Lilly Endowment Inc. and Nina Mason Pulliam grants bring VIPS near capital campaign goal

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. —Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS) Indiana announced it has received grants from Lilly Endowment Inc. and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust in the amounts of $300,000 and $250,000 respectively for its Envision the Future capital and operations campaign.

The grants are instrumental in helping VIPS complete the future Family Resource Center near downtown Indianapolis. Once open later this year, the center will be a hub for parents to receive resources and a place for children to receive therapy onsite. The center will also allow VIPS Indiana to offer more programming and training sessions for providers. The grant money VIPS received will allow the organization to continue providing vision-specific early intervention to children who are blind or visually impaired and support to their families.

“The Family Resource Center has been a dream of ours and the families we serve for years, and this funding from Lilly Endowment and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust puts us at 98% of our goal,” said Meredith Howell, regional director of VIPS Indiana. “The generous support from all our donors will impact the lives of countless children living with blindness or vision loss for years to come.”

VIPS Indiana is a nonprofit agency that provides ​critical early intervention services to young Hoosiers, birth to age 3, who are blind or visually impaired, and comprehensive support to their families. The new Family Resource Center, located at 1145 E. Washington Street, will ultimately allow VIPS to serve more children with vision loss in the state.

 “You cannot overstate the positive impact VIPS Indiana makes on these children and their families. The Family Resource Center will be an incredible asset to the entire community,” said Gene D’Adamo, president and CEO, Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

VIPS Indiana has $15,000 to reach its capital campaign goal and continues to seek donations. Individuals can learn more about the Family Resource Center and the Envision the Future Capital & Operations Campaign at https://vips.org/vips-indiana/family-resource-center/.

###

About Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS)

VIPS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency that provides specialized and ongoing, in-home early intervention to infants and toddlers, ages birth to three, who are blind or visually impaired in Indiana and Kentucky. VIPS was founded in Louisville, Kentucky in 1985 and expanded efforts across Indiana in 2011. The mission of VIPS is to empower families by providing educational excellence to young children with visual impairments in order to build a strong foundation for reaching their highest potential.

For more information, visit ​ www.vips.org

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.

For more information, visit https://lillyendowment.org

About the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust

The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust was established upon the death of Nina Mason Pulliam in 1997 to support the causes she loved in her home states of Arizona and Indiana for 50 years. The Trust seeks to help people in need, protect animals and nature, and enrich community life in metropolitan Indianapolis and Phoenix. Since its inception, the Trust has distributed nearly $341 million.

For more information, visit www.ninapulliamtrust.org