2025 LILLY ENDOWMENT COMMUNITY SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION NOW OPEN

Deadline to submit application is Aug 15th

MADISON, IN - The 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application is now available in Jefferson County through the Community Foundation of Madison and Jefferson County (CFMJC). The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) will provide 147 scholarships statewide and one scholarship in Jefferson 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 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 Jefferson County through the CFMJC, 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.

Jefferson County student applications will be evaluated on, but not limited to, the following criteria: Reside in Jefferson County, Indiana and attend an accredited high school in the county, be in the top 10% of their graduating class (minimum 3 per school) and complete the online application at cfmjc.org. A minimum of four finalists will be nominated by the CFMJC, and their names will be submitted to ICI for final selection of the recipients. Scholarship recipients will be notified in December.

Jefferson County utilizes a blind review process to provide anonymity to the applicants and the review committee. Initial scoring is based primarily on academics, with additional scoring for extracurricular involvement and letters of recommendation. Selected finalists will write a timed essay and participate in an interview, with scoring being added to the initial score.

Students can learn more about the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in Jefferson County and apply for this scholarship by visiting www.cfmjc.org/lecs. Applications must be completed and submitted by NOON on Thursday, August 15, 2024 to be considered.

The Community Foundation of Madison and Jefferson County is again pleased to offer LECSP for its 28th year in Jefferson County. “We greatly appreciate all the high school counselors and members of our selection committee who are instrumental in this process,” said Bill Barnes, President & CEO of the Community Foundation.

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: 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 Madison and Jefferson County has worked with charitably minded people and organizations to strengthen Jefferson County, Indiana. Our mission is to build a strong, vibrant community by helping donors provide perpetual funding for the people, projects, and passions of Jefferson County.

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.