EmployIndy Awarded $5M in Grants
The grant marks the 13th consecutive year Lilly Endowment has funded the program.
Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded more than $5 million in grants to EmployIndy. The city’s workforce development initiative says it will use the funds to "strengthen the services it offers to local organizations that help youth and young adults connect to education, support, training and job coaching."
EmployIndy says the first grant from Lilly Endowment, totaling $3 million, will help fund a comprehensive capacity-building plan to improve outreach to young people to give them information about employment options and training opportunities. It will also be used to boost engagement with employers throughout the city seeking job-ready candidates.
A second grant totaling $2.2 million will provide operational support to EmployIndy’s Youth Employment Services, or YES, program, which helps low-income people aged 16-24 complete their education, find jobs and strengthen their work skills. It also provides assistance through financial support for child care, transportation and additional training.
"These grants will enable EmployIndy to help expand and enhance the efforts of youth-serving organizations to improve significantly the employment prospects of youth in our community – especially those most in need of job skills and resources," said Angela Carr Klitzsch, chief executive officer of EmployIndy. "We are particularly grateful for Lilly Endowment’s support of our strategic efforts to help young people living in the city’s highest-need neighborhoods."
Lilly Endowment has funded the YES program since 2003. EmployIndy says, since that time, more than 5,500 people have taken advantage of the services the program provides.
"The future prospects for thousands of youth in our community depend on their ability to find and qualify for jobs that will pay them a livable wage and place them on a promising employment pathway for the future," says Clay Robbins, CEO of Lilly Endowment. "We are pleased to provide this funding for EmployIndy’s strategic efforts to build an effective and comprehensive system of supports to help these youth succeed."