Scholarship season is rapidly upon us at the Rush County Community Foundation.  For those unfamiliar, “scholarship season” occurs between February and May each year.  It is arguably the busiest time of the year in our office, with hundreds of applications submitted, numerous meetings for scholarship review, and various students, volunteers, and donors in and out of our office.

Scholarships are a prevalent fund type at the Rush County Community Foundation.  We currently have 71 endowment funds established to provide funding to students pursuing a post-secondary education.  These funds have been created by our donors for a variety of reasons:  to honor a profession, to memorialize a loved one, to expand funding for students pursuing a specific degree, or to pay tribute to an institution or field of study.  Scholarship funds pay an annual disbursement to support the criteria established by the Founding Fund Contributors.  Students that best meet the criteria are selected as recipients of the scholarship fund.

Since the first scholarship was awarded in 1995, the Rush County Community Foundation has disbursed $1,129,509 in local scholarship funds and $2,730,613 in Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship funding.  It’s difficult to identify the exact number of students that have benefitted, but it’s easy to say that hundreds, if not thousands, of Rush County students have received assistance funding their higher education because of the generosity of many donors and the countless hours of time from staff and volunteers throughout these hectic months.

In order to be considered among the Foundation’s scholarship recipients, you must apply!  Application deadlines are quickly approaching:  the financial portion of the application is due to Indiana College Costs by February 4, 2016.  All local scholarship applications are due to our office by 4p.m. on Friday, March 4, 2016.  For additional information and to apply for scholarship funds, visit our website at www.rushcountyfoundation.org, our office at 117 N. Main St., or call (765) 938-1177.