Historic New Harmony awarded nearly $100,000 through Lilly Endowment initiative

The University of Southern Indiana's Historic New Harmony program has been awarded a planning grant of just under $100,000 from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative. The grant is helping Historic New Harmony explore how to strengthen efforts to depict religion in its exhibitions, educational outreach and other programs.  

Lilly Endowment's initiative seeks to assist museums and cultural organizations in the United States in displaying exhibitions, providing educational programs and engaging in other activities to strengthen their capacities to provide fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion has played and continues to play in the United States and across the globe. It is designed to educate and lift the contributions that people of all faiths and diverse religious communities make to our greater civic well-being.   

New Harmony was the site of two 19th century utopian communities. Founded in 1814 by a group of German Pietists under the leadership of Father George Rapp, the Harmonists sought religious freedom.  The second community, under the leadership of industrialist Robert Owen and his business partner William Maclure, hoped to establish a model community where education and social equality would flourish. In 1985, the University of Southern Indiana assumed management of Historic New Harmony, encouraging cultural and educational programs, while maintaining historic properties.  

"We are thrilled by this opportunity presented by Lilly Endowment to bring attention to New Harmony," said Leslie Townsend, Director of Community Engagement and Historic New Harmony.  "This grant will provide the capacity to research and develop plans for exhibits and programming that will build upon New Harmony's rich cultural and spiritual heritage."  

Historic New Harmony will work with University of Southern Indiana faculty, staff and students and area faith leaders to develop a proposal for a second grant that would help fund implementation of new exhibitions and programs. The deadline for the proposal is August 1. 

Lilly Endowment launched the Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative in 2019 when it awarded planning grants totaling nearly $2 million to organizations to help them explore how programming in religion could further their institutional missions. In 2020, Lilly Endowment made 18 grants totaling more than $43 million to help organizations implement their plans. 

​Historic New Harmony is a unified program of the University of Southern Indiana and the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites. By preserving its utopian legacy, Historic New Harmony inspires innovation and progressive thought through its programs and collections. For more information, visit the USI website at USI.edu/hnh or contact Leslie Townsend, Director of Community Engagement and Historic New Harmony at ltownsen@usi.edu or 812-465-7013. 

About Lilly Endowment 

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.