Indianapolis Press Club Foundation
Indianapolis Press Club Foundation
The Indianapolis Press Club Foundation provides scholarships, journalism awards and paid summer fellowships to journalism students at Indiana colleges and universities.
To date, the Foundation has given deserving Indiana college students about $400,000 to help them further their educations. No other journalism organization in the state provides more financial support for aspiring journalists than the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation.
Our largest annual fundraiser is the Last Row Party — a celebration and roast of the three drivers who start in the back row of the Indianapolis 500. The party is held the Thursday evening before the Indy 500 in the Pagoda and attracts open-wheel racing enthusiasts from across the nation.
Student Scholarships
The Indianapolis Press Club Foundation awards three scholarships annually to some of the best college journalists in Indiana.
Entries are open to student journalists throughout the state, and winners are selected by the foundation’s board. Winners are honored at the Last Row Party and receive a $1,000, helping to further their journalism education.
Keating Competition
The Keating Competition is an annual writing contest that invites 10 finalists to Indianapolis for a live reporting/writing exercise on a Saturday afternoon in November.
All finalists are honored at an awards banquet in downtown Indianapolis, and the top three entries split $6,000 in award money. The competition is held in honor of the late Indianapolis Star columnist Tom Keating.
Student Fellowships
Each year, the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation partners with two Indiana news outlets to offer fellowship opportunities.
These full-time internships come with paid stipends and help students enhance their classroom education with on-the-job training. Fellows are selected by the Foundation in collaboration with each news outlet.
Last Row Party
The last three qualifiers for the 500 are on hand, where they are interviewed and collect their checks for 31, 32 and 33 cents. The foundation’s scholarship winners also are on hand, where they are honored on stage and collect checks of their own.