The massive popularity of GLP-1 weight loss drugs is yielding huge donations to Christian causes, thanks to the substantial earnings of the drug company Eli Lilly.
Eli Lilly manufactures Zepbound and Mounjaro, which are used to treat obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
The company entered the Wall Street history books as the first pharmaceutical company to reach a value of more than one trillion dollars. Lilly Endowment, the private, Christian-focused charitable foundation, is the company’s largest shareholder, owning roughly 10 percent of its stock.
The financial windfall enabled the foundation to give away a jaw-dropping $1.3 billion to Christian causes in 2025.
John Seitz, Founder and President of FoundationMark, which tracks the investment performance of private foundations, told CBN News the Lilly Endowment has experienced a meteoric rise in the last decade.
“It’s the largest foundation. It’s bigger than the Gates Foundation, which a lot of people aren’t aware of,” he said.
Foundation spokesperson Judith Cebula told CBN News it aims “to deepen and enrich the religious lives of Christians in the United States,” across racial and denominational lines, including “Mainline Protestant, Pentecostal, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian as well as black and Hispanic” churches.
The foundation gave half a billion dollars to Christian theological schools, saying “the long-term vitality of congregations depends on excellent pastoral leadership.”
It also gave $235 million to support a national storytelling initiative that helps ministries “seek out and share stories that illuminate the vitality of Christian faith,” like those heard in many church testimonies.
The foundation also aims to merge faith and technology by granting Notre Dame University $51 million to build a faith-based ethical framework for artificial intelligence.
In addition to Christian causes, Lilly Endowment also supports hunger relief, National Parks, and schools.
While the success of Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 drugs remains at an all-time high, their sales are expected to increase as researchers discover more benefits to the drugs such as treating sleep apnea, Alzheimer’s Disease and addiction.
Beginning July 1, 2026, Medicare began covering the drugs, and Trump Rx offers the drugs at deeply discounted prices.
So far, Eli Lilly stock is up 11 percent this year over last year, and if that growth continues, it will likely mean even more support for Christian causes next year.
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