Endowment awards $1.5M toward Joplin recovery

Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded a $1.5 million grant to benefit Joplin tornado recovery efforts.

The grant was made to the Joplin Recovery Fund, which is administered by Community Foundation of the Ozarks and affiliate Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri Inc., according to a news release.

The funding, which has been earmarked for developing affordable housing to help tornado victims return to permanent homes, would support a second round of grants given to organizations aiding relief efforts. Recipients have not yet been chosen, and application details will be released in January.

The first round, made via the Joplin Recovery Fund in September, presented nearly $300,000 to 18 nonprofits.

“The lack of affordable housing has been described as the biggest unmet need for tornado survivors at this point,” CFO President Brian Fogle said in the release. “It is our goal to create a pool of grant funding that can make a meaningful dent in that need.

"We understand that survivors cannot truly feel they are on their way toward recovery if they don’t have a permanent place where they can afford to live.”

Lilly Endowment is a private philanthropic foundation started in 1937 by members of pharmaceutical business Eli Lilly and Co. The organization focuses most of its grantmaking in Indiana, but it also has a history of supporting disaster relief efforts in other states.

“Watching the devastation wrought by the May 22 tornado that struck Joplin was wrenching and saddening,” said N. Clay Robbins, president of the endowment, in the release. “The scars may never disappear, but homes can be rebuilt and quality of life restored."[[In-content Ad]]