Posted on December 24, 2012

Lilly Endowment Awards $10 Million to Indianapolis Parks Foundation

The Indianapolis Parks Foundation has announced a three-year, $10 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to renovate and upgrade thirteen Indy Parks properties in Marion County.

Neighborhood parks ranging in size from five to twenty-seven acres will see improvements such as playground equipment upgrades, new permanent restrooms and shelters, water spray grounds, field upgrades, and walking trails. Also included in the grant is funding to support partnerships that can improve programming efficiencies, offerings, and diversity throughout the parks system.

In 2009, the endowment awarded the Parks Foundation $7.3 million, which was used to repair and upgrade more than sixty tennis courts, install fourteen permanent restrooms, and fund improvements to several aquatic facilities, including a new water spray ground at Christian Park and a new $2.3 million aquatic facility at Bethel Park.

"The City of Indianapolis is extremely grateful for Lilly Endowment's continued support of the Indianapolis Parks Foundation and consequently our parks system," said Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard. "Our strong relationship epitomizes the kind of public-private partnerships that will enable us to keep improving our amenities and services and enhancing quality of life and the park experience for our residents and visitors."