Indiana-Based Organization Gives 93 Million Dollars to Help Christian Organizations Grow, Adapt
The Lilly Endowment in Indiana has given out 93 million dollars in grants to 92 different Christian organizations to help churches and Christian organizations adapt to the changing technological landscape in addition to membership declines, The Christian Post reports.
Some of the recipients include Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Fuller Theological Seminary.
The grants were given through the endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative and will support “a wide variety of programs that will convene groups of congregations,” according to a statement given by the endowment.
The Lilly Endowment hopes the grants “strengthen Christian congregations so they can help people deepen their relationships with God, build strong relationships with each other and contribute to the flourishing of local communities and the world.”
Some of the organizations were colleges, universities, theological schools, and other faith-based organizations from many denominations including Presbyterian, Reformed, Anabaptist, Lutheran, Orthodox, and Methodist. Additionally, Roman Catholic and Mennonite organizations also received money.
Further, Duke University received 3.79 million dollars to provide logistics and analytical support for the next five years to ensure the project is working and providing the most help.
The Lilly Endowment is an Indianapolis, Indiana based non-profit that was created in 1937 through gifts of stock from Eli Lilly and Company. Gifts of stock are still the primary funding of the non-profit. The purpose of the Lilly Endowment is to support “the causes of community development, education and religion.” They primarily donate to religious causes and, even though they fund religious causes nationwide, they spend most of their money in Indianapolis. The main reason the Lilly Endowment donates grants to Christian causes in the U.S. is to “deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States.”
A complete list of the recipients of the endowment can be viewed here.
Photo courtesy: Alexander Mils/Unsplash
John Paluska has been a contributor for Christian Headlines since 2016 and is the founder of The Daily Fodder, a news outlet he relaunched in 2019 as a response to the constant distribution of fake news.
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