$100M grants from Lilly Endowment a 'game-changer' for arts in Indy

In a move many arts leaders are calling "historic" and "game-changing," Lilly Endowment announced Tuesday $100 million in grants that will be used to support 14 arts and cultural organizations throughout Indiana.

The grants range from $5 million to $10 million to support museums, performing arts organizations and cultural institutions. The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Indianapolis Zoological Society each will receive $10 million.

The round of gifts represent the largest grant Lilly Endowment has ever given, individually, to the American Pianists Association, Conner Prairie Museum, Dance Kaleidoscope, Heartland Film, Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, Indiana Humanities Council, Indiana Repertory Theatre, the International Center and the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. The grants also establish endowments for Dance Kaleidoscope, Indiana Humanities Council and the International Center.

"The message being sent is, these grants are an expression of a realization that arts organizations struggle to make ends meet," said Judith Cebula, communications director at Lilly Endowment. "We realized one of the best things we can do is to help them think about long-term financial sustainability, not just fund a capital project or a new initiative."

The grants are in addition to the endowment's annual support of arts and culture in Indiana. Lilly Endowment is one of the largest private foundations in the country and one of the largest supporters of arts organizations in Indiana.

Many leaders see the grants not only as a vote of confidence but an opportunity to seek more money from other sources. Lilly Endowment's "philanthropy draws other philanthropy. That's significant leadership," said Janet Allen, IRT's executive artistic director and CEO .

The $7.5 million given to the IRT is the largest gift in the theater company's 44-year history. The money will bolster the organization's existing $12 million endowment, cementing the IRT endowment as one of the largest for a theater company in the nation,  Allen said. "This is conservative arts investing. Sustainability is very meaningful to the community."

Holiday Arts Guide 2015: Looking for something festive to do?

Some institutions, like the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, see the multimillion-dollar grant as a chance to rely less on ticket sales and annual fundraising and more on money earned from an endowment, said Eiteljorg Museum President and CEO John Vanausdall. The museum's endowment currently supplies 15 percent of its annual operating budget, though Vanausdall would like to bring that number closer to one-third of its budget.

"Not every organization would seek that exact formula," he said.

Leaders at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, for example, have said the new $18 admission is part of a larger strategy to reduce the annual take from its endowment. Most of the IMA's $10 million grant will go toward an endowment aimed at increasing attendance and ticket sales, said Charles Venable, director and CEO of the IMA.

"Lilly was impressed that the IMA has been willing and able to make the hard choices about how to become more sustainable, including implementing general admission," he said. "It's about what is most needed to be more experimental and more innovative. We must continue to be relevant and attract new audiences."

Here is the full list of organizations and how much they received: 

American Pianists Association: $5 million

Children’s Museum of Indianapolis: $10 million

Conner Prairie Museum: $7.5 million

Dance Kaleidoscope: $5 million

Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art: $7.5 million

Heartland Film: $5 million

Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana: $7.5 million

Indiana Humanities Council: $5 million

Indiana Repertory Theatre: $7.5 million

Indiana Symphony Society (Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra): $10 million

Indianapolis Museum of Art: $10 million

Indianapolis Zoological Society (Indianapolis Zoo): $10 million

International Center: $5 million

Josef Gingold Fund for the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis: $5 million

Call Star reporter Wei-Huan Chen at (317) 444-6249. Follow him on Twitter: @weihuanchen.