What is the Lilly Endowment?
The Lilly Endowment was created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. The Endowment exists to support the causes of religion, education, and community development and emphasizes programs that benefit young people. In 1999, the Endowment launched its Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation initiative, which supports church-related liberal arts colleges and universities in establishing or enhancing programs that help students to explore the relationship between their faith and their vocation, to explore vocations in the ministry, and to prepare teachers to support and mentor students throughout the process. During three rounds of this program, over 400 schools responded to the Endowment’s invitations for funding requests. Gustavus was one of only 20 schools in the country to receive funding from the Endowment in the first round in November 2000; 29 more were announced near the end of 2001,
