Limited Submission Opportunity 

Lily Endowment Program -Exploring Christian Practices Initiative 

Number of SLU slots: 1 

Internal Deadline: Friday, April 10, 2026 

Full Proposal Deadline: May 18, 2026 

The Award & Eligibility Criteria 

Lilly Endowment is pleased to announce its Exploring Christian Practices Initiative (Exploring Practices). The aim of the initiative is to multiply opportunities and increase access to settings that help individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds explore and engage in Christian practices to address their spiritual interests and questions, find and build community with others, nourish their religious lives and grow in faith. In this new, competitive initiative, the Endowment invites eligible charitable organizations to submit proposals for grants of up to $2.5 million each that may be used for up to a five-year period to develop new and/ or enhance existing programs that present promising strategies for advancing the aim of the initiative. 

The Endowment anticipates awarding approximately 60 grants to charitable organizations that submit the most compelling proposals that demonstrate they have the imagination, commitment and capacity to design, implement and sustain high-quality programs. 

Guidance for the Nomination Process 

An internal competition will be held to assign the [single] slot. Interested applicants should submit a C.V. and 1-2 page summary of their proposed initiative in OpenWater by 5pm on Friday, April 10, 2026 here: https://slu.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/242/home  

A SLU faculty selection committee will review and select the most suitable applicant and notify all applicants of the outcome by April 17, 2026, barring any unforeseen circumstances. The     full proposal deadline is May 18, 2026.   

For more information and a complete list of requirements, please click here.  

For more information or questions on the Foundation, contact Christine Luebbert at rdg@slu.edu.