December 17, 2024
Project Transformation Receives $4.25 Million Lilly Endowment Grant to Deepen Young Adult Faith & Service Across its Network
DALLAS – Project Transformation (PT) National has received a $4.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish new and deepened opportunities for young adult spiritual formation and vocational discernment across the nation.
The program is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s National Youth and Young Adult Initiative on Faith and Service (Faith and Service Initiative), which is designed to nurture and deepen the faith of Christian young people through intentional service and reflection about the meaning of service in their lives.
This funding marks the largest grant in PT’s history and underscores its role as a national leader in fostering young adult engagement in faith-based service. The grant also comes on the brink of the 10th birthday celebration of Project Transformation’s national office. National was founded in 2015 when visionary board members and staff from the flagship chapter, Project Transformation North Texas, dreamed of scaling the proven program model to new cities across the country.
Since then, National has worked alongside local communities to support the development of new PT chapters across the country and to ensure high quality programming for children, young adults, and churches. The grant will provide national and local opportunities for young adults to deepen their faith and discern their vocation, as they serve children through PT’s literacy and social-emotional programs. The grant will also support capacity building efforts as Project Transformation grows into the next season of its organizational development.
Through this initiative, Project Transformation will work closely with United Methodist (UM) seminaries, Wesley Foundations, local churches, and community partners to offer young adults immersive experiences in Christian service and vocational discernment.
Rev. Dr. Beth Ludlum, long-time supporter of Project Transformation, Founder and Co-Director of The Hub for Collaborative and Imaginative Ministry, and Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Wesley Theological Seminary expressed:
“We are honored to be part of this historic moment for Project Transformation. This grant not only affirms the value of PT’s work with young adults but also opens doors to new possibilities for leadership development and community impact across the country.”
Highlights of Project Transformation’s program include:
- Offering new, National-led spiritual retreats for young adults to deepen their faith and explore their vocation
- Hiring local Community Directors, through seminary partnerships, to guide intentional community life, provide vocational mentorship, and support young adults as they reflect on their service with PT
- Expanding national and local partnerships to serve as a resource hub for churches, seminaries, campus ministries, and UM Conferences who seek to strengthen their capacity to engage young adults
The grant will allow PT chapters across the country to collaborate, share resources, and elevate the role of young adults in Christian service. Casey Mellody, CEO at Project Transformation National, shared:
“This grant is a testament to the incredible work being done across the PT network. We are grateful for this generous gift as it will allow us to create even more spaces where diverse young adults have a sense of belonging and the opportunity to lead community transformation. We are excited to see how our local chapters will leverage this funding to inspire the next generation of faithful leaders.”
Project Transformation National is one of 12 organizations funded through this invitational Faith and Service Initiative. They represent a broad spectrum of Christian traditions that includes Catholic, mainline and evangelical Protestant, Orthodox and Pentecostal faith communities and communities rooted in Black Church and Hispanic traditions.
“The projects being funded through the Faith and Service Initiative hold the promise of helping young people grow spiritually by drawing on Christian traditions to reflect on the meaning of service,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “They also will strengthen their ties to faith communities and help those faith communities understand more fully the needs and perspectives of young people.”
About Project Transformation
Project Transformation is a national organization committed to engaging children in holistic literacy and enrichment development, young adults in leadership and service, and churches in outreach to their neighbors. Through mutual relationships, PT provides transformative experiences that shape our communities and its next leaders.
About Lilly Endowment Inc
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. 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 United States and across the globe.
Media Contact: Katie Clifford, National VP of Development
469-513-2590 | clifford@projecttransformation.org
