Lilly gives philanthropy center $40M

A $40 million endowment grant to the Center on Philanthropy at IU will help certify the center as one of the nation's top institutions of its kind for years to come. \nIU President Adam Herbert announced Nov. 21 that the gift from Lilly Endowment Inc. will help permanently underwrite a portion of its future operating expenses, according to an IU media release. \n"We are deeply grateful for this extraordinary gift. This is the largest grant the Center on Philanthropy has received since its founding in 1987," Herbert said in a statement. "Over the past two decades, the center has become internationally renowned as a leading source of research-based knowledge about philanthropy and the management of nonprofit organizations. ... Today's gift positions the center for even greater levels of achievement."\nThe philanthropy center, based at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, hosts one of the largest numbers of graduate students studying and researching how people donate money and the ways in which philanthropy and nonprofit organizations operate, according to the release. \n"We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for the strong vote of confidence in the center that this grant represents," Gene Tempel, executive director of Center on Philanthropy, said in a statement. "Giving to the center benefits far more than just a single organization; it has a multiplier effect that helps ensure more effective giving, more effective fundraising and more effective nonprofit organizations literally around the globe. \n"These funds will form a permanent base from which we can continue to help provide leadership to a rapidly developing field and play a key role in preparing the next generation of philanthropy professionals and scholars," he said.