Indiana — Lilly Scholars Network 2026 Q4 Lead Forward Community Grants

Lilly Scholars Network is accepting Q4 2026 Lead Forward Community Grant applications from Lilly Endowment Community Scholars partnering with eligible Indiana nonprofit organizations. The Q4 deadline is October 15, 2026; the current linked budget template caps first-time project leads at $2,500 and returning project leads at $5,000.

FundingCurrent linked Lead Forward budget template: up to $2,500 for first-time project leads and up to $5,000 for returning project leads. The public program page is currently updating program guidelines, so these limits should be rechecked against the live application before package production.

DeadlineOctober 15, 2026. The current official 2026 program page does not publish a closing clock time or time zone. Awards are scheduled for December 2026 and the Q4 grant period is January 1 through June 30, 2027.

Last verifiedSeptember 23, 2026

Required next actionIdentify a legitimate Lilly Endowment Community Scholar project lead and an eligible Indiana nonprofit partner with a credible community project. Before ORIGINAL outreach, verify the exact October 15 cutoff/time zone, live 2026 application requirements, applicant eligibility, project-specific allowable costs, any match or cost-share requirement, a verified business Contact, Email_Opt_Out=false, no authoritative permanent hard bounce, and Account/Contact/Deal/Atlas_Email_Queue/authoritative send-history deduplication. Do not introduce or sell N9+ in ordinary initial outreach.

Broad Eligibility

Open to Lilly Endowment Community Scholars partnering with eligible nonprofit organizations for projects that positively impact Indiana communities. The program supports a variety of community needs and priorities. The current linked budget template identifies the applicant as an Indiana community foundation or charitable organization and requests project, location, impact, scholar-involvement, expense, and budget information.

Atlas Analysis

Atlas Opportunity Score 84/100. Strong statewide community-impact pathway with an active Q4 2026 deadline, but applicant pursuit is gated by a qualified Lilly Endowment Community Scholar partnership and relatively small award size. N9+ Fit 22/100 conditional and QC Healthcare Fit 28/100 conditional: the program has funded technology and equipment in prior community projects and its current focus is broad enough to permit health-oriented community work, but it does not identify healthcare, telehealth, remote examination, or medical technology as a priority. Any N9+ or QC role would need to arise from a legitimate applicant-led project and fit the live application. No universal match requirement, detailed cost rules, exact deadline time, or time zone is published in the current public materials reviewed; fail closed rather than infer.

Source verificationReferenced source · www.lillyscholars.orgAtlas last verified this record September 23, 2026. Always use the funder's current application materials, amendments and portal instructions as the controlling source.View source and application materials ↗