Lilly Endowment approves more than $300M in grants to 13 Indiana colleges
Summary
The Lilly Endowment has approved grants totaling more than $300 million to 13 colleges and universities in Indiana to support community development projects aimed at improving quality of life, the endowment announced Friday afternoon.The five-year implementation grants range from $12.1 million to $32 million each, with DePauw University in Greencastle landing the largest grant.The grants were offered through the endowments College and Community Collaboration initiative a competitive initiative designed to encourage Indianas colleges and universities to work closely with community stakeholders to envision and jointly undertake significant community development efforts to create more vibrant places in which to live, learn, work and play.The Indianapolis-based endowment said the grants were approved in a second and final competitive round of implementation proposals that it received earlier this year. University faculty and staff will relocate to the district along with employees, researchers and entrepreneurs from private sector entities, including human services organizations. The grant will partially fund construction of a new YMCA near the campus; development of a multi-modal trail in downtown Marion that will connect to the 62-mile regional Cardinal Greenway; and expansion of early childhood education and daycare capacity at several locations, including the new YMCA.Butler will use the grant to enhance the quality of life and place in Midtown Indianapolis, a 12-square-mile area that includes Butler and surrounding neighborhoods. It includes partial support to construct a new wellness facility at Martin Luther King Center, a community center in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood; build a new safety and transit hub; and enhance publicly accessible green spaces such as Holcomb Gardens on the Butler campus and nearby Tarkington Park.The grant will help create a space dedicated to STEM education and training, innovation and entrepreneurship in the growing Electric Works development near downtown. The district will include a co-working space to foster innovation, classrooms, and a community-convening space; housing developments; and public art and arts programing.Calumets grant will partially support efforts to create new community gathering places, enhance recreational and athletic facilities, and improve public transportation connections for students, faculty, staff and residents living in the area.The grant will partially support Manchester Universitys 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, in written remarks.The Lilly Endowment is a 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 Co.