COGIC CHARITIES RECEIVES HALF MILLION DOLLAR GRANT

Lilly Endowment's Hope After the Storm Initiative Invests in Faith-Based Disaster Relief Capacity

We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for recognizing the vital role faith-based organizations play in disaster relief and for entrusting COGIC Charities to carry this work forward.”

— COGIC Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard

MEMPHIS, TN, UNITED STATES, April 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- COGIC Charities, the benevolent arm of The Church Of God In Christ, has received a $500,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative, Hope After the Storm: Capacity Building for Faith-Based Disaster Relief Organizations.

With this investment, COGIC Charities will establish Regional Disaster Relief Warehouses to serve as essential supply distribution centers across the country. These regional locations will create reliable pipelines for crucial supplies — delivering food, water, and in some cases clothing, and critical medicine in response to natural disasters and to those who have been displaced from their homes.

In addition to infrastructure development, the grant will fund education and training programs to equip members of the organization with emergency preparedness expertise. COGIC Charities' objective is to be proactive — providing pastoral leaders across its jurisdictions with comprehensive disaster manuals and relief kits designed to help them navigate community challenges before, during, and after a disaster.

“This grant from Lilly Endowment is a divine confirmation of what COGIC Charities has been called to do — to serve as a beacon of hope when communities need it most. Our mission has always been to meet people at their point of need, and now we have the resources to build lasting infrastructure that will allow us to respond with greater speed, compassion, and reach. We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for recognizing the vital role faith-based organizations play in disaster relief and for entrusting COGIC Charities to carry this work forward.”
— Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard, Chairman, COGIC Charities Board of Directors

COGIC Charities will use the grant to expand Disaster Relief Pantries serving the California West Coast, Maryland East Coast, and communities throughout the Midwest. The initiative aims to ensure optimal readiness, provide community support during disasters and emergencies, and identify smaller satellite sites to serve as holding and distribution facilities in affected areas.

The grant to COGIC Charities is one of 30 grants being awarded through Hope After the Storm, an initiative which aims to strengthen the capacity of faith-based organizations to provide aid to individuals and families affected by disasters in communities throughout the United States.

Lilly Endowment recognizes that faith-based organizations play a key role in providing disaster relief services across the nation, serving as important vehicles through which individuals and religious communities live out their faith by volunteering and giving to address the immediate needs of their neighbors.

About COGIC Charities
COGIC Charities is the official benevolent arm of The Church Of God In Christ (COGIC), the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, with a global presence exceeding 12,000 congregations in more than 106 nations. COGIC Charities exists to demonstrate the love of Christ through tangible acts of mercy and justice — mobilizing the Church to respond to human need through disaster relief and educational scholarship assistance. Guided by the faith and vision of Presiding Bishop J. Drew Sheard, COGIC Charities partners with local jurisdictions, government agencies, and philanthropic organizations to deploy resources where they are needed most. For more information, visit www.cogic.org.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based 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. Although the gifts of stock remain a 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. The Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, and maintains a special commitment to its founders' hometown of Indianapolis and home state of Indiana.

Robert E Coleman Jr
CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST, INC
+1 901-235-2160
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