December 17, 2025 Update: Congratulations to Monroe County’s 2026 Lilly Scholarship recipients: Helee Patel & Erica Urheim
October 14, 2025 Update: Ten local high school seniors recognized as finalists for Monroe County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship
The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship program provides scholarships for full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and 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.
The program is administered statewide by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and locally through the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County.
Including Monroe County’s two scholarship recipients in cohort 2026, the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program will provide 147 scholarships statewide this year.
There is not a rigid model for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholar statewide. In Monroe County, a student who demonstrates notable abilities, leadership skills, and civic potential through community service, exemplary school citizenship, and outstanding academic performance will be considered as a high-quality candidate. In order to qualify, students must meet the following criteria:
- Applicants must be a legal resident of Monroe County, Indiana.
- Applicants must be currently attending or have attended an accredited Monroe County high school and/or the Indiana Academy (in Delaware County) for at least three consecutive years (including senior year) and graduate by June of 2026. Eligible schools include: Bloomington High School North, Bloomington High School South, Edgewood High School, Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship, Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics & Humanities in Delaware County, Bloomington Graduation School, Seven Oaks Classical School, Harmony School, Covenant Christian School and Lighthouse Christian Academy.
- Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.70 or above (weighted, on a four-point scale) through the end of their junior year and plan to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an Indiana college or university beginning in the Fall of 2026.
Access the application through the CFBMC scholarship application portal HERE. The deadline for the initial application for Monroe County for the 2026 cohort was August 18, 2025, at 11:59 pm.
Applications are blindly reviewed and independently scored by members of a Lilly Scholarship committee at each Monroe County high school to identify semifinalists. Each school’s senior class size determines the number of semifinalists identified. In September, students selected as semifinalists in Monroe County answer additional application questions and provide reference recommendations from teachers or others.
The Community Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee then evaluates the semifinalist applications. This committee, comprised of community members and a former Monroe County Lilly Scholar, blindly reviews and scores applications from the semifinalists to select ten finalists. In October, each finalist is interviewed, and their interview scores are combined with the scores from the written applications. All finalists participated in an interview in October.
The finalists’ rankings, along with the committee’s recommendations for scholarship nominees, are then submitted to Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. for final selection of scholarship recipients for Monroe County.
For questions about Monroe County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship or assistance with the application, please contact Program Director Marcus Whited at marcus@cfbmc.org.