Eli Lilly and Company Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Lilly Foundation is an important source of funding for education, 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 culture groups.
IP TAKE: The Lilly Foundation, not to be confused with the Lilly Endowment Inc., is the corporate foundation of Lilly, a pharmaceutical and medical research company. While this is not an accessible funder, lacking transparency, prospective grant seekers can reach out to management at Eli Lilly’s corporate headquarters and give it their best shot. 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.
There are further grantmaking opportunities through Lilly’s “matching employee and retiree donations to educational, cultural and health-related nonprofit organizations through one of the most generous matching-gift programs in the U.S.”
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 Public and 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. As well, Lilly provides funding for public health largely in Indiana.
Much of the foundation’s global health grants focus on increasing equity in health care, providing screening programs, supporting migrant health, among many other interests.
Public health grants tend to prioritize organizations located in Indiana and are broad in nature.
Past health grantees include the Stop TB Partnership, as well as Project Hope, an NGO that conducts health education and humanitarian healthcare initiatives. Other 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 Education
The Lilly Foundation’s grants for education support a range of education interests for all ages. This work occurs both at the local, Indiana level and the national level.
Grants for K-12 Education
The Lilly Foundation’s grants for K-12 education have focused mainly on teacher education and preparation.
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 Teach for America, 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
While the Lilly Foundation does not name higher education as a grantmaking area of interest, 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 STEM Education
Several of the foundation’s education grants intersect with STEM education. Much of this work occurs at the K-12 levels, but a few grants have gone to higher ed as well.
Most STEM education grants invest in STEM curriculum, enrichment activities and career exploration.
Recent STEM education grantees include the Indianapolis Public Schools Foundation and Teach for America to support the organization’s efforts to double the number of Teach for America Indy STEM teachers of color in K-12 by 2025.
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 prioritizes 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.
Grants for Community Development
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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