Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative – Oct 30

Posted by Lilly Endowment on August 29, 2023

Lilly Endowment invites applications for Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative

The primary aim of the Lilly Endowment’s Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative is to improve the public understanding of religion and thus foster greater knowledge of and respect for diverse religious traditions.

Through the initiative, the Lilly Endowment seeks to support projects that inform individuals and families about the diverse religious beliefs and practices of their neighbors and people in communities around the world. The endowment also seeks to foster a better understanding of the religious dimensions of historic and contemporary events, as well as how religion continues to influence culture and society.

To that end, the endowment invites concept papers that describe potential plans to mount exhibitions and conduct educational programs and/or engage in other activities to provide fair, accurate, and balanced portrayals of the role religion has played and continues to play in the United States and throughout the world. The endowment is especially interested in supporting portrayals of life that are: fair, accurate, and balanced; non-proselytizing and multivocal; authentic; and appreciative. The endowment believes that by providing fair, accurate, and balanced portrayals of the beliefs and practices of religious individuals and communities, these projects will help to counter simplistic and self-serving interpretations of religious life that often mislead the public, breed fear and suspicion among diverse groups, and advance narrow agendas. By improving the public’s understanding of religion, the endowment hopes that these projects will foster greater respect among people of diverse religious traditions, help to preserve religious freedom for all religious communities, and serve to enhance the lives of individuals, families, communities and the wider society.

Through the third round of this initiative, the endowment anticipates awarding a total of up to $78 million through planning and implementation grants to select museums and cultural organizations in support of projects that demonstrate significant promise to strengthen their organizations’ capacities to incorporate religion more fully into their interpretive activities and public programs. Grants of up to $100,000 each will be awarded to approximately 30 museums and cultural organizations. These planning grants, which may be used over up to one year, are intended to assist organizations in developing their concepts and preparing proposals for implementation grants of up to $2.5 million each that may be used over up to five years to execute their plans. The implementation proposals from invited museums are due in August 2024.

Eligible applicants include museums and cultural organizations in the U.S. with Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) and public charity status.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Lilly Endowment website.

Deadline: October 30, 2023 at 12 noon PT