December 16, 2025
The University of Southern Indiana has received a $2.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help the Historic New Harmony program establish the Historic New Harmony Religious Liberty Initiative, a comprehensive project aimed at exploring and celebrating the role of freedom of belief, both religious and secular, in shaping visionary communities and inspiring new ways of living.
Through this grant, Historic New Harmony will explore how American ideals of freedom shaped the 19th-century communal experiments in New Harmony, Indiana, the religious Harmonist Society, and Robert Owen’s secular “Community of Equality,” as well as the 20th-century revitalization efforts led by the late philanthropist Jane Blaffer Owen.
The New Harmony Religious Liberty Initiative will enhance the visitor experience at Historic New Harmony through new educational programs, updated interpretive materials and expanded digital and on-site resources. Planned efforts include programming aligned with the Owen-Maclure 200th, a project that is commemorating the bicentennial of Robert Owen’s New Harmony community from 2025–27, and activities associated with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. The initiative will also improve the Atheneum, Historic New Harmony’s iconic visitor center, and advance strategic communication efforts, including refreshed brand identity, a new website and updated building signage featuring a self-guided multimedia tour. Through these efforts, Historic New Harmony expects to broaden its audience and strengthen engagement among students, scholars, local residents and visitors from across the nation.
“Historic New Harmony preserves an essential American story,” said Leslie Townsend, Director of Community Engagement and Historic New Harmony. “With this grant, we can better share how New Harmony’s values of open thought and cooperation continue to inspire how we build communities today.”
This is the third grant Lilly Endowment has made to support Historic New Harmony’s efforts to strengthen the ways in which the program helps visitors understand the religious and spiritual history of New Harmony. These grants have funded the preservation of historic buildings, expansion of educational programs and the enhancement of visitor experiences, ensuring that New Harmony’s story of innovation, community and freedom of thought continues to inspire audiences nationwide.
“We are grateful for Lilly Endowment’s investment in this work,” said Diane Sanders, Assistant Director of Historic New Harmony. “With this new initiative we will continue to honor New Harmony’s heritage and inspire progressive thought for generations to come.”
About Historic New Harmony
Historic New Harmony is an Outreach and Engagement program of the University of Southern Indiana. By preserving its utopian legacy, Historic New Harmony inspires innovation and progressive thought through its programs and collections.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of about religion and lift up in fair, accurate and balanced ways the roles that people of all faiths and various religious communities play in the United States and around the globe.