Lilly and United Way Celebrate Deepening Partnership, Community Impact

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Representatives from Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) and United Way and its partner agencies gathered today to celebrate the early success of a new partnership approach that includes pairing Lilly teams with United Way agencies and a record gift of $13 million. The results will be shared today from 4-6 p.m. at an Impact Celebration event hosted at the new CityWay YMCA in Indianapolis. 

The donation to United Way comes from Lilly and Elanco Animal Health employees and retirees in the United States and Puerto Rico, and a dollar-for-dollar matching gift from the Lilly Foundation. The funds will support United Way of Central Indiana and other United Ways nationwide and in Puerto Rico. Locally, Lilly's campaign contribution typically accounts for about 25 percent of the annual campaign for United Way of Central Indiana.

New Approach Focused on Impact
With ties dating back nearly 100 years, Lilly has raised more than $250 million for United Way. Over the last several years, Lilly has increased its engagement with United Way to drive greater community impact. This includes work in central Indiana—such as the collaboration to make quality pre-K education available to 1,500 children in low-income communities—and across the U.S. and with United Way Worldwide on projects in Brazil, South Africa and the UK.

In 2015, Lilly and United Way of Central Indiana are piloting a new approach in which more than 50 Lilly teams—ranging from more than a dozen to several hundred employees—have been paired with United Way agencies. The goal is to create deeper relationships that allow Lilly employees to understand their agency partner's mission and needs, identify how they can best support those needs and then work together to advance the agency's goals. The pairings are for a minimum of one year.

"United Way has built a new strategy focused on driving community impact," said Lilly Foundation President Rob Smith. "In so doing, they have built a strong, compelling case for donors and have generated new opportunities for advocacy and volunteerism. We are excited about our future work with United Way to make our communities better places for everyone." 

About United Way and Lilly
Lilly has ties with the United Way dating back to World War I, when J.K. Lilly served as a member of the War Chest, a forerunner of today's United Way. Over the last 92 years, Lilly has raised more than $250 million for United Way.

Lilly also partners with United Way on local community efforts in Brazil, South Africa and the UK. In addition, Lilly works with United Way Worldwide to reduce the burden of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) through the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, which helps people living in low-income communities in China, India, Russia and South Africa.

Lilly Chairman, President and CEO John Lechleiter, Ph.D., is in his second year as Chairman of the Board of United Way Worldwide.

About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels. CR-LLY 

Refer to: David Marbaugh; [email protected]; (317) 489-7109 

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