INDIANAPOLIS – Lilly Endowment Inc. has approved grants to 13 colleges and universities in Indiana, including Grace College and Manchester University, totaling more than $300 million to support community development projects jointly envisioned by the institutions and local stakeholders to improve quality of life and place in their communities.
The Endowment awarded the five-year implementation grants, which range from more than $12 million to $32 million each, through its initiative College and Community Collaboration (CCC), according to a news release from The Endowment. The competitive initiative is designed to encourage Indiana’s colleges and universities to work closely with community stakeholders to envision and jointly undertake significant community development efforts — beneficial to both the institution and community — to create more vibrant places in which to live, learn, work and play. As expressed by many college and university leaders, a vibrant local community is increasingly important to the institutions’ efforts to attract and retain faculty, staff and students, the release states.
These new grants were approved in the competitive second and final round of CCC implementation proposals that were received by the Endowment earlier this year. The Endowment launched the CCC initiative in early 2023. Eligible Indiana colleges and universities could apply for and receive planning grants to help them identify and assess compelling needs and promising opportunities in their communities; develop plans to address the needs and opportunities; and prepare proposals to seek funding in support of those plans. The first round of implementation grants, which totaled $145.8 million, were announced in December.
The latest implementation grants in the CCC initiative, like those in the first round, will provide partial support for a variety of projects that the colleges and universities and their community stakeholders expect will enhance the quality of life and place on campuses and in their surrounding communities.
Grace College will use a $27 million grant to partially support its multi-faceted initiative to advance innovation and create a more vibrant community through enhanced placemaking. Various projects include the creation of orthopedic and business innovation centers, the development and renovation of wellness facilities, and renovation of a performing arts and event space and a building that will house a childcare training center.
Manchester University in North Manchester will use a grant totaling more than $12.1 million to support an initiative to improve community assets and amenities. The grant will partially support efforts to develop Eel River Commons Park along Eel River in the downtown area, construct a multi-modal path to connect Eel River Commons with the campus and renovate two campus facilities to enhance arts and culture programs.
“While varied in scope and reach, the proposed initiatives and projects reflect a commitment by stakeholders, inclusive of faculty, staff and students from these institutions, business leaders, government officials, and community leaders, to create vibrant communities where all residents can thrive,” said Jennett M. Hill, president of the Endowment. “The Endowment looks forward to seeing all the projects in the CCC initiative evolve. We are enthusiastic about the prospects for both the institutions and communities and are eager to see these institutions and their community stakeholders collaborate to breathe life into their promising projects.”
Through the previous round of implementation funding in the CCC initiative, the Endowment approved grants to Ball State University, Earlham College, Indiana State University, Purdue University, Taylor University and Wabash College.
The Endowment has approved a total of more than $458 million in planning and implementation grants to support this initiative.
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. In keeping with its founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. The Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.