Leadership Indianapolis has received $50,000 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to share stories of impact and to explore hybrid program delivery strategies. This infusion of resources comes as LI is in the first year of its new three-year strategic plan.
This grant will enable Leadership Indianapolis to more effectively communicate its programmatic offerings and role in the community in an effort to better shape the narrative around leadership and ensure that a more inclusive leadership landscape in Indianapolis is encouraged and supported. In addition to the communications initiative, LI will use funds to do initial research on hybrid programming and existing strategies that accommodate both in-person and virtual participants simultaneously.
LI’s offerings have traditionally included programs such as LEAD (a three-session program where participants hone their collaborative leadership skills to become more effective community leaders) and Opportunity Indianapolis (a two-day crash course in the issues facing the greater Indianapolis community — such as education, public safety, growth of the city’s center — and the people working on them). In 2020, those offerings expanded to include virtual discussion series on mental health, poverty, housing insecurity and other topics as well as audiobook clubs and skill workshops to meet the growing needs and interests of community leaders.
The Lilly Endowment grant will help the organization tell a more full story of the impact civic leaders have on the city’s ability to thrive and the opportunities for more people to get engaged, according to Rebecca Hutton, President & CEO of Leadership Indianapolis
“At Leadership Indianapolis, we believe that community leadership is at its best when it is multicultural, multigenerational and collaborative. We want to ensure the leadership pipeline in our city reflects that. Through our programming, we bring together leaders from multiple sectors and varying walks of life – including corporate, non-profit, political, grassroots, and neighborhood leaders. We recognize that all of these perspectives must be included and appreciated in order for Indianapolis to be the best city it can be,” Hutton, said.
“We are immensely grateful for this generous investment by Lilly Endowment and seek to use this opportunity to not only better position the work of our organization but to steward these resources for the greater good of our collective community.”
About Leadership Indianapolis
Leadership Indianapolis works to educate, inspire, connect, and mobilize community leaders to serve and strengthen greater Indianapolis. Leadership Indianapolis believes that community leadership is at its best when it is multi-generation, multi-cultural, and collaborative. Leadership Indianapolis convenes people with diverse points of view and lived experience in an environment that encourages authentic conversation and builds connections, thus assuring a diverse and robust pipeline of individuals is prepared for increasing levels of civic engagement and transformative influence. For more information, visit www.leadershipindianapolis.com.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family — J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli — through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.