Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship opens Aug. 8

Scholarship administered locally by community foundations across Indiana provides full tuition, fees and up to $900 annually for books and equipment for four years of undergraduate study at an eligible Indiana college or university.

The 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application will be available Aug 8. 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 Fulton County Community Foundation, is open to all Indiana residents who: 

• Graduate from an accredited Indiana high school by 2025 and receive their diploma no later than June 30, 2025; 
• Intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an eligible college or university in Indiana;
• 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 Monday, Sept. 9, at 3 p.m. 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. 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 $490 million. More than 5,300 Indiana students have received Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships since the program’s inception.

The primary purposes of LECSP are: to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana; to increase awareness of the beneficial roles Indiana community foundations can play in their communities; and 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. 

–FCCF report