Character Development Through Youth Programs is a grant from Lilly Endowment that funds summer youth programming and character development initiatives in Indiana. Lilly Endowment is one of the nation's largest private foundations and has a long-standing commitment to supporting youth-serving organizations that help young people develop strong values, skills, and community ties.

Priority is given to programs with a clear Indiana connection and demonstrated impact on youth character formation. Award amounts vary. Eligible applicants include youth-serving organizations with Indiana affiliates.

Youth Programs | Lilly Endowment Inc. Strengthening Indianapolis Major Community Development Initiatives Higher Education and Workforce Readiness Higher Education and Intellectual Capital Strategic Community Advancement Initiatives Major Education & Youth Initiatives Strengthening Pastoral Leadership Enhancing Congregational Vitality Strengthening Religious Institutions and Networks Improving the Public Understanding of Religion Major Religion Initiatives Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program Indy Summer Youth Programs More Resources and Opportunities Strengthening Indianapolis Major Community Development Initiatives Higher Education and Workforce Readiness Higher Education and Intellectual Capital Strategic Community Advancement Initiatives Major Education & Youth Initiatives Strengthening Pastoral Leadership Enhancing Congregational Vitality Strengthening Religious Institutions and Networks Improving the Public Understanding of Religion Major Religion Initiatives Giving Indiana Funds for Tomorrow (GIFT) Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program Indy Summer Youth Programs More Resources and Opportunities T hrough grants for summer and year-round youth development programs and support for youth agency leaders and staff, we seek to help all youth reach their full potential.

Our youth development grantmaking supports programs and strategies that enhance and complement what youth experience in school and focus on child protection, education success, and social, leadership and character development. We have a special interest in youth negatively affected by poverty and other challenges and in promoting the success of youth from communities of color who are disproportionately impacted by such challenges.

We also provide substantial funding for select youth intermediary organizations that provide education, training, best practices, research and other support to direct-service youth agencies and their staffs.

Related Funding, Organizations and Programs Summer Youth Program Fund offers grants to support Indy Summer Youth Programs, which provide safe and positive experiences for children and teens, ages 4 to 24, in Marion County (Indianapolis) at little or no cost to families. In collaboration with other funders in Marion County, grants are given to programs in overnight and daily care, as well as enhancement and youth employment.

Grant recipients represent organizations ranging from churches and area community centers to theaters and parks, offering a variety of activities such as sports, overnight camping, arts, community service and tutoring. The fund has a special focus on youth negatively affected by poverty and other challenges and in promoting the success of youth from communities of color who are disproportionately impacted by such challenges.

LEARN MORE Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana I aims to help youth-serving organizations improve their abilities to promote the academic, physical, social and emotional wellbeing of young people, ages five through 18. Organizations were able to apply for grants to address their program, capacity building and capital needs of their affiliates in Indiana.

In 2022, nine grants were awarded to national organizations ranging from $3 million to $30 million, totaling $91. 5 million. Those recipients included: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Boy Scouts of America, Girls Incorporated, Girl Scouts of the USA, Junior Achievement USA, National FFA Organization, YMCA of the USA and YWCA USA.

As a result of these grants, the nine organizations hope to collectively serve more than 600,000 youth in Indiana over a three-year period.

Learn more Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana II was designed to 1) help organizations expand or enhance existing programs for youth or initiate new programs to serve emerging needs; 2) help youth-serving organizations build, renovate or expand their physical plants to more effectively offer safe and stimulating environments for learning and development; and/or 3) build organizational capacity in their fundraising, marketing, technology, and finance functions to help ensure that these organizations are better equipped to conduct their affairs and programs effectively and efficiently.

In 2023, 187 grants were awarded to mostly independent organizations ranging from $16,870 to $1 million, totaling nearly $85. 6 million. As a result of these grants, the organizations hope to collectively serve hundreds of thousands of youth in Indiana over a three-year period.

Learn more Capital Project Initiative for Residential Youth Camps is a Lilly Endowment initiative, launched in 2024, that seeks to help Indiana residential youth camps improve the overall camp experience and outcomes for youth through new, enhanced and expanded facilities integral to quality youth camp programming.

Learn more Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY) champions the positive development of youth, setting a high standard for improving and expanding the quality of youth opportunities in central Indiana. At the core of their approach are four strategic roles: advocate, resource, capacity builder and convener.

LEARN MORE Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) launched the Indiana Youth Worker Well-Being Project with a $20 million grant from the Endowment, a five-year effort to improve the lives of individuals who work with children and youth in Indiana. The project is a collaborative statewide effort to support Indiana’s youth workers so they can more effectively serve youth in their communities.

IYI is collaborating with Indiana Afterschool Network, IARCA Institute for Excellence, Indiana Youth Services Association and Marion County Commission on Youth.

The program includes five key strategies: 1) increasing access to virtual (or telehealth) services, including mental health counseling and short-term financial consultation, 2) facilitating peer learning groups to provide opportunities for youth workers to share experiences and support one another, 3) launching an “emerging leaders of color” professional development series to help diversify leadership at youth-serving organizations, 4) convening leaders of youth-serving organizations (virtually and in-person) to provide information on how to improve working conditions and business practices to improve youth-worker well-being, and 5) providing opportunities for youth-serving organizations to apply for subgrants to pilot and/or implement customized strategies to improve diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging and to support youth workers exposed to trauma (directly and indirectly).

Learn More Character Development Through Youth Programs is a Lilly Endowment initiative to assist national youth-serving organizations in their efforts to enhance and expand program and practices related to character development. Through two rounds of grantmaking in 2024 and 2025, the Endowment awarded a total of more than $256 million in planning and implementation grants to 14 organizations.

These organizations include YMCA of the USA, Scouting America, National 4-H Council, Junior Achievement USA, Girls Incorporated, Girl Scouts USA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, YWCA USA, Playworks, Outward Bound USA, Positive Coaching Alliance, National FFA Foundation and Camp Fire.

Indiana Afterschool Network (IAN) is a statewide organization that seeks to enhance afterschool and summer programs serving Indiana youth. IAN offers training, technical assistance, assessment tools to youth workers and youth-serving organizations striving to provide high quality programming to young people.

LEARN MORE FFA , headquartered in Indianapolis, is a national youth leadership organization focused on education and careers in agriculture. FFA has more than 600,000 members in more than 8,600 local chapters throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. For 97 years, FFA has held an annual conference to celebrate the year’s accomplishments as well as for personal development and career exploration.

The annual conference, supported by an Endowment grant to the National FFA Foundation, also enables nearly 70,000 FFA members to interact with key leaders from business, education and government. Indianapolis has hosted the conference since 2016 and has commitments from FFA to serve as its host through 2040.

LEARN MORE Indiana Black Expo (IBE) has served to be a voice and vehicle for the advancement of the African American community in Indiana for more than 50 years. Through a diverse set of programming, initiatives and events conducted through its 12 chapters throughout the state, the organization strives to help African American youth and families achieve their highest potential and reflect pride in their communities.

Lilly Endowment provides annual support for IBE’s youth and family programs focused on leadership, personal development, academic success, college preparation and the performing arts. Many of IBE’s youth and family programs are offered in conjunction with its annual Summer Celebration and Circle City Classic events, which draws hundreds of thousands of participants each year.

LEARN MORE EmployIndy offers a Youth Employment Services (YES) program supporting neighborhood-based efforts to provide access to postsecondary education, job-skills training, and private-sector employment opportunities for youth and young adults affected by poverty and other challenges. In 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025 the Endowment made grants totaling more than $20.

1 million to EmployIndy to improve and expand its YES program and to make improvements to broader efforts to strengthen the youth employment system in Indianapolis, focused on helping youth facing myriad challenges get on a pathway to employment and promising careers. LEARN MORE The American Camp Association (ACA) received a $45,535,623 grant to implement a new national effort for youth camp programs called Character at Camp.

This initiative seeks to help camps across the United States learn about and incorporate character development in their youth programming.

Under this initiative ACA will provide 1) a competitive grant program through which camps can receive funding to implement various projects focused on character development, 2) training and technical assistance for camps to learn about best practices for fostering character and to support camps in the implementation of proposed projects, and 3) the development of online tools and resources to support character development that can more broadly be used by camps both during and after grant-funded activities conclude.

ACA expects to engage hundreds of camps over the course of this six-year effort. Learn more Story from 2023 Annual Report: Sharing Stories and a Commitment to Young People Story from 2022 Annual Report: Gaining Fresh Perspectives to Support More of Today’s Youth © 2026 Lilly Endowment Inc. 2801 N. Meridian St.

, Indianapolis, IN 46208