The Indy Learning Team Receives $50,000 Grant from Lilly Endowment for Strategic Planning

The Indy Learning Team(TILT), an organization focused on literacy innovation, education and empowerment for schools, pre-schools and community centers has received a grant of $50,000 from Lilly Endowment Inc. The grant will be used for operational strategic planning laying the foundation for sustainability and scale.

“We are grateful for Lilly Endowment’s investment in literacy across Indiana. From June-August 2025, TILT grew 87% serving more than 3,000 students,” said Susan Appel, The Indy Learning Team Executive Director. “This grant gives us the resources to design the operational structure for scalable growth while maintaining our high standards of student impact, focus on innovation and operational efficiency." 

Speaking to how the grant advances the TILT’s mission, Christina Kelley, CTO, explained, “TILT is focused on ensuring that our partners and students have access to literacy resources that drive student growth, allow teachers to make real-time, data-driven literacy decisions and continuously innovate to incorporate new technology. This funding will help build the structure needed to make that vision a reality.”

ABOUT LILLY ENDOWMENT INC.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private 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. Although the gifts of stock remain a 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. The Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.

ABOUT THE INDY LEARNING TEAM

Since 2015, The Indy Learning Team has partnered to bring access to literacy to Indiana communities. Over the past 10 years, The Indy Learning Team has built a team of highly trained reading specialists, librarians and story tellers, and launched the revolutionary Adira Reads system which uses AI to create real-time differentiated instruction for students. We also partner with Catch The Stars Foundation to distribute thousands of free books each year through our Communi-Tea bookclub. To learn more about The Indy Learning Team, visit theindylearningteam.org