The National FFA Organization, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, says it has received a $10 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to expand its current efforts of character development to regional and local levels that will benefit states, teachers and students.
“We’re deeply honored to receive this support from Lilly Endowment,” said Ambra Tennery, Director of Educational Programs in the program and events division of the National FFA Organization. “Every day, across all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, our members are learning not just about agriculture, but about responsibility, integrity, and service. This grant reinforces the value of those lessons and helps us continue building future leaders who make a difference in their communities.”
This grant has been awarded through the latest round of Lilly Endowment’s initiative, Character Development Through Youth Programs, which helps youth-serving organizations with a nationwide reach create, test, implement and sustain strategies that support character development in young people ages 5 to 18.
In 2022, FFA received $3 million from Lilly Endowment to help strengthen Indiana FFA chapters through teacher professional development, recruitment and retention, curriculum development, and more. With that funding, FFA launched Grow With Us in 2024, a resource for students, parents, guidance counselors, teachers, and administrators interested in learning how agricultural education can positively impact students’ success in school and life after graduation, and how to offer it in their community.
Source: National FFA Organization