Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Application Available August 1

The 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application will be available August 1, 2025 through the Fulton County Community Foundation. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) will provide 147 scholarships statewide with one being awarded in Fulton County. LECSP scholarships may be used for otherwise unreimbursed full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year. The special allocation may cover the costs for required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university.

The program, administered statewide by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and locally in Fulton County through the Northern Indiana Community Foundation, is open to all Indiana residents who:

• graduate from an accredited Indiana high school by 2026 and receive their diploma no later than June 30, 2026;
• intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an eligible college or university in Indiana; and
• meet the criteria specific to their local community foundation.

Visit www.nicf.org/fulton-county/scholarships for the application, which must be completed and submitted by Thursday, September 4, 3:00 p.m. ET to be considered.

Applications will be evaluated on, but not limited to, the following criteria: academic performance, service in community, work, and school, as well as application essays. Finalists will be nominated by the Fulton County Lilly Committee, and their selection will be submitted to ICI for review. Scholarship recipients will be notified in December.

Lilly Endowment created LECSP for the 1997-98 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling more than $505 million. More than 5,400 Indiana students have received Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships since the program’s inception.

The primary purposes of LECSP are: 1) to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; 2) to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 3) to encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship another year and want to thank Lilly Endowment Inc. for continuing to invest in the bright futures of our local students,” said Shannon Berger, Northern Indiana Community Foundation Scholarship Coordinator. “This opportunity goes far beyond financial support—it opens the door to a network of dedicated mentors, peers, and professionals who are all committed to seeing these scholars succeed. It’s incredibly rewarding to witness the lasting impact this program has, not only on individual lives but on entire 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. The Endowment funds significant programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion. However, it maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.

Since 1997, Independent Colleges of Indiana has administered the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program statewide with funding provided by Lilly Endowment Inc. Founded in 1948, ICI serves as the collective voice for the state’s 29 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ over 22,000 Hoosiers and generate a total local economic impact of over $5.5 billion annually. Students at ICI colleges have Indiana’s highest four-year, on-time graduation rates, and ICI institutions produce 30 percent of Indiana’s bachelor’s degrees while enrolling 20 percent of its undergraduates.