Lilly Foundation Second Largest In The Nation

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INDIANAPOLIS  –   A new analysis shows that the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment is now the nation’s second-largest private charitable foundation in the nation.

The Lilly Endowment was founded in 1937 with gifts of Lilly stock by three members of the Lilly family. The endowment is a separate entity from the drug maker.

According to FoundationMark, which tracks the investment performance of more than 40,000 foundations, the Lilly Endowment’s assets reached $15.1 billion at the end of 2018.  That’s more than the Ford Foundation with assets of $13,1 billion and the J. Paul Getty Trust, which had assets of $13.2 billion.

The Indianapolis Business Journal says that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation remained by far the largest private foundation, with $46.9 billion in assets.

The rise in the Lilly Endowment’s ranking is largely attributed to the 37% rise in stock price of Eli Lilly and Co. in 2018.