We Are changemakers
The Changemaker Initiative is where Change The Story was born…
The Changemaker Initiative launched in 2018 as an experiment in pioneering a new kind of church: connecting the compassion of Jesus with the skills of social innovation. Could this give new language, energy, and effectiveness to the church’s mission? As a large church in Silicon Valley, Los Altos United Methodist Church was ready to wrestle with this question. Embracing the vision of Senior Pastor Kathi McShane, LAUMC partnered with the secular social entrepreneurship organization Ashoka for one year to learn about the skills and process of making change.
Because of support from
The Lilly Endowment
The Changemaker Initiative at Los Altos United Methodist Church received a $1.5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help launch Change the Story, a young adult innovation hub designed to nurture the spiritual lives of young adults ages 23-29 in Silicon Valley and connect them in new ways with faith communities.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic 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 and maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. The Endowment also funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. The primary aim of its grantmaking in religion focuses on strengthening the leadership and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States.