Lilly Endowment approves another $16.75M in grants for pandemic needs in Indiana

The Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. has approved another $16.75 million in grants to help Indiana communities address needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest grants consist of $15 million for the Indiana United Ways network, which aids 86 counties, and $1.75 million for the United Way of Central Indiana, which typically aids Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Marion and Morgan counties.

In this case, the latter grant is dedicated specifically to pandemic relief efforts in the five counties surrounding Marion. In January, the endowment made $17.2 million in grants to support 38 organizations in Marion County, including community centers, food banks and churches.

These grants build on Endowment grants of $30 million awarded to IUW and $3.5 million to UWCI for the same purposes in April 2020.

“One year into the pandemic, the effects of the crisis continue to reverberate in every community across Indiana,” said Ronni Kloth, the endowment’s vice president for community development. “Even as the availability of vaccines is helping people imagine life after the pandemic, it is clear that the economic impact on many individuals and families and on organizations that serve them is far from over.”

The IUW grant announced Monday includes funding for housing, food and child care assistance, among other needs determined by local communities.

“Throughout the pandemic, Indiana United Ways has worked quickly to support local organizations around the state that best understand the pressing needs of the people living in their communities,” Kloth said.

Since March 2020, the Endowment has approved more than $226 million in pandemic response grants.

The Lilly Endowment is one of the largest private charitable foundations in the country. Most of those assets are still tied to Eli Lilly and Co. stock, which it was founded with in 1937.