# Keep Indianapolis Beautiful

> Indianapolis nonprofit planting thousands of trees a year, building GreenSpaces and mobilizing 20,000 volunteers

Source: https://treerm.org/org/keep-indianapolis-beautiful · Updated 2026-11-08 · Data license: CC BY 4.0 (https://treerm.org/about#license)

## Facts

- Type: Nonprofit
- Scope: Local
- Headquarters: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
- Founded: 1976
- Website: https://www.kibi.org
- Volunteer sign-up: https://www.kibi.org/volunteer/projects/
- Donate: https://www.kibi.org/donate/
- Events calendar: https://www.kibi.org/volunteer/projects/
- Countries where they plant: United States
- Activity types: Urban forestry (primary), Tree care & maintenance, Education & advocacy
- Trees on record: 8,523 (larger of latest cumulative figure and sum of annual figures; trees planted or distributed)

## About

Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) is a Keep America Beautiful affiliate founded in 1976 that engages Indianapolis neighborhoods to create vibrant public places. Its Community Forestry program plants free native trees in public rights-of-way at the request of residents, in partnership with the City of Indianapolis, Citizens Energy Group, AES Indiana and the Arbor Day Foundation; a 10,000-tree stormwater partnership with Citizens begun in 2017 reached its 10,000th tree on Arbor Day 2024. KIB also builds pocket-park GreenSpaces on vacant lots, restores native habitat with its Urban Naturalists, employs a summer Youth Tree Team to water and mulch young trees, and runs the Adopt-A-Block and Great Indy Cleanup litter programs. In 2025 it planted 3,491 trees and cared for 9,775 more with more than 20,000 volunteers across Marion County.

## Programs

- **Community Forestry** — Urban forestry: Residents apply for 30 or more free native trees to be planted in public spaces near them; KIB selects species, notifies neighbors and plants with volunteers, in partnership with the City, Citizens Energy Group, AES Indiana and the Arbor Day Foundation. https://www.kibi.org/request/trees/
- **Youth Tree Team** — Tree care & maintenance: Paid summer crews of high-school youth and young-adult leaders who water and mulch KIB-planted trees across Indianapolis (4,052 trees mulched and 1,126 watered weekly in 2025). https://www.kibi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2025-Perennial-Report.pdf.pdf
- **Project GreenSpace** — Urban forestry: Transforms vacant lots and underused spaces into planted pocket parks and greenspaces (64 sites by 2024), with ongoing volunteer maintenance workdays. https://www.kibi.org/give-greenspaces/

## Metrics

> Note: KIB's tree totals cover all of its programs, including trees given away through Adopt-A-Block and planted in GreenSpaces and habitat sites, not only street-tree plantings; the Community Forestry program alone planted 2,229 of the 2,803 trees in 2024. KIB celebrates 1976 as its founding year, while its Form 990 lists 1980 as the year of formation. Volunteer counts include litter cleanups and other non-tree projects.

| Metric | Year | Value | Cumulative | Program | Confidence | Source |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|---|
| Trees planted | 2024 | 2,803 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.kibi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2024-Perennial-Report.pdf.pdf) 2024 Perennial Report: 'KIB planted or gave away a total of 2,803 trees through its Community Forestry, GreenSpace, habitat restoration, and Adopt-A-Block programs in 2024' |
| Trees planted | 2025 | 3,491 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.kibi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2025-Perennial-Report.pdf.pdf) 2025 Perennial Report, 'Growing the Urban Canopy' page: '3,491 trees planted', '9,775 trees cared for', '259,708 tree watering visits'; board chair letter says volunteers 'planted nearly 3,500 trees across Marion County' |
| Volunteers engaged | 2024 | 18,000 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.kibi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2024-Perennial-Report.pdf.pdf) 2024 Perennial Report, board chair letter: 'more than 18,000 volunteers giving nearly 48,000 hours' |
| Volunteers engaged | 2025 | 20,512 | no (that year) | organization-wide | Self-reported | [source](https://www.kibi.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2025-Keep-Indianapolis-Beautiful-Inc.-Tax-Return-PUBLIC-USE.pdf) IRS Form 990 for 2025, Part I line 6 'Total number of volunteers (estimate if necessary)': 20,512; the website says KIB works with 'nearly 20,000 volunteers' each year |
| Trees planted | 2024 | 2,229 | no (that year) | Community Forestry | Self-reported | [source](https://www.kibi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2024-Perennial-Report.pdf.pdf) 2024 Perennial Report: 'The forestry program alone was able to plant a total of 2,229 trees in partnership with the City, Citizens Energy Group, AES Indiana, and the Arbor Day Foundation' |

Confidence: self-reported is the organization's own published figure; independently verified means a third party confirmed it; estimated means TreeRM derived it and the note says how.

## Links

- x: https://www.twitter.com/kibiorg
- instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kibiorg/
- facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kibiorg
- linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/6622277
- youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KeepIndyBeautiful

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