INDIANAPOLIS-The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University will receive a $6.5 million, three-year grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to advance the Center's leadership in the study of philanthropy and help it develop new levels of service for the nonprofit sector in Indiana and across the nation.
The environment in which nonprofits must operate today is rapidly increasing in size and complexity. Nonprofits and the individuals and organizations that support them face a vast array of needs and challenges. The Endowment grant will help the Center remain in the vanguard of organizations that are addressing emerging issues. It will enhance the quality, scope and depth of Center programs that offer needed education, training, research, information and services to help nonprofits thrive.
"The Center on Philanthropy has become one of Indiana University's premier units and a national leader in philanthropic studies," said Adam W. Herbert, president of Indiana University. "This new support from Lilly Endowment will enable the Center's faculty and staff to chart new territory and expand their path-breaking work in this important field."
The Center was founded in 1987 with initial funding from the Endowment. A part of the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), it operates programs on the IUPUI and IU Bloomington campuses. The Center on Philanthropy's mission is to increase the understanding of philanthropy and improve its practice. It creates and shares knowledge about giving, volunteering and best practices in nonprofit management and develops the next generation of philanthropy leaders and scholars.
"We deeply appreciate Lilly Endowment's interest in our work," said Gene Tempel, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "Lilly Endowment's support has helped us develop programs and information that make a difference both in the nonprofit sector and in the field of nonprofit and philanthropic studies."
"Our goal is to be at the forefront of providing everyone involved in 21st century philanthropy with the best possible resources to improve communities, nonprofit institutions and individual lives," Tempel continued. "The Center constantly reassesses how we can best serve nonprofit professionals and organizations, donors, funders, volunteers, philanthropy scholars and public policy leaders. This new grant will allow us to take our efforts to the next level."
Among the major initiatives:
The nation's first traditional-format Ph.D. program in Philanthropic Studies will both prepare thoughtful nonprofit executives and produce faculty and researchers for the academic field of Philanthropic Studies and nonprofit management. The first students will begin their studies in fall 2004.
Through the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study , Philanthropic Studies faculty members at the Center are analyzing the philanthropic behaviors of thousands of families nationwide to discern patterns and trends. This research will provide a greater understanding of the transmission of philanthropic habits from generation to generation, what factors shape giving and volunteering, and external forces, such as changes in household income or tax policy, that may affect a family's giving.
An important aspect of the Center's work is developing knowledge about Indiana giving, volunteering and nonprofits and providing education to nonprofit professionals around the state. Through the support of the Endowment, The Fund Raising School at the Center, in collaboration with state and local partners, brings training to small organizations that most need yet often can least afford it.
"The support of Lilly Endowment will contribute to the increasing worldwide impact of the Center on Philanthropy," said Charles R. Bantz, chancellor of IUPUI and Indiana University vice president for long-range planning. "At the same time, the Center's work will enable IUPUI to continue expanding its civic engagement efforts by providing community partners outstanding academic resources of interest and assistance to the nonprofit sector."
