Funding to Assist Center in Continuing Local, National Leadership in Philanthropy
INDIANAPOLIS - The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University will receive a
$6.5 million, three-year grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to build on the academic center's leadership in enhancing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice in Indiana and the nation.
The Center, headquartered on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, opened in 1987 with initial funding from the Endowment.
"The Endowment has watched with pride as the Center has become the nation's premier university-based center focused on this crucial topic - in no small part because of Gene Tempel's outstanding leadership," said Craig Dykstra, vice president for religion who oversees the Endowment's grantmaking in philanthropy. "Effective philanthropy requires good data and careful thought. The Center's role in promoting effective philanthropy has been pivotal.
"Further, because the Center's activities engage local, national, and international leaders in some of the most significant work going on anywhere in this field, its presence adds a great deal to the intellectual capital and quality of life here in Indiana," he said.
Philanthropy and the nonprofit sector are growing rapidly in prominence in today's society. There are now more than one million nonprofit organizations in the United States, and the number of private foundations has risen to an estimated 53,000, doubling since 1980. Philanthropic giving has increased more than six-fold since 1975, reaching an estimated $203 billion in 2000. Demands for greater accountability, public policy initiatives, and increasing competition from the private sector are impacting nonprofits.
Donors, volunteers, and nonprofit professionals need more information, research, and training to effectively manage their philanthropic resources and nonprofit organizations in this increasingly complex environment. Through direct services, the Center helps individuals and groups build stronger philanthropic organizations, improve nonprofit services, and give and volunteer more effectively in Indiana and across the nation.
"We greatly appreciate Lilly Endowment's confidence in our work on issues at the forefront of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector," said Eugene R. Tempel, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "From its initial support for the concept of the Center to this new grant, Lilly Endowment has worked to help people achieve their full potential and improve their communities by strengthening the vital nonprofit sector."
"Demand for the Center's services has been rising steadily," Tempel said. "This grant will enable us to enhance our ability to serve as a resource for the Indiana nonprofit and philanthropic community, while also providing national leadership on issues affecting the nonprofit sector as a whole."
Graduates of the Center's programs work in 16 foundations and 85 nonprofits in the U.S. and internationally. More than half of its master's degree alumni work in Indiana. Faculty and staff serve on Indiana nonprofit boards. The quality of the Center's faculty, and its programs, such as its annual symposium for philanthropy professionals and scholars and its Fund Raising School, attract national and international visitors, faculty, and students who contribute to Indiana's reputation and intellectual capital and have a significant economic impact on Central Indiana.
The Center is the largest and most comprehensive academic center dedicated to research, teaching and practice related to philanthropy, fundraising, and management of nonprofit organizations. It has more than 60 faculty from 21 disciplines, including many considered by their peers to be the experts in their fields.
The Center on Philanthropy provides a wide selection of academic degree, non-degree and certificate programs, and professional development and training opportunities. Among those are master's degrees in philanthropic studies and nonprofit management, and a total of 20 undergraduate through doctoral-level academic programs. The Center also offers fundraising training through The Fund Raising School at the Center, and professional development for community foundation staff and volunteers through the Community Foundations Institute. In 2000, the Center served more than 6,000 nonprofit professionals, volunteers, and students through its programs.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Adriene Davis at (317) 236-4912 or Ty Gerig at (317) 684-8906.
