High-quality K-12 education is an essential prerequisite for students’ success in post-secondary education and employment and their lifelong wellbeing. Through funding for various initiatives and programs, we support efforts to enhance educational outcomes for students in Indiana’s elementary, middle and high schools. We also seek to improve preparation for a range of high-quality post-secondary educational opportunities. Among the efforts we fund are programs to improve academic, college, career, and social and emotional counseling for students; to attract and develop educators from a variety of backgrounds; to strengthen classroom teaching and school leadership development; to engage parents as advocates for their children and schools; to provide support for teachers seeking personal and professional development; to offer assistance to students that require homework help; to improve K-12 students’ awareness of and preparation for meaningful and sustaining career possibilities; and to improve students’ reading proficiency. Organizations and programs the Endowment supports through its education grantmaking work in various ways to meet the needs of Indiana’s K-12 students.
Related Grants
Advancing Science of Reading in Indiana is an Endowment initiative designed to help current teachers in K-12 schools as well as college educators expand and enhance the use of evidence-based instructional methods aligned with the Science of Reading. Learn More
Center for Leadership Development (CLD) was established in 1977 with substantial Endowment support and has since served more than 25,000 central Indiana youth and their parents. Focused on serving principally African American students in Indianapolis, CLD provides an array of programs for students from fourth grade to college to help them develop a solid pathway to personal development, academic achievement, career preparation and community leadership. LEARN MORE
Indiana Department of Education Science of Reading (IDOE) was awarded an Endowment grant of $60 million in 2022 to support its efforts to help Indiana educators implement Science of Reading principles in their classrooms. In recent years, national reading experts have culled data from decades of reading research and identified clear and common practices in effective reading instruction. These practices are collectively referred to as SoR and generally feature direct and explicit instruction on five instructional components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Under IDOE’s leadership, educators in more than 300 Indiana elementary schools are receiving specialized coaching and professional development in Science of Reading principles. Educators across the state have also been provided with professional development opportunities and stipends through IDOE’s newly formed literacy center.
Marion County K-12 Private Schools Initiative is an Endowment initiative that aims to help private schools initiate, enhance or expand compelling programs and projects that show promise to improve their students’ academic achievement and the prospects for post-secondary success. Learn More
Marion County K-12 Public Schools Initiative is an Endowment initiative that aims to help public schools initiate, enhance or expand compelling programs and projects that show promise to improve their students’ academic achievement and the prospects for post-secondary success. Learn More
Project Lead the Way (PLTW), a national provider of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), offers six curricular programs for elementary, middle and high school students that promote critical thinking, creativity, innovation and real-world problem-solving skills and introduce students to STEM careers in fields such as computer science, engineering and biomedical science. PLTW teachers received in-depth training that equips them to use the hands-on instructional approaches of PLTW programs. During the 2023-24 school year, PLTW programs were offered in more than 900 Indiana schools. PLTW was awarded a $5 million grant in 2024 to enable more Indiana schools to launch or expand PLTW programs and more Indiana educators to benefit from the strong professional development offered by the organization.
Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program is an Endowment program that promotes life-long learning for educators by enabling them to pursue their dreams and passions, explore new areas of interest, expand existing talents and develop new ones. The fellowships fund opportunities for intentional exploration and reflection designed to result in renewed energy, enthusiasm and creativity in teachers. Our hope is that these experiences will reinforce their commitment to teaching and thereby benefit their students and schools, as well. This program is open to teachers in public, private and parochial schools, to principals, and assistant principals and to guidance counselors and library/media specialists. LEARN MORE
The Mind Trust works to improve K-12 education in Indianapolis and seeks to make Indianapolis the nation’s foremost destination for transformative leaders, organizations and ideas in education. Endowment grants support The Mind Trust’s coordination of new teacher pipeline programs in Indianapolis, including Teach for America and TNTP. Through these programs, The Mind Trust works to attract and develop talented educators from a broad range of backgrounds who are effective in serving the diverse students in Indianapolis schools. Additionally, the Endowment grants support The Mind Trust’s coordination of several parent engagement nonprofits, including Rise Indy, EmpowerED Families and Stand for Children, that are working to strengthen parent engagement and advocacy for high-quality schools.LEARN MORE
AskRose Homework Help is a tutoring program in mathematics, science and technology serving middle and high school students in all 92 Indiana counties. A program of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, AskRose engages Rose-Hulman students majoring in math, science and engineering to serve as tutors who respond by phone, email and online chat. Lilly Endowment has supported the program since 1999. LEARN MORE