The 2027 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application will be available August 3, 2026 in Fulton County 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 2027 and receive their diploma no later than June 30, 2027

•                   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 for complete information regarding the Fulton County application criteria.

Students can learn more about the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in Fulton County and apply for this scholarship by visiting www.nicf.org/fulton-county/scholarships.  Applications must be completed and submitted by Thursday, September 3, 2026 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.

The Fulton County Community Foundation is again pleased to offer LECSP for its thirtieth year in Fulton County. “Each year, it is a privilege for us at the Foundation to administer the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship and witness the remarkable talent, leadership, and potential of students across our communities,” said Hannah Bahney, Northern Indiana Community Foundation Program Director. 

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J. K. Lilly and his sons, Eli and J.K. Jr., through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, Lilly Endowment Inc. is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with its founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its 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 28 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ over 22,400 Hoosiers and generate a total local economic impact of over $5.3 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.