Lilly Endowment is pleased to announce its National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life (Storytelling Initiative). The aim of the initiative is to unlock and tell compelling stories that portray the vibrancy and hope of Christian faith and life to inspire and help people from a wide variety of backgrounds to come to know and love God.
In this open and competitive initiative, the Endowment invites charitable organizations to submit concept papers that provide initial descriptions of potential projects that advance the following three objectives:
- Identifying stories about Christian individuals, groups, churches and communities that are compelling examples of authentic and vibrant Christian faith and life.
- Producing compelling stories about these examples of Christian faith and life in various media formats.
- Sharing these stories through different media with a wide variety of people in a broad spectrum of contexts and from many different backgrounds.
The Endowment anticipates awarding grants that range up to $5 million each to up to 30 charitable organizations to develop and implement high-quality storytelling projects that advance the initiative’s aim.
The Storytelling Initiative will be conducted through a two-stage process: 1) Concept Papers (information below) and 2) Implementation Grant Proposals (information will be provided to the selected organizations at a later date).
Concept Papers
In the first stage, interested charitable organizations may submit concept papers that explain their interest in the initiative and provide initial descriptions of their potential projects. Concept papers must be submitted through the National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life Online Application Form below by February 24, 2025.
The Endowment will review the concept papers and award planning grants of up to $50,000 each to up to 30 organizations that submit the most promising descriptions of potential projects that will advance the Storytelling Initiative’s aim and objectives. The planning grants are intended to assist organizations in developing their concepts and preparing proposals for implementation grants. The Endowment anticipates notifying organizations of planning grant awards in Spring 2025.
View the Request for Concept Papers
Eligibility
Charitable organizations located in the United States that are tax-exempt public charities under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) and corresponding statutes and that have a demonstrated interest in Christian faith and life are eligible to apply for grants through the Storytelling Initiative.
Information Sessions
At this time, all information sessions about the Storytelling Initiative are sold out. The Endowment will prepare and post to this webpage an FAQ that will address common questions raised in the information sessions. Participation in an information session is not required before submitting a concept paper.
How to Submit a Concept Paper
After reviewing the Request for Concept Papers, organizations must fill out the Application Form below and submit all materials as a single PDF. Forms provided by the Endowment for a complete submission include the Concept Paper Information Form and the Exempt Status/Charity Foundation Status Information Form. These documents are also available in the Resources section at the bottom of the page.
Please email any questions about this initiative to storytelling@lei.org.