Apply for the Scholarship

The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is active from November through January each school year. The information contained on this page is not to be considered current at any other time.

Before Getting Started
Please read all of the information provided on the Eligibility and Criteria page before beginning the process of completing your application.  To apply for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship, you must submit the scholarship application form and all supplemental documents as instructed below.  If you have questions about any part of the scholarship application process, please contact us. 

Application Form
Complete all sections of the application form. The application form is designed to be completed on-screen and then submitted online.  The form cannot be saved for retrieval at a later time, so you should not begin entering data until you can devote sufficient time to completing the entire form in one sitting.  Some applicants find it helpful to print a blank copy of the form to complete by hand as time permits, and then use this "rough draft" to make completing the form online faster and easier.  The application for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is provided below: 

Scholarship Application Form

Supplemental Documents: 

1.  Agreement Statement
The Agreement Statement is designed to be printed, thoroughly reviewed, and then signed.  You must have Adobe Reader to access this file (Adobe Reader is free and can be downloaded at www.adobe.com/downloads).  The Agreement Statement must be mailed or delivered to the Community Foundation office as one of the required supplemental documents.

Agreement Statement

2.  FAFSA4caster
Financial need is one of the criterion for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship as administered by the Vanderburgh Community Foundation. Therefore, applicants must complete the FAFSA4caster.

The FAFSA4caster is a tool designed by the United States Department of Education to provide an early estimation of a student's eligibility for financial aid.  To access this tool, visit http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/.  Follow the instructions for data entry as indicated on the FAFSA4caster website, print the Estimated Federal Student Aid Eligibility report (FAFSA4caster Step 8) and submit this document along with other required supplemental documents.

3.  Essays
Submit two typed essays of about 400 words each, addressing the following:

Essay 1: "What obstacles have you or will you have to overcome to attain your educational goals?"

Essay 2: "What are your plans to serve your community now and in the future?"

The essays may either be attached as a Word or PDF document to the on-line application or printed and submitted with your other supplemental documents.

4.  Letters of Recommendation
Submit two letters of recommendation, which should be enclosed in sealed envelopes.  One letter should be from a teacher or high school counselor.  The other should be from someone other than a school official or a Community Foundation board member who is unrelated to you but can attest to your volunteer work and community service participation, leadership abilities and/or religious activities.

5.  Official Grade Transcript
You must obtain your official grade transcript from your high school guidance counselor.  The transcript must be submitted along with your other supplemental documents and must include your SAT/ACT scores and class ranking, if applicable.

Application Deadline and Submission Instructions
You must submit your application form on-line to the Vanderburgh Community Foundation by January 19, 2010. 

Your application will not be considered complete until the Community Foundation has received your application and supplemental documents.  The Agreement Statement, FAFSA4caster Expected Family Contribution report, essays, letters of recommendation, and official high school grade transcript must be received by the Vanderburgh Community Foundation by January 19, 2010 (please do not staple your supplemental documents together - use paper or binder clips only).  All supplemental documents must be mailed or delivered to the Community Foundation office with the exception of the essays which may be attached to your online application.

Applications and/or supplemental documents that are received after the deadline or are incomplete as of this date will not be considered.  If the deadline falls on a holiday or weekend, the application is due the preceding weekday. 

Please Note:  If no one is in the office at Suite 220, you may drop your documents in the mail chute in the door, or, if it will not fit, deliver them to the Community Foundation Alliance office on the third floor, Suite 322.