The application for the 2024 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in Boone County through the Community Foundation of Boone County opened July 27 and closed at 2 p.m. on September 1, 2023. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) will provide 147 scholarships statewide and 2 scholarships in Boone 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 Boone County through the Community Foundation of Boone County, is open to all Indiana residents who:
- claim residency in Boone County, Indiana
- are within the upper 20% of their high school’s graduating class after 6 semesters
- submit a complete online application including short answer essays, a personal statement, and two (non-school affiliated) letters of recommendation. One recommendation must be submitted by someone the student has worked with in a community service capacity.
- graduate from an accredited Indiana high school by 2024 and receive their diploma no later than June 30, 2024
- intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an eligible college or university in Indiana
Starting July 27, students will be able to apply for this scholarship. Applications must be submitted by Friday, September 1, 2023 at 2 p.m. to be considered.
Applications will be evaluated on, but not limited to, the following criteria: community involvement, volunteerism, commitment to the State of Indiana, work experience, academic performance, school activities, short answer essays, and two letters of recommendation.
Eight to ten finalists will be nominated by the Community Foundation of Boone County, and their names will be submitted to ICI for final selection of the recipients. Scholarship recipients will be notified in mid-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 $486 million. More than 5,000 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.
Since 1991, the Community Foundation of Boone County has granted over $29 million from its various funds to nonprofit organizations and programs working to solve critical challenges in Boone County. Through the generosity of donors, the Community Foundation currently holds over $30 million in net assets. Over the past 32 years, we have worked with donors to create permanent funds for charitable giving. The establishment and growth of permanent endowment funds will strengthen Boone County for generations to come.
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 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.