The Lilly Endowment gave $416 million to 45 different seminaries and schools, with gifts ranging from $2.5–10 million each. The mix includes Conservative, Roman Catholic, and Mainline seminaries.
The Lilly Endowment is America’s largest private foundation. They have more than $100B in assets, are larger than the Gates Foundation, and typically direct their giving to religion, education, and community development.
Their goal with these newest divestment is to “help theological schools in the United States and Canada work collaboratively with other schools and church-related organizations to strengthen their preparation and support of ordained and lay pastoral leaders for congregational leadership now and in the future,” according to a press release from the organization.
The full list can be found here, but some of the seminaries include:
- Biola University
- Baylor University
- Fuller Theological Seminary
- Grand Canyon University
- Luther Seminary
- The Catholic University of America
The Lilly Endowment also approved 48 grants totaling another $232 million as part of its National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life (Storytelling Initiative).
The initiative aims to “help organizations identify, produce, and share compelling stories about ways that Christians from many different backgrounds and in a broad range of settings are living vibrant lives of faith and engaging in acts of love and service for others.”
These grants go to churches and church-related groups, including:
- Children’s Defense Fund
- Episcopal Church in Colorado
- The Gathering Church
- Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
- Metropolitan AME Church
- The Veritas Forum
- World Vision
