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Lilly Endowment Inc. awards Goshen College a $5 million faith and storytelling grant

Dec 02 2025

Goshen College has been awarded a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life 2025. The grant will support the college’s launch of five innovative storytelling projects under the new media hub, More Than Just Stories.

“This grant represents a powerful affirmation of who we are as an Anabaptist-Mennonite faith-based college: an academic community where faculty and students collaborate to speak about faith and life with courage, creativity and compassion,” said Dr. Rebecca Stoltzfus, president. “I am excited because we will be able to create stories for young people, about young people and by young people that show courage, faith and love in action.”

In a highly competitive application process, Goshen College is one of only 60 organizations from across the United States that have received grants through the initiative since 2024. The awardees include media organizations, denominational judicatories, church networks, publishers, educational institutions, congregations and other nonprofit charitable organizations. More than 1,100 organizations from across the country applied.

Through More Than Just Stories, faculty and communication experts will work collaboratively with students to create:

  • Just Stories — a podcast for faith-based stories of criminal justice and the people shaped by it
  • The Gratitude Letters — a podcast built on the conviction that it’s never too late — and it’s always a good time — to say thank you
  • Peace Talks — a regional and national speech competition highlighting peacebuilding and courageous communication
  • Beyond Sunday Service — a documentary film project following four young people as they live out their faith and commitments in daily life
  • Risk, Resilience and Love in a Time of Climate Change — a national storytelling conference examining what it means to live faithfully and courageously in the face of ecological fragility

Faculty in the Communication Department and the Religion, Justice and Society Department will provide interdisciplinary leadership, expertise and resources critical for the five-year storytelling initiative, which will begin in January. The college received the maximum grant amount: $4,998,511.

Duane Stoltzfus (at right), the lead writer of the grant application, will transition from his current position as chair of the Communication Department to serve as the project director for More Than Just Stories.

In national and state competition over the past decade, Goshen College’s Communication Department co-curricular programs have received multiple awards as “Radio Station of the Year,” “Video School of the Year” and “Newspaper of the Year.” Production will be based in the college’s Center for Communication Studies, a 3,700-square-foot facility that includes the radio studio for the Globe, 91.1 FM; a TV studio; a podcast recording studio; and a multimedia newsroom. FiveCore Media, a video production company, is situated in the same building and will contribute to several of the activities.

Lilly Endowment’s National Initiative on Christian Faith and Life aims to help a wide variety of organizations seek out and share stories that illuminate the vitality of Christian faith and life in congregations and communities throughout the country.

About Lilly Endowment Inc. 

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment 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 and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.

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