Lilly Endowment Inc Grants

How to apply

This foundation publishes application instructions on its latest 990-PF and does not report restricting giving to preselected organizations. See more foundations that accept applications.

Contact

Program Office

Address

LILLY ENDOWMENT INC 2801 NORTH MERIDIAN STREET INDIANAPOLIS, IN, 46208

Phone

(317) 924-5471

Deadlines

Application process if you believe your charitable organization has a request that fits within our g

Application materials

Grant guidelines & procedures the following guidelines and procedures, formulated over the years by our founders and board of directors, govern our grantmaking decisions. We consider proposals in three main program areas: community development, education and youth, and religion. Areas of interest community development our community development grantmaking has a key focus on enhancing the quality of life in indianapolis and indiana. We grant funds for human and social needs, city and neighborhood revitalization, low- and moderate-income housing, and arts and culture in indianapolis. We seek to advance the prosperity of all residents, including residents affected by poverty and other societal challenges. On a statewide level, we routinely offer initiatives to support community foundations and united ways. Nationally, the endowment provides support on an invitational basis for compelling other causes that are consistent with our areas of interest, such as disaster relief and recovery effo

Restrictions

Limitations the endowment generally does not support the following: - loans or cash grants to private individuals. Virtually all grant money is awarded to charitable entities. We do not assist individuals with personal or business-related finances. - requests to discharge pre-existing debts of individuals or organizations. - healthcare projects. - mass media projects. The endowment does not typically fund mass media projects and limits consideration to projects on an invitational basis that fall squarely within our specific program areas. - endowments or endowed chairs. The endowment does not fund endowment or endowed chairs, except in special initiatives or in unusual cases involving longstanding grantees. - public libraries. Except for special initiatives, the endowment regularly declines grants to public libraries outside marion county, ind. Requests from organizations outside of indianapolis that involve building campaigns, elementary/secondary education, arts and culture, human se

Giving by tax year

Year-level totals across every reported grant in this profile — a summary, not a filter. The awards further down are the largest individual grants across all years, not each year's complete list.

Where Lilly Endowment Inc gives

States of grant recipients reported on the foundation's 990-PF filings, by dollars received.

Largest reported grants

Historical awards reported to the IRS. These are examples of past giving, not open opportunities.

Showing 5 of the 25 largest grants (4,093 reported in all).

About this data

Figures are aggregated from Lilly Endowment Inc's IRS Form 990-PF electronic filings (2 filings on file, most recent tax year 2025). Totals reflect grants the foundation reported as paid, and can lag the current year because foundations file annually and often on extension. Source: IRS 990-PF filing on ProPublica. Raw e-file archive (ZIP) — a large IRS yearly archive download.

Other foundations giving in Indiana

See all foundations giving in Indiana

Free templates for applying to a foundation like this

• Full grant proposal template with an annotated sample
• Letter of intent template and example
• Statement of need template and examples
• Executive summary template and examples
• Grant budget template (XLSX) and budget narrative
• Evaluation plan template and metrics

New to this? Start with how to write a grant proposal, section by section. This profile is built from IRS 990-PF filings — read how the directory was assembled, or see what GrantCue does and what it costs.