The 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application is now available in Vanderburgh County through the Vanderburgh Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation Alliance. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program (LECSP) will provide 147 scholarships statewide and three scholarships in Vanderburgh County. LECSP scholarships may be used for otherwise unreimbursed full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900 per year. The special allocation may cover the costs for required books and required 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, administered statewide by Independent Colleges of Indiana (ICI) and locally in Vanderburgh County through the Vanderburgh Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation Alliance, is open to all Indiana residents who: graduate from an accredited Indiana high school by 2026 and receive their diploma no later than June 30, 2026; intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an eligible college or university in Indiana; and meet the criteria specific to Vanderburgh Community Foundation. Visit vanderburghcf.org/lilly-endowment-community-scholarship-program for complete information regarding the Vanderburgh County application criteria. Students can learn more about the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in Vanderburgh County and apply for this scholarship by visiting the Vanderburgh Community Foundation website. Applications must be completed and submitted by August 25, 2025, to be considered. Applications will be evaluated on, but not limited to, the following criteria: academic ability, community activities, extracurricular activities/employment, honors and awards, personal statement and goals, application essay, finalist impromptu essay, and finalist interview. Six finalists will be nominated by the Vanderburgh Community Foundation, and their names will be submitted to ICI for final selection of the recipients. Scholarship recipients will be notified in December. Lilly Endowment created LECSP for the 1997-98 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling more than $505 million. More than 5,400 Indiana students have received Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships since the program’s inception. The primary purposes of LECSP 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. Vanderburgh Community Foundation is again pleased to offer LECSP for its 29th year in Vanderburgh County. “The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program is more than a financial award—it's an investment in the future leaders of our communities. We’re honored to support the next generation as they begin their journey toward higher education and meaningful impact,” said Melinda Waldroup, Chief Program Officer.

The Vanderburgh Community Foundation awarded more than $198,000 in Community Good grants to 16 nonprofit organizations through our 2025 Community Good Grants Program! Congratulations to the 2025 Community Good Grants Recipients! $33,000 – ECHO Housing Corporation To support the Collective Action Network. $23,400 – Ozanam Family Shelter To purchase dressers and mattresses for the Ozanam Family Shelter. $20,000 – Aurora To support the Street Outreach Program. $20,000 – Immigrant Welcome and Resource Center To support the New Americans Case Manager services. $15,000 – Evansville Wartime Museum To support education programs for K–12 students and senior citizens in Vanderburgh County. $15,000 – Lampion Center To support hope and healing through high-quality mental health therapy services. $10,000 – Evansville Christian Life Center To support the Evansville Christian Life Center Food Pantry. $10,000 – HOPE of Evansville To support the Foreclosure Prevention Program. $10,000 – The Isaiah 1:17 Project To support building communities where every child has a loving, safe family. $10,000 – The Salvation Army – Evansville Corps To support the Pathway to Hope program. $7,000 – Meals on Wheels of Evansville To support homebound meal delivery services. $6,500 – Little Lambs To support the "Building a Community of Safe, Healthy Children" services. $5,260 – Trades for Tomorrow To support field trips for students enrolled in Vanderburgh County schools. $5,000 – Albion Fellows Bacon Center To enhance exterior security. $5,000 – Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites To support Native American Week activities at Angel Mounds. $3,500 – Sleep in Heavenly Peace – Evansville Chapter To support the "No Kid Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town!" program, which provides beds for local children. Grants are made possible by Community Good Unrestricted Funds and Field of Interest Funds, which support a wide variety of needs in Vanderburgh County. Charles & Frances Crawford and Beth Ann Mosier Fund – Vanderburgh Friends of Vanderburgh County Fund German American Bancorp Community Fund – Vanderburgh Heritage Federal Community Good Fund of Vanderburgh County Jeff & Tricia Hollander Henning Family Community Good Endowment Fund John DeWitt Browning Community Good Fund Rebecca J. Dorr Endowment Fund Robert J. and Judy Decker Wargel Community Good Endowment Fund Tank Family Community Good Endowment Fund Vanderburgh Special Project Fund Welcoming Indiana’s Next Generation (WING) Endowment Fund Fund Health and Human Services in Vanderburgh County James A. McCarty Fund for the Arts Saleta Evans Memorial Fund

The Vanderburgh Community Foundation distributed more than $69,000 to 33 local Vanderburgh County students from its Community Scholarship Program. These scholarships are funded by generous donors who have established a scholarship fund with the Vanderburgh Community Foundation. This year’s recipients were celebrated and recognized at a scholarship breakfast with fund founders, recipients, and parents. Congratulations to the Community Scholarship Program recipients! Alfred Savia Distinguished Young Artist Award- David Drury Allison Tenbarge Criminal Justice Scholarship - Claire Harris Camden Hancock '18 Scholarship - Oliver Gates Cassin-David Education Endowment Scholarship B - Denae Raine Central HS Class of 1943 Evelyn Church Hatfield Scholarship - Austin Plisky Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard Leadership Award Claire Harris Katie Bozsa Clarence & Dorothy Gerard Scholarship for Nursing Endowment - Jenna Smith Dahni Jo Memorial Scholarship Addison Heilman Christian Hoffman David A Koehler Sr. Memorial Scholarship - Carson Gibson David L. Cosby Scholarship - Max Renner Dorothy Rapp Music Scholarship - Ella Thornton Greater Evansville USBCA Scholarship - Jessica Sisson Harrison High School Class of 1965 - Jalaysia Allen Jeremy Weil Memorial Art Scholarship - Ella Ellerbrook Legacy Scholarship Endowment - Charli Keith Lois and Betsy Hamburg University of Evansville Scholarship Endowment Sydnee Robinson Nicholas Hirsch Lois and Betsy Hamburg University of Southern Indiana Scholarship Endowment Melina Perez Evan Meyer Lori O'Banion Memorial Scholarship - Avery Coats Manny Heaton Memorial Scholarship - Drake Bellessa Rease Henry McDaniel Memorial Scholarship - Lily Dahmer Robert “Bubba” Jochum Scholarship - Brooke Bishop Russ Mason Memorial Golf Scholarship - Hunter Riggs Southwestern Indiana Master Gardener Association Scholarship - Madelyn Doughman Thomas F. Walls Youth Hockey Scholarship - Brady Reiter Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Addison Greaney Olivia Niemeier David Walling

The Women’s Fund of Vanderburgh County, held by the Vanderburgh Community Foundation, is now accepting applications for its 2025 Grants Program. Nonprofit organizations serving Vanderburgh County can apply through Tuesday, July 15, 2025 . The Women's Fund of Vanderburgh County holds an annual grant cycle to award funding to charitable partners addressing a wide range of local needs. Funding is available to support programs and projects that make a meaningful impact in Vanderburgh County communities. Organizations can find detailed grant guidelines and submit their application online . For questions or assistance, please contact Melinda Waldroup, Chief Program Officer, at 812.429.1191 or mwaldroup@communityfoundationalliance.org. 

The Vanderburgh and Warrick County Community Foundations are now accepting applications for their annual Community Good Grants Program. Community Good grants provide funding to charitable organizations for new or ongoing programs and projects that meet a broad range of local needs. The deadline to submit applications is Friday, February 21, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Community Good Grants are awarded to charitable organizations located in or directly serving Vanderburgh and/or Warrick Counties. Funding is available to support various local needs, with priority given to organizations that demonstrate: Evidence of realistic organizational planning and management Project methodology with a preventative approach to addressing issues and solving problems Clear, actionable plans for program/project evaluation A commitment to promoting collaboration among organizations or institutions to prevent duplication of services A focus on long-term planning, financial stability, and sustainability For full details on funding requirements and to access the grant application, visit vanderburghcf.org/community-good-grants-program or warrickcountycf.org/community-good-grants-program  New prospective grant applicants are encouraged to attend the virtual Grant Application Orientation Session on Monday, January 27, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. To RSVP, please email Sidney Hardgrave at shardgrave@communityfoundationalliance.org

The Vanderburgh Community Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship for Vanderburgh County - Addison Greaney, Signature School, Simon Theby, Reitz Memorial High School, and John Vogel, Signature School. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership. “The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship is often a life-changing opportunity for students,” said Sidney Hardgrave, Regional Director of Community Engagement and Impact. “This scholarship is extremely competitive and requires the completion of a rigorous process including an extensive application, essays, and interview. We are fortunate in Vanderburgh County to have many talented students with a heart for service to their communities.” Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides 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 full-time undergraduate students 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. “I am very grateful to the Lily Foundation for this honor,” said Addison Greaney, 2025 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar. “It is like an affirmation of all my years of hard work, and it will be a tremendous boost to my future educational goals.” In determining Vanderburgh County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar nominees, consideration was given to academic ability, community involvement, extracurricular activities/employment, honors and awards, personal statement and goals, application essay, and finalist impromptu essay and interview by the LECSP Nominating Committee. 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. Lilly Endowment created the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program for the 1997-98 school year. Since then, grant funding in excess of $490 million has supported more than 5,300 Indiana students who have received scholarships through the program. 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.

Krista Wilson, Donna Logan, and Christin Eberhard

The Men’s Fund of Vanderburgh County awarded $40,000 in grants to three local organizations. During their annual meeting at the Evansville Museum of Art, History, and Science in October, members of the Men’s Fund awarded their $30,000 Impact Grant to the Albion Fellow Bacon Center. Albion Fellow Bacon Center will use this year’s $30,000 Impact Grant to support expenses related to the renovation of the kitchen at their emergency shelter. Evansville Christian Life Center and Ozanam Family Shelter were each awarded $5,000 grants as finalists for this year’s Impact Grant. Men’s Fund Chair, Dave Mitchell is pictured with representatives from this year’s grantee organizations. (Katie Grunow – Evansville Christian Life Center, Ollie Wing – Albion Fellows Bacon Center, and Larry Cornett - Ozanam Family Shelter)

Many of our donors have chosen to honor their loved ones, communities, high schools, colleges, and professions by establishing scholarship funds through their local Community Foundations in Daviess, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick Counties. These funds support the annual Community Scholarship programs, providing valuable opportunities for students in Southwest Indiana. Thanks to their contributions, applications are being accepted now, with a deadline of Monday, January 20, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. "We are excited to once again provide scholarship opportunities to students in our Southwest Indiana region,” says Melinda Waldroup, Chief Program Officer at the Community Foundation Alliance. “By offering these scholarships, we are not only investing in individual students but also in the future of our communities. We encourage all eligible students to apply and take a step towards achieving their educational and career goals." Students may apply for one or more scholarships if they meet the eligibility requirements and selection criteria established by donors. Details about each scholarship and the application are posted on the website at communityfoundationalliance.org/scholarships . Each scholarship is unique and supports students with a variety of backgrounds, educational goals, and economic statuses. Awards are made without regard to race, creed, color, sex, religion, or national origin and are based on a competitive process that may consider academic achievement, extracurricular activities, personal aspirations, educational goals, and financial need. The deadline to apply is Monday, January 20, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. Learn more and apply today!