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Through our grantmaking, we equip individuals and institutions to create and strengthen contextualized approaches to character formation. We encourage grantees to take the lead in shaping approaches that best fit their unique institutional contexts and missions, while we provide support to deepen impact and expand capacity where needed. These grants were made possible through the generous support of Lilly Endowment Inc.

In 2026 and 2027, the Educating Character Initiative (ECI) intends to award grants to institutions and new Communities of Impact (CoI) to implement projects that educate character at varying scales, with different focuses and expected impacts. The ECI supports grantees by providing training, 1:1 consulting and coaching from our staff of character scholars, and a network of institutions working to educate character.


Learn about our Grants

Institutional Impact Grants

The Institutional Impact Grant is for institutions prepared for a major, three-year effort to educate character across campus, providing $100,000 to $1,000,000 for a mission-aligned initiative.

Institutional Impact Grants

Capacity-Building Grants

The Capacity-Building Grant is for institutions new to character education or with smaller projects, offering up to $50,000 to build institutional support and overcome resource challenges.

Capacity-Building Grants

Communities of Impact Grants

The Communities of Impact Grant is for multi-institutional higher education teams, offering up to $75,000 to support one-year projects that build intentional communities to address character education challenges and develop practical resources to meet these needs.

Communities of Impact Grants