GCORR Receives $1.5 Million Lilly Endowment Grant to Empower Hispanic/Latine Pastoral Leaders and Congregations
Contact: Ms. Jeehye Kim
Senior Director of Communications and Marketing
General Commission on Religion and Race
jpak@gcorr.org
January 13, 2025
The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) is honored to announce the receipt of a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its National Initiative to Strengthen Hispanic Pastoral Leaders and Congregations. This generous funding will support GCORR’s five-year project, Resilient Leadership: Latine Pastoral Development and Capacity Building, which aims to empower Hispanic/Latine pastoral leaders and enhance GCORR’s organizational sustainability. The Lilly Endowment initiative seeks to support and strengthen Hispanic pastoral leaders and congregations while expanding the capacity of organizations and networks that support their ministries.
In collaboration with El Plan for Hispanic/Latine Ministries of the United Methodist Church, the project will address critical issues such as immigration, racism, and economic justice, while supporting Hispanic pastoral leaders and congregations. It focuses on two primary objectives: (1) strengthening organizational infrastructure through board development and financial sustainability, and (2) equipping 40 Hispanic/Latine pastors with the skills to serve as public theologians who advocate for justice and lead transformative change in their communities.
Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo, General Secretary and CEO of GCORR, expressed the organization’s gratitude:
“We are grateful for Lilly Endowment’s investment in this transformative project. Through Resilient Leadership, we will empower a new generation of pastoral leaders to engage boldly in the public square and ensure that GCORR and the work of El Plan for Hispanic/Latine Ministries continue leading efforts for racial justice and leadership development in The United Methodist Church and beyond.”
During the next five years, GCORR will engage in capacity-building activities, such as strategic planning and financial sustainability training, and lead two cohorts of 20 Hispanic/Latine pastors through an 18-month leadership program grounded in anti-racism and intercultural competence. The program, developed in partnership with El Plan for Hispanic/Latine Ministries, will emphasize theological reflection, advocacy, and community engagement, equipping leaders to address the pressing needs of their congregations and communities effectively.
GCORR is one of 23 organizations from across the United States receiving grants through Lilly Endowment’s National Initiative to Strengthen Hispanic Pastoral Leaders and Congregations, which includes congregations, denominational agencies, church networks, theological schools, colleges and universities, and parachurch organizations, among others.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic 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. Although the gifts of stock remain a financial bedrock of the Endowment, it 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 founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A primary aim of its grantmaking in religion is to deepen the religious lives of Christians, principally by supporting efforts that enhance congregational vitality and strengthen the leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment values the broad diversity of Christian traditions and endeavors to support them in a wide variety of contexts. The Endowment also seeks to foster public understanding about religion by encouraging fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of the positive and negative effects of religion on the world and lifting up the contributions that people of all faiths make to our greater civic well-being.