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Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship

Since 1998, the Hendricks County Community Foundation has partnered with Lilly Endowment Inc. to administer the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program. The program aims to increase educational attainment in Indiana, highlight the role of community foundations, and encourage scholars to engage with community and state leaders to improve quality of life. Scholarships cover full tuition, required fees, and up to $900 annually for books and equipment for up to eight semesters (or 12 quarters) of full-time undergraduate study at any accredited Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university.

One Room Schoolhouse

LECSP in Hendricks County

An overriding goal of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is to help meet the scholarship needs of students in the state of Indiana as identified and articulated within local communities. In furtherance of that goal, Lilly Endowment Inc. allows community foundations wide latitude to develop the student scholarship application and nomination criteria and procedures.

The 2026-2027 program is broken into two parts: The Application and The Interview.

The Application

All HCCF Scholarships, including the LECSP, utilize the same student application; however, each has its own rubric.

For LECSP, the rubric is as follows:

  • Outside School Activities–20 points: What does the student do in their free-time? 
    • Community Activities i.e. 4-H, Boy or Girl Scouts, The Children’s Ballet, Indianapolis Children’s Choir, etc.
    • Community Service
    • Faith (outside of attending regular services)
    • Responsibilities at Home (outside of regular chores)
    • Work including unpaid internships, family jobs, etc. 
  • School Activities–15 points: What is the student involved in at or through the school?
  • Academics–15 points:
    • Weighted GPA compared to applicants from the student’s school
    • Diploma track
    • Special needs
  • Financial Need–10 points:
    • Family Adjusted Gross Income
    • Number of individuals in the family
  • Unique Circumstances–5 points: Characteristics out of a student’s control like being a first generation college student, students with a physical or mental impairment, being in single parent home, etc.
  • Writing–5 points: Based on grammar, spelling, organization, clear writing, and content. 

Application scoring occurs in three rounds:

  • Round 1 – Pre-Score:
    • Applications are scored on Academics (2/3) and Financial Need (1/3) internally by HCCF Staff.
    • The top 100 applications, based on this Pre-Score, move on to Round 2 review. Each school is proportionally represented in the round of 100.
      • Avon ~30%; Brownsburg ~30%; Cascade ~5%; Danville ~ 10%; Plainfield ~15%; Tri-West ~5%
      • Other/Private Schools are pulled into this round of 100 based on the six public schools’ Pre-Score average.
  • Round 2 – Outside Reader:
    • Applications are scored by an outside reader at The University of Texas at Austin.
    • The Outside Reader scores Outside School Activities, School Activities, Writing, and Unique Circumstances.
    • The Outside Reader’s score is added to the application’s Academics and Financial Need scores. The top ~25 applications, based on this combined score, move on to Round 3 review.
  • Round 3 – Committee Review:
    • The Lilly Scholarship Committee is made up of HCCF Board Members, Hendricks County Community Members, and past Lilly Scholars and their family members.
    • The Committee scores Outside School Activities, School Activities, Writing, and Unique Circumstances.
    • The Academics and Financial Need scores are carried forward again. The Committee scores are averaged, with the highest and lowest scores being dropped and then added to the Academics and Financial Need scores.
    • The top ten applications move students on to interviews. Where their scores are wiped clean and the Interview Rubric is used.
  • Round 4 – Interview (see below)

If you are interested in serving on the HCCF Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program Committee, please contact Skylar Hazlett, Program Associate, at skylar@hendrickscountycf.org or 317.268.6240.

The Interview

In-person interviews will be held on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. Ten students are offered an interview and the times are randomly selected from 8:20am – 2pm.

First round scores are zeroed out, and the final recommendations are made solely on the interview score.

The Interview rubric is as follows:

  • Interview Questions–25 points
    • Caring/Compassionate
    • Community focus/drive
    • Grit/Resilience
    • Integrity
    • Leadership
  • Poise–5 points
  • Reference Check–5 points
    • Reference was notified by student that they were going to be contacted – 1 pt
    • Character Questions – 2.5 pts
    • Overall Call – 1.5 pts
  • Comparative Score–10 points: Interviewers rank the ten interviewees 1-10.
All interviewees are notified of the outcome by phone in December after the process is reviewed by a statewide Selection Committee.

If you have questions about scholarships please contact Skylar Hazlett, Program Associate, at skylar@hendrickscountycf.org or 317.268.6240.

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