Indiana Historical Society Receives $48K+ Grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. for America 250 in Indiana Project

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is pleased to announce it is the recipient of a $48,653 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., which will directly fund a planning framework for the United States’ 250^th anniversary in Indiana.

The grant will help Indiana’s commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence by enabling the IHS to develop an interpretive framework and resource list that connects Indiana history to the nation’s founding principles. The framework will be made available to interested historical, cultural and community organizations to aid in local planning and programming efforts related to the United States’ semi-quincentennial in 2026.

“This historical anniversary offers tremendous opportunities to engage our community and state in thoughtful reflection and commemoration of what the United States represents, what it means to be an American, and how the founding principles of the U.S. continue to be a part of our daily lives,” said Jody Blankenship, president and CEO of the Indiana Historical Society. “Commemorating this historic milestone gives us the opportunity to reflect on our past and look ahead to the future we want to create for Hoosiers tomorrow.”

The interpretive framework is intended to help guide thoughtful program development by organizations across the state and is designed to encourage conversations about America’s past, present and future and its progress and aspirations. The framework will be developed with input from a wide range of Indiana residents and organizations, including those from historically marginalized and under-represented communities. The list of resources created will also be available to local organizations to help inform their own work.

The project will be managed by the IHS’s Local History Services (LHS) department, which will gather an advisory committee of diverse backgrounds, organizations and groups with the goal of developing this interpretive framework and resource list for use statewide. The advisory committee will meet to collaborate approximately four to five times prior to launching the framework.

Development of the interpretive framework began in late November 2024 and will be completed by February 2025. The framework will be launched publicly on the IHS website in March 2025, with the series of in-person and virtual trainings beginning that same month and completed by June 2025.

More information about Lilly Endowment is available at lillyendowment.org. For more information about the Indiana Historical Society, visit www.indianahistory.org.

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