Aug. 26, 2026
Contact: Judith Cebula
317.916.7327 | communications@lei.org
Grants will support emergency response and rebuilding in communities across Indiana affected by storms, flooding
INDIANAPOLIS – Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded grants totaling $27 million to help Indiana communities reeling from recent storms and flooding. The grants will fund efforts to bring emergency meals, shelter, medical services and social and emotional support to communities across the state. Funds will also help communities with long-term rebuilding efforts.
This summer, communities in central and east central Indiana have been devastated by floods, and tornadoes and storms have caused major power outages in northwestern Indiana.
Grants of $1 million each to American Red Cross and The Salvation Army will support efforts that began immediately following these storms. Red Cross staff and volunteers are providing shelter, food, medical supplies, cleaning supplies and mental health and emotional support. The Salvation Army has deployed canteens in affected communities, providing food and clean-up kits to households across the state.
A $25 million grant to Indiana United Ways, which supports the network of United Ways serving communities throughout the state, will replenish the Indiana Natural Disaster fund. The fund is administered by Indiana United Ways and provides immediate response grants to counties affected by disasters as well as grants for long-term recovery needs. The Endowment’s grant to Indiana United Ways will help support these recovery efforts as families and individuals work to repair, replace or rebuild what they have lost or to relocate their households.
Indiana United Ways staff works with a committee comprising disaster experts from American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Catholic Charities Indianapolis, Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, and Prosperity Indiana, among other groups. In 2008, an Endowment grant to Indiana United Ways helped establish the fund after a series of disasters affected 80 of Indiana’s 92 counties.
“Lilly Endowment’s founders cared deeply about the wellbeing of local communities, both here in Indiana and around the nation,” said Ronni Kloth, the Endowment’s vice president for community development. “As a result, the Endowment has a long history of supporting organizations that are dedicated to alleviating the suffering of people in times of urgent need, including American Red Cross, The Salvation Army and United Way. As Indiana faces the impact of recent disasters, these organizations are well-positioned to collaborate with governmental agencies, faith-based organizations, community foundations, and others to help Indiana recover from these devastating natural disasters.”
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly, Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion. While the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States on an invitational basis to support these causes, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.