FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne has received a $5,000,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Capital Project Initiative for Residential Youth Camps.
With the grant, the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne will continue in the quiet phase of a comprehensive campaign to secure a $5,000,000 match for grant funds to expand access, improve facilities, and enhance camp experiences. Camp Potawotami gives children a week of adventure, friendship, and growth in a safe, supervised environment. Open to everyone age 6 to 17, campers make lifelong memories while building confidence and independence.
The YMCA released the following:
Registration is open now for Summer 2026 sessions at fwycamp.org
“Camp Potawotami is a place where young people gain confidence, build friendships, and develop character in an environment that helps them grow in spirit, mind, and body,” said Andrew Gritzmaker, President and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Fort Wayne. “This matching award is a transformational step that will help us build a new dining hall, expand staff housing, and complete critical site and utility improvements that will strengthen camp operations for decades to come. This Lilly Endowment’s gift ensures that more young people from across Indiana will have access to life-changing camp experiences.”
This is in addition to a Lilly Endowment grant of $1,000,000 made in December 2025 through an earlier round of funding in the Capital Project Initiative for Residential Youth Camps. Together, this investment represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine Camp Potawotami and ensure every child, regardless of background, has access to the life- changing experience of camp.
The grant is one of 40 implementation grants being awarded through phase 3 of the Lilly Endowment initiative, which aims to help Indiana residential youth camps improve the overall camp experience and outcomes for youth through new, enhanced, and expanded facilities integral to quality youth camp programming. The latest grants, which were competitive, provide partial support for large-scale capital projects.
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