United Way of Central Indiana receives $30 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a $30 million grant to United Way of Central Indiana that will make funds available for construction and renovation projects for eligible nonprofits throughout the region.  

“This generous investment from Lilly Endowment will support the expansion and growth of many organizations in our community,” said Fred Payne, president and CEO of United Way of Central Indiana. “The impact is significant. It builds a stronger human services sector and allows us all to serve more of our neighbors in Central Indiana.” 

The grant replenishes United Way’s Capital Projects Fund, which supports a network of more than 80 accredited community organizations in United Way’s service area. 

The fund helps nonprofits purchase, build, upgrade, or expand their facilities to better serve their clients.  

United Way of Central Indiana launched the Capital Projects Fund in 2000 with a grant from Lilly Endowment. Since then, Lilly Endowment has invested more than $190 million in the fund, which has supported more than 170 projects to date. 

“Lilly Endowment’s continued investment in the Capital Projects Fund helps ensure that community organizations have appropriate facilities for providing high quality services to our neighbors who need them,” said Ronni Kloth, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for community development. “United Way’s management of the fund, including the support and guidance it provides to local organizations undertaking capital projects, has a strong positive impact for human services in Central Indiana.”  

In 2023, the fund supported capital projects that included:  

• Damien Center’s acquisition and renovation of a facility for a new Employment Services Center, where clients gain job skills training, employment experience and other support services. 
• John Boner Neighborhood Center’s expansion and renovation of its Brookside Building to better accommodate its growing basic needs program and its administrative staff. Funding is also helping the center install advanced technology, expand a parking lot and convert a garage into a maintenance workshop. 
• Public Advocates in Community Re-Entry’s (PACE) relocation of its offices into a newly renovated building after outgrowing its previous space. The new location is centrally located on a bus route with easy interstate access, making it more accessible for clients and staff.   
• The Villages of Indiana’s expansion and renovation of The Children’s Village, a Level 4 Paths to Quality early childhood education center, enabling it to serve more children.  
• Volunteers of America Ohio and Indiana’s construction of Legacy Recovery House in Plainfield, which provides safe transitional housing for mothers and their children as they work through the next stage of their recovery after completing residential substance use disorder treatment programs.