OVERVIEW: The Lilly Foundation is an important source of funding for education, arts and culture and community development in Indianapolis and its surrounding areas. The foundation funds global health initiatives and education, as well as Indiana-based community development, racial justice, and arts and culture groups.
IP TAKE: This is not an accessible funder. It also lacks transparency, which restricts available information about grantmaking it seems to prefer to keep under the radar. Prospective grantees in Indiana can reach out to management at Eli Lilly’s corporate headquarters and give it their best shot. However, they’re not particularly responsive or approachable.
It is worth mentioning that the Lilly pharmaceutical company also runs the Lilly Grant Office, which makes grants for pharmaceutical and healthcare research that is of strategic importance to Eli Lilly and Company.
PROFILE: The Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company is among the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Its charitable arm, Lilly Foundation, was established in 1968 and “makes strategic and philanthropic investments consistent with Lilly’s purpose.” This foundation is a separate entity from the Lilly Endowment, an older organization that was established with stock from Lilly company in the 1930s, and the Lilly Cares Foundation, which helps people who cannot afford Lilly’s prescription drugs. More than half of Lilly’s grantmaking supports community development, early childhood and STEM education, and racial justice in Indianapolis. The foundation also names global health as areas of focus.
Grants for Global Health
Lilly’s global health funding is shaped by its parent company’s Lilly 30x30 initiative, which aims to “improve health care for 30 million people each year” until the year 2030. The initiative includes efforts to develop and effectively utilize disease treatments, building stronger healthcare systems and increasing access to healthcare globally. One recent grantee, the Stop TB Partnership, works toward creating a more accessible and effective drug infrastructure for the treatment of tuberculosis in the developing world, where it remains a major health concern. The foundation has also supported Project Hope, an NGO that conducts health education and humanitarian healthcare initiatives. Other global health grantees include Partners in Health, the United Way Worldwide and global health research at the Indiana BioSciences Institute. In 2023, Lilly gave $2,000,000 to Indiana University to support women with cancer in Kenya and Nepal, and it gave $1,500,000 to Indiana University to support a program that works to increase access to healthcare in Kenya.
Grants for Early Childhood, K-12, and STEM Education
The Lilly Foundation’s grants for K-12 education support both national and Indiana-based organizations and schools. On the national level, the foundation has focused mainly on teacher education and preparation, supporting Teach Plus and Teach for America. In Indiana, the foundation has given to Mind Trust, an organization that develops curricula and programs that aim to improve educational outcomes for underserved students. Other grantees include the Indianapolis Public Schools Education Foundation, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the International School of Indiana and Holy Cross Lutheran School. The foundation also gave $1,000,000 to Be Nimble Foundation, Inc. in Indiana.
Grants for Higher Education
The Lilly Foundation does not name higher education as a grantmaking area of interest, but several colleges and universities have received funding in recent years. The foundation’s main recipient, the University of Indiana, receives ongoing support. Other grantees include Tufts University, Butler University, Olivet Nazarene University, the University of Arkansas at Monticello and Michigan’s Calvin College.
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights
The Lilly Foundation made a $25 million commitment to support organizations involved in racial justice in 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protest. Grantmaking will prioritize Indiana organizations and will be allocated to organizations over a period of five years in conjunction with 25,000 hours of employee volunteer work. Early funding has supported a virtual event, Indy Day of Solidarity-We Stand Together, produced in partnerships with the Indianapolis Recorder, Radio One Indianapolis and WISH-TV, all of which are operated by and serve Indianapolis’s African American community.
Other Grantmaking Opportunities
The Lilly Foundation is an important source of grants for community development and arts and culture in Indianapolis and its surrounding counties. Community development grants focus on underserved communities and support housing, entrepreneurship and neighborhood revitalization initiatives. Arts and culture funding has gone to a broad range of organizations including museums, performing arts venues and arts education organizations. Recent grantees include the United Way of Central Indiana, the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, the Indiana State Fair, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Indianapolis Zoological Society.
Important Grant Details:
The Lilly Foundation makes about S20 million in grants a year, with more than half of its grants staying in Indiana. The foundation’s grants generally range from $5,000 to $500,000, and its average grant size is about $10,000. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the Eli Lilly Company’s corporate responsibility reports or the foundation’s recent tax filings.
The Lilly Foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals from groups with which it has not collaborated in the past. Instead, it initiates and develops partnerships with grantees that have a proven expertise in Lilly’s areas of grantmaking interest. The foundation does not provide a direct avenue for getting in touch but posts profiles of its executive committee and board of directors on its website.
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