Stories | Lilly Endowment Inc.

2023 Annual Report: When a quartet of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra performed the music of John Coltrane at the National Museum of American History, it shared one of the most famous works in American jazz,…

Finding Strength Together

City Seminary and Catholic Rural Life have more in common than their names suggest, including a commitment to supporting the well-being of pastors. They are two of 129 organizations supported through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving in Ministry…

Telling Compelling Religion Stories

During three days in Washington, D.C., leaders from museums and cultural institutions around the United States gathered to exchange insights about innovative and varied approaches to exploring religion and spirituality in their collections and exhibitions, education…

Convening Indiana Youth Workers

For Indiana’s youth-serving professionals, the 2023 convening offered a full agenda. Interactive breakout sessions covered a range of topics: how to respond to the youth mental health crisis; what it takes to help youth workers develop…

Strengthening Community Networks

2023 Annual Report: Connecting Early Learning Providers with Valuable Resources In late 2017, Deandra Thompson embarked on an unpredictable journey—opening an early learning center in her predominantly Black neighborhood on the Near Westside of Indianapolis.…

Enhancing Opportunity in Indianapolis

In 2021, Lilly Endowment awarded grants ranging from $180,000 to $8,086,950 totaling $93.6 million to help 28 organizations implement their projects. The initiative is focused on supporting organizations as they help create more good and promising…

Addressing Economic Challenges

2022 Annual Report: Planning helps organizations identify financial needs of pastors and congregations. The Rev. Matthew Baker can’t remember the exact date that he was awarded the $10,000 that would change his family’s finances and…

Holistic Approach to Enhancing Opportunity in Indianapolis

2022 Annual Report: Pathways to Opportunity offers clients support and mentoring to achieve financial and personal stability For decades, there have been programs to help individuals with disabilities train for employment and find work. Among…

The Gift of Planning

2022 Annual Report: Community foundations bolster leadership by listening, learning, planning For Greg Aaron, Kokomo is truly home. He has lived in the city of nearly 60,000 residents his entire life. He graduated from Kokomo…

Getting ‘Off the Dance Floor’ for New Perspective

2022 Annual Report: St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Goshen, Ind., is thriving. Nearly a century old, St. Mark’s hulking brick building is located on a busy street in Goshen, a northern Indiana town with an…

Advancing Science of Reading in Indiana

2022 Annual Report: In 2022, Lilly Endowment launched in coordination with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) complementary efforts to improve reading instruction for children in kindergarten through second grade in Indiana schools through the use…

Gaining Fresh Perspectives to Support More of Today’s Youth

2022 Annual Report: As CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, Danielle Shockey regularly checks data related to the well-being of youth—especially girls. Much of the research reveals troubling trends; among them are an increase in…

Strengthening Summer Programs Opens Up College Campuses

Summer camp often signifies canoeing, horseback riding and campfires. These days the concept can encompass a lot more: enrichment programs focused on activities as varied as STEM labs, media arts, emotional resiliency, equity and entrepreneurship all…

How Religion Shapes American Life

2021 Annual Report: During a four-decade career working in museums across the United States, Lonnie G. Bunch III has perceived an interesting gap in how museums have traditionally captured the history of the United States in…

Documentaries Spotlight Leading Theologians and Their Impact on the World

2021 Annual Report: Five of the most influential theologians of the 20th century are featured in a series of documentaries produced by Journey Films with support from Lilly Endowment. Based in Alexandria, VA., the non-profit film…

Initiative Provides Resources for Theology Schools Seeking New Pathways

2021 Annual Report: Today’s pastoral students are more diverse and preparing to minister to congregations with modern-day challenges. “What has typically happened in theological education, in response to changing dynamics, is to reflexively change curriculum,…

Center for Leadership Development Expands Reach

2021 Annual Report: CLD Plans More Locations for its Mentoring Programs to Help Black Youth What does it mean to be a responsible man? That was the weighty topic up for discussion on a Tuesday…

Higher Ed Responds to Changing Realities

2021 Annual Report: Indiana Colleges and Universities are Responding to Urgent Call to Reimagine Higher Education Higher education may be facing its greatest challenges in more than a century. Demographers, economists, business leaders and college…

How a Midwest Zoo Became a Global Player in Conservation

2021 Annual Report: There was a time when the Indianapolis Zoo—once called the Washington Park Children’s Zoo—was a local attraction nestled inside an eastside city park. These days the Indianapolis Zoo is a sprawling complex of…

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

2021 Annual Report: Lilly Endowment launched its Enhancing Opportunity in Indianapolis initiative to help people like LeAnn Thorne and Lamont Harvey, who were stalled at the bottom of the pay scale in the healthcare field. And…

Helping clergy, seminarians thrive in ministry

August 2021: When his alarm buzzes at 3 a.m., Daniel Sanchez prepares for a day in the fields alongside migrants who pick cherries and apples in Yakima, Washington, a central valley community known as the nation’s…

Center for Leadership Development Breaks Ground

August 2021: The Center for Leadership Development (CLD) in Indianapolis has broken ground on an addition to its headquarters. The 20,000-square-foot addition is funded by the organization’s RISE Capital Campaign and will enable CLD to strengthen…

Bookmark Indy – Where Pen Meets Place

May 2021: Bookmark Indy is a literary trail and exploration of Indianapolis through the eyes of the writers who have called it home. The experience was designed to uplift points of inspiration for Hoosier authors, such…

COVID Relief to Churches & Grassroots Organizations

February 2021: New Direction Church is one of many organizations that has received Lilly Endowment grants to support their efforts to help people who are most deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Touchable Sculptures and the No Limits Arts Series

March 2020: This multi-sensory exhibition coincides with the No Limits Arts Series, a project that aims to strengthen inclusiveness in the arts for individuals with disabilities.

Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship Spotlight: Vance Farrow

Through a Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship, Vance Farrow - a professor at Herron School of Art & Design - traveled to China, taking time to recharge and focus on himself and his art.

Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs: What Will Make Your Heart Sing?

“I thought I was going to come back full of ideas. Instead, I came back empty, my mind cleared of the clutter and ready for God to fill me back up.”

Celebrating 100 Years of the Library’s Summer Reading Program

The Summer Youth Program Fund (SYPF) is a collaborative effort that supports summer programs serving primarily Marion County (Indianapolis) youth. In 2019, the Endowment joined nine other funders in awarding nearly $3 million in grants to…

Teacher Creativity Fellow Spotlight: Andy Brubaker

Through a Teacher Creativity fellowship, in 2017, Andy Brubaker, a biology teacher at Goshen High School set out with a friend to conquer the Colorado Trail on bike, traveling for 13 days through the wilderness.

Conceiving New Ways to Serve

The National Fund supports thriving congregations and their mission to serve by helping churches strengthen their facilities and improve the vitality of their community engagement.

Planting Seeds for the Future

The National FFA and AgriNovus Indiana are working to inspire a new generation of young people to seek careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture. Both organizations are lifting up Indiana as an emerging…

Circles of Friends

78 faith-based organizations participate in the Endowment's Thriving in Ministry initiative to help clergy support one another for excellence in their congregational ministries.

Readying Today’s Student for Tomorrow’s World

Leaders in K-12 education, higher education and workforce development from across Indiana gathered in Indianapolis to learn how they can work together to help children and young adults prepare for and build meaningful, sustaining careers.

The Salvation Army’s Pathway to Hope

Working in communities across the U.S., The Salvation Army is seeking to transform the way it helps low-income families halt the destructive cycle of poverty. Pathway of Hope is The Salvation Army’s data-driven approach that includes…

GIFT VII Funding Invites Leaders to Envision Stronger Communities

The GIFT Phase VII grants help support Indiana community foundations to strengthen the towns, cities and counties they serve.

Creative Forces Unite to Move a City Forward

The Strengthening Indianapolis Through Arts and Cultural Innovation initiative encouraged community organizations to imagine how they could be part of efforts that engage arts and cultural experiences to improve life in Indianapolis.

Supporting Financial Sustainability in Human Services Agencies

In 2016, Second Helpings was part of the first round of Lilly Endowment’s human services financial sustainability grants, designed to help organizations build strong financial futures so they can have a lasting impact on the communities…

The Literary Legacy of J.K. Lilly Jr.

Between 1954 and 1957, J.K. Lilly, Jr. donated to Indiana University (IU) his collection of 20,000 some rare books and nearly 17,000 manuscripts, widely considered one of the finest private collections in the world, establishing what…

Stories on Arts & Cultural Innovation

It takes an artist to make us see, not the bewildering details of the world around us, but the great universals that give significance to our human experiences. Learn from the artist to see the daring…

Investing in the Future

The Villages of Indiana and Easterseals Crossroads are among 10 central Indiana agencies that received grants to help them build long-term financial sustainability.

Strengthening the Quality of Preaching

Since 2013, Lilly Endowment has made grants to theological schools across the U.S. to support their work to strengthen preaching as they work with peer groups of pastors.

Call to Action for Higher Education Institutions

Colleges and universities are a powerful force in Indiana as they educate the next generation's workforce. But adapting to change presents ongoing challenges.

The Future of Native Contemporary Art

Biennial fellowship that supports Native American and First Nations artists who work with “contemporary media and ideas.”

‘A Window and A Mirror’

Indianapolis' Central Library showcases local and national authors, artists, activists and other leaders of African descent.

Reaching Young Adults to Build New Ministries

Religious leaders want to reach young people to help them find meaningful work, enduring friendships, and clarity about core values and commitments.

Strengthening Students’ Pathways to Success

Across Indiana, too many students face limited earning potential and weak prospects for satisfying careers and lives after high school.

Confronting Hunger in the Heartland

Endowment grants help support hunger-relief agencies working to reduce the number of food-insecure Hoosiers.

From College to Career

$50 million Endowment grant supports UNCF comprehensive initiative to expand professional opportunities for graduates of historically black colleges and universities, and predominantly black institutions.

Outreach Gives New Hope to Homeless Youth

The 2016 Endowment grant for the new facility follows more than a decade of support to help leaders at Outreach continue to understand homelessness among young people in Indianapolis and assess strategies to alleviate the problem.

Renewing Teachers Through the Power of Story

Eva Mozes Kor, founder of CANDLES Museum and Education Center, shares her stories with Indiana Teacher Creativity Fellows.

Fostering Vitality of Indiana Arts and Culture

Special Endowment grants help Indianapolis and Indiana arts and cultural organizations secure strong financial futures.

Girls Inc. Builds Confidence in Young Women

Navigating the road to adulthood can be rough, but it is especially challenging for girls experiencing bullying, depression, and more.