The online application for the 2027 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, administered by Heritage Fund and Independent Colleges of Indiana, is available online now.
The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program will provide two scholarships for Bartholomew County students. LECSP scholarships may be used for otherwise unreimbursed full tuition and required fees for four years of full-time undergraduate study that lead to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Scholars also receive a special allocation of up to $900 per year to help cover costs for required course books and equipment.
Applicants must reside in Bartholomew County; be on course to graduate with a diploma from an accredited public or private Indiana high school by the end of June 2027; have at least a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0-point scale; and demonstrate significant school involvement, community service, good character and leadership skills and financial need. Finalists must be available for interviews with the selection committee. Scholarship recipients must intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study beginning in Fall 2027 at an accredited public or private college or university in Indiana.
Complete eligibility requirements and application link and instructions are available at heritagefundbc.org/scholarships.
Applications and all required materials must be submitted by 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, 2026.
Lilly Endowment created LECSP in 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.
For more information, contact Scholarship & Grant Officer Jen Morrill at 812- 376-7772 or jmorrill@heritagefundbc.org.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
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.
About Independent Colleges of 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 30 private, nonprofit colleges and universities. ICI institutions employ more than 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.