Scholarships for Students

Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Madison County is administered by the Madison County Community Foundation.

Madison County's Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is awarded to two students, who will be provided eight semesters of full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of $900 per year for required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full time basis, leading to a baccalaureate degree at any Indiana public or private college or university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

In our selection process, applications will be reviewed by a committee of community members. Reviews are completed anonymously without disclosure of student or parent identity. Each Lilly finalist who is not selected as a recipient will be awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the Madison County Community Foundation.

The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program 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.

Applications for 2025 are now closed. Contact Us for Help

Eligibility Requirements (subject to change each year)

Madison County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is open to students that:

Reside in Madison County AND are a student of a Madison County school (Daleville and Madison-Grant student who reside in Madison County only) for 12 months prior to the date of application. Students may only apply in 1 county;
Rank in the Top 15% (weighted GPA) of their class academically after six (6) semesters (end of Junior year) to be verified by your school guidance counselor;
Intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an accredited public or private Indiana college or university;
Complete the application in full and submit by the stated deadline;
Will graduate from one of the following high schools in 2025 (and receive their diploma no later than June 30, 2025).

Applicants will be evaluated on five criteria, each weighted as follows:

Academic Performance 20%
Community Service 30%
Extra-Curricular Activities 30%
Application and Essay 20%

Application evaluation is done “blindly” therefore no personal information will be available to the committee to ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation process. Committee members are required to complete a score card online,the MCCF Vice President of Programs will complete a scoring composite of all applicants and reserve the “pre-interview subtotals” to be used in the event of a tie. Application scores also comprise 50% of the overall finalist total. Finalists are determined by the top application scores from each high school.

The number of finalists from each accredited high schools in the county are as follows:

Schools with class size above 300 students will have 2 finalists
Schools with class size 299-101 will have 1 finalist
Schools with class size under 100 will have one total (APA, Liberty Christian, Daleville, Madison-Grant)

Alexandria High School- 1 finalist
Anderson High School- 2 finalists
Anderson Preparatory Academy- 1 potential finalist
Elwood High School- 1 finalists
Frankton High School- 1 finalists
Lapel High School- 1 finalists
Liberty Christian High School- 1 potential finalist
Pendleton-Heights High School-2 finalists
Daleville High School - 1 potential finalist (MC residents only)
Madison-Grant High School - 1 potential finalist (MC residents only)

Interviews

Interviews dates will be posted mid-June pending approval.

Interviews are scheduled to last 20 minutes and include questions from each member. Based on the following criteria:

Personal Presentation 40%
Presentation Skills 30%
Question and Answers 30%

Immediately following each interview, all Selection Committee members will complete the interview score rubric and score the candidate.

Application and Essay Score: 50%
Interview Score: 50%

The top two scores will be selected as the recipients.

Application dates will be posted mid-June pending approval.

2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars

Jaylin Hernandez

Anderson High School
Anderson, Indiana

Jaylin will be a first-generation college student, determined to make a lasting impact. Hernandez said in his scholarship application, “The reason I want to give back to my community is because I want to continue helping the younger generation succeed. There were people when I was young that I saw as role models; they encouraged and supported me. This makes me want to give back and be a positive role model for them.”

Austin Perny

Pendleton Heights HS
Pendleton, Indiana

Austin is a student athlete and has been actively involved in community service and is committed to continuing his education and making a difference. One of Austin’s goals is “to work for a company that aligns with my ideals and has a foundation of altruism and making a positive communal impact. Morality is at the core of everything I want to do, both in my career and out of it.”