Endowment assets soar $1.2B as Lilly shares climb

The assets of Lilly Endowment Inc. grew by more than $1 billion in 2012 as Eli Lilly and Co. shares increased in value.

As of Dec. 31, the Indianapolis-based philanthropic organization had assets of $7.4 billion, up from $6.2 billion at the end of 2011, according to its annual report released Wednesday. The Indianapolis drugmaker’s stock, which makes up about 90 percent of the total, gained 19 percent over the period.

Founded 75 years ago by the pharmaceutical company namesake’s son and grandsons, Lilly Endowment is one of the largest private foundations in the country.

It paid out $230 million in grants last year and approved another $252.1 million in new funding, the report said.

Of the $230 million awarded in 2012, most went to charitable organizations in Indiana. Lilly Endowment awarded $72.6 million to Indianapolis entities and $79.9 million elsewhere in the state.

The endowment awards grants in three areas of emphasis: religion (which received 38 percent of 2012 funding), community development (36 percent) and education (26 percent).

Of the newly approved grants, 36 percent will go to community development groups, 35 percent to religious organizations and 29 percent to education causes.

Worth $15.6 billion in 2000, the endowment lost value as Lilly shares swooned after the drugmaker lost patent protection for its blockbuster antidepressant Prozac.

In 2006, the endowment announced plans to diversify its holdings—and mitigate its risk—by selling Lilly stock. At the end of 2012, its “other” equity investments were worth $476.5 million, up from $370.8 million the previous year.

Lilly Endowment has distributed $7.9 billion to nearly 9,000 organizations since it was founded in 1937.

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