2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Application

The 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application window is now closed.

The 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application is now open through September 12, 2025 in Boone County through the Community Foundation of Boone County. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) will provide 147 scholarships statewide and two 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 percent 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 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.

Students can learn more about the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in Boone County and apply for this scholarship by clicking the button above or by visiting https://www.grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=cfboonescholarship. Click the ‘Apply’ button at the top left of the dashboard to access the Lilly Scholarship application. Applications must be completed and submitted by Friday, September 12, 2025 at 2:00pm 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 (non-school affiliated) letters of recommendation. One of the letters of recommendation must be submitted by someone the student has worked with in a community service capacity.

Eight 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 before winter break.

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. 

Community Foundation of Boone County is again pleased to offer LECSP for its 29th year in Boone County.  

The Community Foundation of Boone County exists to unite people, organizations, and philanthropy to create a thriving community for all. Since 1991, its leaders have worked to empower and engage local communities to make a difference right here in Boone County, while also leading a vision to collaboratively address the root causes of challenges facing Boone County in diverse and equitable ways. The Community Foundation continues to invest in the people working to fill local needs and has granted more than $31 million to nonprofit organizations and programs working to solve critical challenges in Boone County. With nearly $38 million in assets, the Community Foundation works with donors to create permanent funds for charitable giving, to 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.