INDIANAPOLIS – Lilly Endowment has approved two grants of $400 million each to Indiana Community Development Projects (ICDP) and Indiana Lifelong Learning Projects (ILLP), two charitable organizations created to address focused community development and education challenges and opportunities in communities throughout the state. Each organization received a grant to administer a statewide project that will benefit individuals and communities throughout Indiana.
The Endowment supported the establishment of both organizations to help further their missions by engaging in selected projects from time to time that complement the community development and education programs and support provided in Indiana by governmental entities or other organizations. ICDP, whose board is chaired by Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana CEO Fred Glass, is organized to support selected projects to improve the quality of life and place for individuals and communities throughout the state of Indiana. ILLP, whose board is chaired by CEOs for Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) President Latoya Botteron, is organized to support selected projects that advance the education of individuals of any age in Indiana, from early childhood through postgraduate levels and lifelong learning opportunities.
“Lilly Endowment supports many charitable and educational endeavors to enhance the quality of life and future prosperity of Indiana’s communities and all of the state’s residents,” said N. Clay Robbins, Lilly Endowment’s chairman and CEO. “Through the work of Indiana Community Development Projects and Indiana Lifelong Learning Projects, additional avenues will be developed to identify, prioritize and fund compelling projects that complement the efforts of other Endowment grantees and those of additional organizations supported by governmental entities or other funders.”
The Endowment’s $400 million grant to ICDP will enable it to develop and administer a statewide community parks project focused on the important role that parks and greenspaces play in enhancing quality of life in cities and towns throughout Indiana. Through the project, ICDP will award planning grants and competitive implementation grants based on population size to eligible cities and towns throughout the state, excluding the city of Indianapolis, whose parks have recently received funding from the Endowment directly.
“Indiana Community Development Projects (ICDP) and the Endowment have witnessed the positive and lasting impacts that parks and greenspaces can make in cities and neighborhoods by building and nurturing more attractive places to live and work, with significant associated health and economic benefits,” said Fred Glass, Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana CEO and ICDP board chair. “The $400 million grant to ICDP from the Endowment will support the launch of a project that will help cities and towns across Indiana develop and implement plans to support, strengthen, beautify and activate their public parks and greenspaces.”
The Endowment’s $400 million grant to ILLP will enable it to develop and administer a K-12 schools project focused on helping Indiana-based public schools outside Marion County address by themselves or through strategic collaborations various nonacademic barriers to academic success faced by their students. Through the project, ILLP will award planning grants and competitive implementation grants based on the size of school enrollment.
“Indiana Lifelong Learning Projects (ILLP) and the Endowment recognize the important role K-12 education plays in a child’s learning and development and life trajectory,” said CICP President and ILLP Board Chair Latoya Botteron. “ILLP is honored to receive a $400 million grant from the Endowment to launch its inaugural project, which will help Indiana public school districts and charter schools located outside of Marion County implement programs and projects that address food insecurity, mental health challenges, housing instability, exposure to trauma, and other nonacademic barriers that hinder their students’ success.”
More information about ILLP and ICDP and the projects they are undertaking will be released by early summer.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly and his sons, Eli and J.K. Jr., through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. Although the Endowment maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana, it also funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion.
