$5 million over 5 years to spread spiritual storytelling
In November 2025, Augustana received a $5 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to spread young adult stories of faith.
Senior University Pastor Ann Rosendale and Director of Development and Planned Giving Paul Rasmussen worked together starting in January 2025 to write a grant proposal for the endowment’s National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life.
The Lilly Endowment is a philanthropy that focuses its gifting on causes that promote community, education and religion. Rosendale said they want to share stories of “vibrant and authentic faith,” which made her think Augustana was the perfect place to spread that initiative.
“It’s becoming clearer to others that Augustana is a place that not just takes faith seriously, but invests in it,” Rosendale said.
After the initial proposal submission in March 2025, Augustana was among 50 applicants out of 1,100 to move on to the second phase of the decision process. Each applicant was given $50,000 as a planning grant to aid in their second draft proposal. Those who used this money effectively would receive a much larger grant.
Rosendale and Rasmussen used the money to survey students, faculty, staff and congregations over the summer. The survey included questions about what kind of storytelling would be most fascinating to or resonate best with the community. With the seed money, the team also hired a consultant who proctored focus groups.
These surveys identified the stories the Augustana community wanted to hear, allowing the second proposal to address how the grant could make these ideas a reality.
The second proposal was submitted in August, and it wasn’t until the week of Thanksgiving when Augustana was officially granted $5 million to spread stories of faith throughout our community.
“People don’t get these sorts of resources to share the love of God,” Rosendale said of the unique opportunity.
The project on campus is called “Sacred Discoveries: Stories of Christians Flourishing in College” — or “Sacred Disco” for short. The newly assembled team resides in an office on the first floor of Tuve Hall.
Jason Andera, one of the newly hired project managers for Sacred Discoveries, is excited for the opportunity to be at the starting stage of something so moldable.
“There are so many possibilities,” Andera said.
The project the team is most excited about is a mobile recording studio they have named the God Pod. Currently, a van is being outfitted with audio recording equipment so that stories of faith can be recorded anywhere.
Faculty and congregations will be able to apply for micro-grants to aid in any ideas they may have so multiple projects can be led at the same time.
Sacred Discoveries will focus on five storytelling modalities to align with the different ways people connect with and share stories of faith. Digital, oral and written storytelling, as well as storytelling through art and service, open the doors for many students to get involved.
While Augustana’s Buntrock Scholars will act as lead storytellers for the initiative, the project’s directors intend to hear stories of students from all areas of campus and the community. This includes students who do not come from a Christian background.
“We want to make sure that the voices on campus here are accurately portrayed because there’s a lot of different faiths on this campus,” Andera said. “It’s important to tell those stories too.”
Sacred Discoveries is partnering with The Moth Educational Program who will teach students and members of the community the important tools of compelling storytelling. Representatives from Moth will visit campus on March 23 for Sacred Discoveries’ first storytelling initiative.
John Mortrude, a sophomore member of the chapel staff, is looking forward to the opportunity to be involved.
“The project creates space for meaningful conversations and invites our community to think deeply about who we are and how our stories shape us,” Mortrude said. “It will be a lot of fun to work on the projects that the funds provide for.”
