BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Today Indiana University announced the IU Foundation’s receipt of a $16 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its statewide initiative College and Community Collaboration. The grant will help IU Bloomington and key community partners accelerate the development of Bloomington’s Trades District into a thriving hub for innovation, economic development and community engagement, stimulating economic growth and opportunity in the city and the 11-county Indiana Uplands region.
“Our collaboration with Bloomington is a pivotal priority for IU,” said Pamela Whitten, president of Indiana University. “As the state’s flagship university, we have a responsibility to work alongside our campus’s community to create opportunities for people on both sides of the town-and-gown relationship. We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for sharing that commitment.
“We are excited to join our partners in energizing the local economy by fostering innovation and creating new pathways for our talented students, staff and faculty to boldly and creatively engage with the people and businesses of Bloomington. This is a win-win for everyone.”
The grant will partially support the development and activation of the Trades District. The collaborative efforts seek to expand capacity to incubate entrepreneurs at The Mill, a nonprofit that is developing pathways so entrepreneurs and startups can connect with the Trades District; attract high-wage jobs at the city’s new sustainable tech center in the Trades District, known as The Forge; facilitate the success of area development and revitalization projects; and create new artwork, arts pathways and cultural programming that engages Bloomington’s creative community alongside the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design.
Additional schools across IU Bloomington are expected to participate in the engagement, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, and the Kelley School of Business.
The grant will also enhance engagement by other IU schools and programs, including IU Innovates and IU Ventures, in projects that spur innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and in town. As such, the desired outcomes align closely with IU 2030: The Indiana University Strategic Plan and its investments in innovative and transformative research with industry and community partners.
The $16 million College and Community Collaboration grant will leverage $64.4 million in investments from key partner organizations and planned developments, totaling over $80 million in total investment. The City of Bloomington and The Mill were the two primary partners on the IU Foundation’s grant application.
“We are deeply grateful to Lilly Endowment for this investment in our community. By formally joining together with Indiana University and The Mill, we are setting the stage for a future where Bloomington thrives as a hub of creativity and progress,” Mayor Kerry Thomson said. “Bloomington is a community with all the elements of vibrant innovation: research, creativity and progress-minded development. We are not just envisioning a better future; we are actively creating it with every step, every idea and every partnership.”
“This transformative grant from Lilly Endowment will accelerate the revitalization of Bloomington’s Trades District,” said Pat East, executive director of The Mill. “This funding is a catalyst for economic growth, creating high-paying jobs and attracting more investment to our city. We are excited to partner with Indiana University and the City of Bloomington to bring this vision to life, and we are deeply grateful for the trust placed in us to help contribute to this important work.”
Through the grant to IU Foundation, IU is one of 13 Indiana higher education institutions receiving funds in the latest and final round of implementation grants through the College and Community Collaboration, a competitive Lilly Endowment initiative.
“While varied in scope and reach, the proposed initiatives and projects reflect a commitment by all stakeholders, inclusive of faculty, staff and students from these institutions, business leaders, government officials and community leaders, to creating vibrant communities for all residents to enjoy and in which to thrive,” said Jennett M. Hill, president of Lilly Endowment. “The Endowment looks forward to seeing all the projects in the CCC initiative evolve. We are enthusiastic about the prospects for both the institutions and communities and are eager to see these institutions and their community stakeholders collaborate to breathe life into their promising projects.”
Lilly Endowment launched the College and Community Collaboration initiative in early 2023. The initiative is designed to encourage Indiana’s colleges and universities to work closely with community stakeholders to envision and jointly undertake significant community development efforts to create more vibrant places in which to live, learn, work and play.
