2026 Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program

2026 Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program is sponsored by Lilly Endowment Inc.. This program supports renewal projects designed by K-12 educators in Indiana to foster creativity and enhance their commitment to the education profession. Grants fund a wide variety of projects, including intellectual pursuits, travel, and creative endeavors.

Lilly Endowment awards renewal grants to 154 K-12 educators working throughout Indiana - Lilly Endowment 317. 916. 7327 | communications@lei.

org Lilly Endowment awards renewal grants to 154 K-12 educators working throughout Indiana INDIANAPOLIS – Lilly Endowment Inc. is supporting the renewal of Indiana K-12 educators through its 2026 Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program. The Endowment has approved grants of up to $15,000 each to 154 educators working in schools throughout the state.

The grants will fund renewal projects the educators designed themselves, which the Endowment hopes will help restore their commitment to the education profession, foster creativity and, in turn, enhance the educational experiences of their students. The grants total $2. 25 million.

The Endowment launched the Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program in 1987 to offer encouragement and support to Indiana’s K-12 educators working in public and private schools. This year’s fellows are classroom teachers, principals, assistant principals, instructional coaches, school counselors and social workers, speech-language pathologists, librarians and media specialists.

They work in a variety of schools, including traditional public schools, charter schools and private schools (both independent and religiously affiliated). These schools are located in cities and towns and in suburban and rural communities across Indiana. Learn about the 2026 fellows and their renewal plans here .

As in previous years, this year’s fellows proposed a wide variety of projects. They include efforts to establish healthy habits through exercise, journaling and meditation; and projects involving intellectual pursuits, such as participating in coral reef restoration and learning new languages.

There are projects that include travel to national parks across the United States, hiking renowned pilgrimage paths throughout the world, seeking solitude in nature, and investigating personal ancestries. Several educators are preparing to engage in creative pursuits, such as photography, cooking, woodworking, bead-making and painting. Some are focusing their projects on healing and renewal following personal losses.

Other fellows are seeking to reconnect with places that have been significant to their professional and spiritual development. “Dedicated K-12 educators throughout Indiana work tirelessly each day to help their students grow and succeed,” said Ted Maple, the Endowment’s vice president for education.

“The Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program is designed to honor their hard work and support their plans for renewal so they can continue to make a difference in the lives of their students and in their local communities. ” The Endowment has awarded more than 3,900 grants to Indiana educators since the inception of the Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program, including this year’s grants to fellows.

This is one of five programs the Endowment funds to support renewal experiences for people working in various professions in the nonprofit sector, which includes renewal programs for individuals working in human services and in the arts in central Indiana and for clergy who pastor churches in Indiana and across the nation. Learn more about these efforts here.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private foundation created in 1937 by J. K. Lilly and his sons, Eli and J.

K. Jr., through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location.

Although the Endowment maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana, it also funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion.