The Lilly Endowment, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, will donate to dozens of Christian institutions and ministries through its Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative, which involves helping “interested parents and other caregivers share their Christian faith and values with their children [to] build on recent research that affirms the pivotal role parents play in the religious lives of their children.”
Christopher L. Coble, the Lilly Endowment Vice President for Religion said in a statement, “We’ve heard from many parents who are seeking to nurture the spiritual lives of their children, especially in their daily activities, and looking to churches and other faith-based organizations for support.”
“These thoughtful, creative and collaborative organizations embrace the important role that families have in shaping the religious development of children and are launching programs to assist parents and caregivers with this task.”
The principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities.
The endowment also seeks to “improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays” in the U.S. and abroad.