Family Ark, Inc. has received a grant of $960,477 from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Family Ark, Inc. has received a grant of $960,477 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help strengthen Youth Programs in Southern Indiana.

The program is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s initiative, Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana. The aim of the competitive initiative is to help youth-serving organizations working throughout Indiana improve their abilities to promote the academic, physical and social well-being of young people, ages five through 18.

Family Ark’s central focus with this generous grant is to partner with local schools to provide behavioral health services and increase access to evidence-based trauma-informed services to support the mental health of youth in Southern Indiana. Family Ark, Inc. has a unique opportunity to implement school-based programing that will increase access to trauma-informed group behavioral health intervention for youth in Clark County, Indiana.

Jeanean Jacobs, President /CEO of Family Ark, said that “The vital work that our dedicated team at Family Ark can get done with this extremely generous grant will have a vital impact in our Southern Indiana Community for many years to come.”

Family Ark is one of 187 organizations receiving grants through Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana.

“Indiana’s youth-serving organizations are crucial to the healthy development of children and youth across the state,’ said Ted Maple, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for education. “The challenges these organizations have faced in meeting the needs of young people in recent years have made their work increasingly difficult. Lilly Endowment is pleased to support their efforts to strengthen programs and serve more youth more effectively.”

Lilly Endowment launched Strengthening Youth Programs in Indiana Initiative in 2022 with an invitational round of grants to nine national youth-serving organizations to help them expand and enhance the work of their Indiana affiliates or chapters.

About Family Ark, Inc.

Today, Family Ark provides hope and positive change in the lives of children and families through their foster care and quality human service programs. They serve Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Scott and Washington counties in Southern Indiana and have 54 employees. Family Ark’s programs include foster care, community-based services, outpatient behavioral health care, transitional housing and support for families in need of substance use treatment. Regional Youth Services provided hope for children and families through foster care and other support programs for many years in Southern Indiana.  In 1999, they consolidated offices and acquired the 83-acre Noah’s Ark Children Village.  Family Ark, the new name for both agencies, is the culmination of over 50 years of experience providing positive change in the lives of many children and families in Southern Indiana.  

About Lilly Endowment Inc.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.

CONTACT: Jeanean Jacobs, President/CEO, JJacobs@theFamilyArk.org, 812-288-6800, Ext.  202

Susan Reed, Director of Development & Marketing, Sreed@theFamilyArk.org, 812-288-6800, ext. 105