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The Fayette Community Foundation is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2023 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Fayette County – Garrett Templeton of Connersville High School.  Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.

Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for full tuition, required fees and a special allocation of up to $900 per year for required books and required equipment for four years. The scholarship is for undergraduate students studying on a full-time basis leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars may also participate in the Lilly Scholars Network (LSN), which connects both current scholars and alumni with resources and opportunities to be active leaders on their campuses and in their communities. Both the scholarship program and LSN are supported by grants from Lilly Endowment to Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and Indiana Humanities.

“The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is truly a blessing to me as it has and will forever change my life. With this scholarship I now have the opportunity to help others with the knowledge I obtain at college and look forward to using the skills I will learn to give back to this great community!” said Garrett Templeton, Lilly Endowment Community Scholar

In determining Fayette County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar(s) nominees, consideration was given to academic achievement, volunteering and community engagement, extracurricular activities, recommendations, special circumstances, essay responses, and an in person presentation and interview.  After the field of applicants was narrowed down, nominees were submitted to ICI, the statewide administrator of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program, which approves the final selection of scholarship recipients.

“This year’s pool of finalists was full of very deserving candidates. Our application process was extremely thorough and helped lead us to a well-rounded recipient. Garrett had a very well-written application in which he spoke about all of his accomplishments, which earned him a spot as one of our five finalists. The interview scoring committee was also impressed by his presentation, interview, and overall conduct. We are proud to have Garrett as this year’s recipient.” said Morgan Hamilton, FCF Director of Community Impact.

Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1998-99 school year and has supported the program every year since with grants totaling in excess of $486 million. More than 5,000 Indiana students have received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship since the program’s inception.

The primary purposes of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship 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.

The Fayette County Foundation’s mission is to inspire a spirit of philanthropy and leadership in Fayette County to enhance the quality of life. We connect donors and nonprofit agencies to improve the quality of life in our community. We help strengthen nonprofit agencies to better respond to community needs with financial support and capacity-building programs by providing grants from its unrestricted endowment and discretionary funds as well as from donor-advised funds.

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. 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 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.