walkable to downtown places of interest and opens the opportunity for partners and founders to physically collaborate and work together. This space not only allows for better statewide connectivity but now provides a platform where stakeholders across the state can more easily engage with those across the globe when they come to visit for the many major events such as the WNBA All-Star weekend. The Operational Transformation is a massive initiative in which the first step is structuring over 2tb of deal data. Our end goal is to be able to leverage this data with modern AI tools and unlock value to not only founders but the ecosystem at large. As of the end of 2024, we completed approximately 80% of this effort with the expectation that the core foundation will be in place by the end of 2025. This project will enable many capabilities as AI continues to proliferate. Not only will we be able to analyze data in a more automated fashion but we believe we will be able to leverage data in ways not yet even imagined with what we believe is one of the world's largest first-party, early-stage, private company databases. As an overlay to the above strategy rollout, we were able to launch Elevate+, which consists of robust post investment value add. Over the last 14 years, education and venture development have been the major parallel thrust as the organization grew with the ecosystem. These are still critical components but now that the portfolio has grown to nearly 400 companies, we must add post investment value add services. The two most critical elements for any company to be successful are talent and capital. Assisting portfolio companies with filling critical talent is a major pillar of this program. In addition, we have added more hands-on coaching during capital raises, bridge rounds, restructuring, investor syndication, toolkit and more. As evidenced by our #1 ranking in PitchBook League Tables as the most active early stage investor in the Great Lakes Region for the seventh consecutive year, we invested a significant amount of capital with one deal approximately every 2.8 days. We invest at the pre seed, seed and early stages and had a total of 103 capital commitments for $18.96M. We focus on four key sectors including software, life sciences, hardtech and consumer products. Since our founding in 2011, we have invested over $180M in 602 startups and an additional $14M in the form of grant and voucher programs, demonstrating a long-term dedication to Indiana's economic growth. We also had year 2 of Rally, where global innovation convenes. We launched Rally in 2023 as a cross-sector conference to put Indiana prominently on the global stage as a place to consider for starting, relocating or expanding your business. In addition, it enables the showcasing of many Indiana business assets, lifestyle, cost of living and our natural resources. In the first two years, nearly 7,000 people have come from 25 countries, 39 states, 5 Canadian Provinces, 297 VC's representing $27B in AUM, nearly 22M media impressions and 89% of attendees stating they want to come back. As a result, multiple people and companies have chosen Indiana as their new home. Our vision is for Indiana to be known as the Innovation Capital of the World. We were able to get this into two organic spots on Google and even show up in the AI sidebar overview from time to time.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2011.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.