The Elli Lilly Scholarship Program -

According to family lore, the concept for Lilly Endowment was born in 1936 on the veranda of the Lilly family’s vacation home at Lake Wawasee in north-central Indiana. Josiah Kirby (J.K.) Lilly, Sr. (left) and his younger brother J.K. Lilly, Jr. were informed of the plan by Eli Lilly (center) (right). Eli Lilly recalled that he had “advised” in a document from 1967 that we create such an organization if we wished to carry on the family’s legacy of charitable giving in the community.

Scholarship Sponsor

Lily Endowment Foundation

With grants of stock in Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Endowment Inc. was formally founded in 1937. Col. Eli Lilly, J.K. Lilly’s father, established the pharmaceutical company in Indianapolis in 1876. Although J.K. Sr. and his sons’ initial gifts of 17,500 shares, valued at $262,500, were generous, they did not end there. After stock splits, their aggregate donations by 1971 totaled approximately 32 million shares, or around $94 million. Another 210,000 shares, worth $1.1 million, were provided by several non-family members. And Ruth Lilly, J.K. Jr.’s daughter, included the Endowment in her estate plan, resulting in gifts from her starting in 2003 totalling more than $200 million.

J.K. Sr. and his two sons’ generosity extended far beyond the Endowment. Millions of dollars were donated by each of them to other charitable organizations, and they also donated a variety of items, including real estate and private collections, for charity purposes.

For his son and grandsons, Col. Eli Lilly, who created Eli Lilly and Company, provided a good example. He was a prominent member of the Indianapolis community who assisted in founding the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce’s forerunner, the Commercial Club of Indianapolis. He also played a significant role in promoting the Charity Organization Society, which oversaw relief and employment initiatives in Indianapolis during the late 1800s’ economic downturns.

The YMCA, the Community Fund (later known as United Way of Central Indiana), and the Red Cross were among of J.K. Srfavorite .’s charitable organizations. He also contributed a lot of time and money to various scientific, charitable, and philanthropic causes. He was a founding member of the Indianapolis Foundation’s board of trustees and assisted in founding and running the Purdue Research Foundation. He made considerable contributions to the Amelia Earhart Fund for Aeronautical Research, which aided in the production of technical and scientific information vital to the aviation sector. The money was used to pay for flights in Earhart’s Lockhead Electra “flying laboratory,” which was adapted for long-distance travel. This included the 1937 voyage during which Earhart vanished while attempting to circumnavigate the globe.

Young Eli, subsequently known as Mr. Eli, gave millions of dollars to Indianapolis Episcopal churches, played a key role in setting up Indiana’s United Way chapter, and generously supported other universities and nonprofits. He donated almost all of his assets to charity, with gifts going to the Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, the Indiana Historical Society, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and other educational institutions.

About The Scholarship

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program aims to improve Indiana’s level of educational attainment, raise awareness of the beneficial roles that local community foundations can play in their neighborhoods, and support efforts made by Lilly Endowment Community Scholars to collaborate with other citizens and state officials to enhance Indiana’s quality of life.

Apply also; The Kimbo Foundation Scholarship Program

The Endowment holds that the personal, civic, and economic well-being of Indiana residents and communities depends on education at all levels. The goal of this initiative is to persuade many of Indiana’s most gifted youngsters to enroll in a state university and then seek professions there.

The 92 county-specific community foundations in Indiana actively participate in the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which is run by the Independent Colleges of Indiana.

Primary Components Of The Program

• Four years of full tuition, all necessary fees, and a book allowance. (Does not cover lodging, meals, or travel costs.)

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• Recipients may enroll at any four-year institution, public or private, in Indiana that has been granted Higher Learning Commission accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

• Applicants must possess a high school diploma from a high school in Indiana that has been granted accreditation by the State Board of Education or by a local, state-recognized entity that accredits high schools.

• Applicants must be state of Indiana citizens.

• Application deadlines, selection criteria, and procedures differ by county.

• Recipients are required to enroll full-time in an undergraduate baccalaureate program.

• Every year, 143 scholarships are given out.

How To Apply

Dates and deadlines for applications may change. Get in touch with your county’s community foundation for further information.

Need To Know More?

Contact Ted Maple, vice president for education at Lilly Endowment, at 317-916-7309 or Mary Dickerson at Independent Colleges of Indiana, 317-684-4297.