LA PORTE COUNTY, IN—The 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application is now available on the Unity Foundation of La Porte County website, uflc.net. Applications must be completed and submitted by 11:59 p.m. on September 10, 2025, to be considered.

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP), administered statewide by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and locally in La Porte County by Unity Foundation, will provide scholarships to two La Porte County students. 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.

To be eligible, students must: be a resident of La Porte County; graduate by June 30, 2026, from an accredited high school that serves La Porte County; intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an eligible college or university in Indiana; have a GPA (unweighted) of at least 3.75 as of the beginning of their senior year of high school, and submit a complete online application at uflc.net/scholarships/lilly by the deadline.

Applications will be evaluated based on academic achievement, demonstrated service to others, leadership ability, commitment and motivation to succeed, and to a lesser extent, financial need. A committee comprised of volunteers from throughout the county will interview finalists before recommending two students to the Independent Colleges of Indiana, who make the final selection. 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 the 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.

Since 1998, 76 La Porte County students and their families have benefited from this generous scholarship program, totaling more than $6 million. “We are proud of the academic and professional success of all our Lilly Endowment Community Scholars. We are especially proud of those who have returned to the area as adults and are now giving back to La Porte County in a variety of ways,” said Maggi Spartz, Unity Foundation President.

Since 1992, Unity Foundation of La Porte County has served donors, nonprofits and local communities. As La Porte County’s community foundation, it manages $50 million in assets, administers more than 400 charitable funds, and has distributed nearly $29 million through direct grants and scholarships. Unity Foundation’s mission is to strengthen La Porte County now and forever by building permanent endowments; providing leadership; offering philanthropic vehicles for everyone; and being a catalyst for social and economic vitality. For more information, please visit uflc.net or call 219-879-0327.

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 $5.5 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.