IHS names Heritage Support Grants recipients

The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) has recently recognized 25 organizations from around the state for their efforts to preserve Hoosier heritage with awards totaling $500,000 from its first-ever Heritage Support Grant.

No Putnam County recipients were named, but neighbors receiving the award were the Hendricks County Historical Museum and the Lew Wallace Study Preservation Society of Montgomery County. Grant recipients received the award for everything from building repairs to restoring paintinfs to digitizing collections.

"The role of our local history heroes cannot be overstated," John Herbst, IHS president and CEO, said. "We are proudto support their work in communities across Indiana."

In total, the IHS plans to award $2.5 million to Indiana organizations from 2016-19. Organizations can being applying now for the second round of awards. The deadline for smaller awards of $500 to $999 is July 1, which is the same deadline for larger awards of $1,000 to $50,000.

Applications and guidelines are available at www.indianahistory.org/grants. More information is also available at 317-232-1882. Applicants must be an Indiana non-profit incorporation that is history-related or has a proposal related to history. Annual budgets must not exceed $300,000.

The grant is made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc., which is a private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 when three members of the Lilly family gifted stock in Eli Lilly and Company, which is a separate entity. The family created the endowment to further the causes of community development, education and religion.

Founded in 1830, the IHS is a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing Indiana history. Known as "Indiana's Storyteller," it maintains America's premier research library archives on state and Old Northwest history. It is a Smithsonian Affiliate and a member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.