Stories | Lilly Endowment Inc.

In 2024, Lilly Endowment approved a $30 million grant to the White River State Park Development Commission to help fund a 12-acre expansion project.

Collaborating to Enrich Quality of Life

2024 Annual Report: Public gathering spots, a social service center and outdoor recreation activities strengthen communities. In December 2024, Lilly Endowment awarded 30 grants totaling more than $171 million to support community foundations and their…

Finding Common Ground in Parks

With grants totaling $260 million spread across national, state and local park systems, Lilly Endowment affirmed the value of parks as places that contribute to quality of life for a broad range of audiences.

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…

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…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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.

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.

Confronting Hunger in the Heartland

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

Fostering Vitality of Indiana Arts and Culture

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