Establish a Scholarship

When you support a scholarship, you are investing in our community’s future, as more than 80% of our students remain in central Illinois to live, work, and raise a family.

ICC Educational Foundation scholarships allow students to achieve their goals of higher education, a successful career, and an impact on our community. Scholarships are based on financial need, academic excellence, specific areas of student interests, and ethnic or family background. Scholarships can help pay for tuition, books, and related expenses. 

You Can Make a Difference

Through the generosity of individuals, businesses, and organizations, the ICC Educational Foundation offers over 700 scholarships totaling over $1.3M of support each year.

Four Easy Steps

Establishing a scholarship at Illinois Central College is easier than you might think. We have everything in place to make sponsoring a scholarship an easy and rewarding experience.

1. Determine the Level of Support

Determine the level of support that you wish to provide. Annual scholarships begin at $1,000, and endowed scholarships begin at $20,000. Tuition at ICC is $150 per semester hour, and tuition and books for a typical full-time student average $5,600 per year.

2. Determine the Focus of Your Scholarship

The Foundation will assist you in developing the scholarship criteria. For example, criteria might include a specific major, hometown, academic standing, or financial need. The scholarship can be named in honor or memory of an individual or family.

3. Sign a Scholarship Agreement

The agreement is important as confirmation for both parties of the criteria and scholarship policies. The scholarship will not be awarded without a signed agreement on file.

4. Make Your Gift

Gifts to the Educational Foundation are tax deductible. We are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Determining Scholarship Criteria

A member of our staff will work personally with you to establish your scholarship and determine its criteria. Ideally, scholarship criteria should be kept as broad as possible. Our staff can provide knowledgeable guidance as you establish your scholarship.

Some of the questions you’ll need to consider are: 

  • Course of Study: Will the scholarship focus on students in a specific program or major?
  • Academic Standing: What is the minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) a student must have to be eligible for the scholarship?
  • Enrollment Status: Will the scholarship be available for full-time students, part-time students, or both?
  • Financial Considerations: Will financial need be a consideration in determining the scholarship recipient?
  • Tuition, Books and Supplies, Academic-Related Expenses: What type of expenses can the scholarship be applied towards?

Once the scholarship is established…

  • Once the scholarship is established additional gifts to the scholarship may be made at any time.
  • Those who donate to the fund will receive a charitable gift credit for tax purposes.
  • Your employer may also match your scholarship gift through a corporate matching gift program. Check with your employer or Human Resources department to find out if your company offer this benefit.

Community Celebration Event

Each fall, scholarship sponsors are invited to meet their student recipients at the Community Celebration, an appreciation event that celebrates students. We also honor two alumni award recipients: Distinguished Alumnus and Alumnus of the Last Decade.

Annual vs Endowed Scholarships

Annual Scholarships

Annual scholarships are funded on a year-by-year basis by the donor(s). The Foundation asks contributors to make a minimum five-year commitment of $1,000 or more annually when establishing a new annual scholarship. Annual scholarships are renewed each fall for the following academic year. Scholarship sponsors are contacted with pledge reminders for renewals.

Endowed Scholarships

Endowed scholarships support themselves in perpetuity. The initial gift is invested, and scholarship awards are determined each year by the Educational Foundation’s Endowment Spending Policy. The minimum investment for a named scholarship endowment is $20,000. The minimum endowed scholarship award is $1,000. With an emerging endowment, a donor may take up to five years to build the endowment fund. However, no scholarships are distributed from the emerging endowment until it reaches $20,000. Some donors choose to add additional funds while building the endowment in order to award the scholarship earlier.

Spending Policy

The ICC Educational Foundation Endowment Spending Policy is based on a three-year rolling average. The Foundation calculates the three-year average of the total fund balance and annually spends 5% of that average.

Educational Foundation

Edwards Library / Administration Building » L411
East Peoria Campus
Mon – Thur: 8 am – 4:30 pm
Fri: 8 am – 2 pm