Inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold sm

Girls Inc.: Inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold.

I am strong because I can lift my own weight. I am smart not just because I get As. I am bold because I am not afraid to stick up for my rights.  

A'lece, 10 

Lilly Endowment

Lilly Endowment Strikes "Bold" at Girls Inc.

No other funder has been more important to the growth and advancement of Girls Inc. that the Lilly Endowment. As Girls Inc. moves forward with a new business plan to significantly expand existing and new channels of outreach to girls, the Lilly Endowment is once again offering its support in the way of a three-year $6.3 million grant.

"The people at Lilly came to us and said, ‘think big, then think bigger,’" said Joyce Roche, President and CEO of Girls Inc. "Their support has been the impetus for bold action, and it has energized this entire organization in an extremely positive way."

Over the past 20 years, the Lilly Endowment has awarded nearly $12 million in funding to support a range of Girls Inc. programs and initiatives, and to help establish the Girls Inc. National Resource Center also in Indianapolis.

For its part, Lilly sees the work of Girls Inc. as more relevant than ever at this unique time in American history. "So much of what Girls Inc. does promotes good citizenship, which is so important right now," said Gretchen Wolfran, Director of Communications for the Endowment. "It’s also on the ground floor of encouraging girls to get into some historically non-girl occupations, like finance. Society needs that very much."

The Lilly Endowment grant will fund three projects of long-term significance for Girls Inc.:

  • A physical expansion of the Girls Inc. National Resource Center in Indianapolis where program development, training, and research take place.

  • Enhancing our information technology system to explore online delivery of our Girls Inc. programs, and enhance day-to-day operations.

  • Infrastructural growth supporting Girls Inc. national operations.

"The infrastructure component is especially important to Girls Inc." says Roche, "because it’s difficult to get funding for those things, even though they are so essential. Girls Inc. has experienced rapid growth institutionally, so that we can fuel it even further."

[ Get more information [Error: page 'nolabel' not set to 'generate'] ] about the Girls Inc. business plan for significant growth.

Foundations can contact Grants Manager Jenny Lindstrom to learn more about supporting Girls Inc.