Tipton County Foundation
1020 West Jefferson Street • Tipton, IN 46072
Telephone (Direct): (765)675-1943
chad@tiptoncf.org • http://www.tiptoncf.org
NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, December 7, 2023
Lilly Endowment Community Scholar Announced
The Tipton County Foundation is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2024 Lilly
Endowment Community Scholarship for Tipton County – Emma Conrad. Lilly Endowment Community Scholars are known for their community involvement, academic achievement, character, and leadership.
Emma is a senior at Tri-Central High School, and the daughter of Micah and Ashley Conrad.
Emma plans to attend Indiana Wesleyan University and obtain a degree in nursing, with a focus on neonatal care. Emma is a TCHS cheerleader, the President of TCHS National Honor Society, and a member of the youth worship and mission teams at Crossroads Community Church.
Each Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship provides for four years of full tuition, required
fees, and a special allocation for required books and required equipment. 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 has opened the door to so many amazing connections and opportunities in my desired career field. Because of those connections and opportunities, I have realized the greater extent to which I can best serve the community around me.”
- Jacob Dane, Class of 2022 Tipton County, Lilly Endowment Community Scholar
Twenty-eight members of the class of 2024 applied for this scholarship. Their applications were reviewed anonymously and independently by TCF’s LECSP Nominating Committee. In determining Tipton County’s Lilly Endowment Community Scholar nominee, consideration was given to academics, leadership, community involvement, extracurricular activities, written essays, and an in person interview by the TCF 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 1998-99 school year and has supported the program every year since with grants totaling in excess of $505 million. More than 5,200 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.
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.
For More Information, Please Contact Chad Huff, Associate Director at TCF