April 6, 2011; Source: Indiana University | The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University – the folks that produce the annual Giving USA Report – must be pinching themselves today. They announced yesterday an $8 million grant from the estate of Ruth Lilly. This is, according to Patrick Rooney, executive director of the center, the largest gift ever received by IU's well-known Center on Philanthropy. Lilly was deeply involved with IU for many years, giving over her lifetime a total of $30 million to the university.

Rooney says that the Center on Philanthropy will use the money to build its faculty, its academic programs for students, and its research capacity. The center is a vitally important anchor in the nonprofit sector’s infrastructure, producing a report yearly that examines philanthropic giving trends in some detail.—Ruth McCambridge