One Anglican Church in North America and four Episcopal Church of the USA dioceses were among 105 recipients of the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. In November 2023, the endowment announced that it was giving the dioceses financial assistance to “help congregations flourish by strengthening ministries that lead their congregants to deeper relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other, and contribute to the vitality of their communities and the world.”
The 2023 grants were awarded to Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox congregations, theological schools, faith-affiliated colleges and universities, church resourcing organizations, denominational judicatories, parachurch organizations and other church networks. They ranged in value from $250,000 to $1.25 million. In addition, the Endowment made a grant of $4,265,931 to Duke University to continue a coordination program for grantees in the Thriving Congregations Initiative.
The awards include:
Anglican Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others: $1,250,000
Episcopal Diocese of Albany: $1,250,000
Episcopal Diocese of Iowa: $1,250,000
Episcopal Diocese of Spokane: $1,244,259
Episcopal Diocese of Vermont: $1,168,637
The Lilly Endowment launched the Thriving Congregations Initiativre n 2019 with an invitational round of grants to 23 organizations. An additional round of 92 grants was made in 2020. In January 2023, the Endowment invited eligible organizations to submit proposals in this competitive round. Since 2019, the Endowment has made grants to 220 organizations through the initiative.
