Lilly Endowment is a private philanthropic foundation providing grant funding to charitable organizations throughout Indiana. The endowment supports the causes of religion, education and community development and considers providing grant funding to such causes before considering others. The foundation s community development efforts focus primarily on the quality of life in Indianapolis and Indiana and grants funds for human service needs, central-city and neighborhood revitalization, low-income housing, and arts and culture in and around the Indianapolis area. Lilly Endowment s education efforts seek to improve education and increase the number of Indiana residents with bachelor s degrees. The religious division aims to deepen the spiritual lives of the community. The endowment affords special emphasis to projects that benefit young people and promote leadership education and financial self-sufficiency in the nonprofit, charitable sector. The foundation was created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company.