Duke Receives $6 Million Grant to Train Church, Nonprofit Ministry Leaders

(Press release, March 30, 2015) — Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded Duke University a $6 million grant to support leadership education at Duke Divinity School focused on professional development opportunities for leaders in church and nonprofit ministries, President Richard H. Brodhead announced Monday.

The program, called Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, encourages a theological vision of leadership and supports Christian institutions — including seminaries, denominations and other nonprofit organizations — as they develop current and future leaders. The grant will also fund the expansion of effective programs, including Foundations of Christian Leadership, a two-week intensive seminar for institutional leaders.

“The Lilly Endowment has demonstrated a magnificent commitment to programs at Duke that develop leaders who work to strengthen communities,” Brodhead said. “We are grateful that this grant will allow Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School to expand its successful support for ministry and nonprofit leaders.”

Richard Hays, dean of Duke Divinity School, called the gift “a major boost to our commitment to offer support to emerging Christian leaders in a rapidly changing environment.”

“We are grateful for Lilly Endowment’s strong support for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity,” Hays said. “This program embodies a broad vision for enhancing Christian leadership in a variety of settings, not only in churches but also in other institutions that provide educational or social services to address human needs.”

Leadership Education at Duke Divinity was created in 2008 with a $14 million grant from Lilly Endowment. The grant helped Duke Divinity start several programs, including Denominational Leadership, which has equipped more than 150 denominational staff members with tools and strategies to navigate the complexities of institutional leadership.

The grant also established the online magazine “Faith & Leadership,” which reaches 318,000 readers annually and publishes new content that draws on multiple disciplines, as well as the e-newsletter “News & Ideas,” which provides a daily roundup of stories from other news outlets about the church and the world.