Non-Profits Benefit From Scholarship at Merrimack

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation awarded Merrimack College a $22,500 grant to provide organizational scholarships to staff employed by nonprofit organizations that operate preschools and who serve children and adolescents impacted by mental illness, developmental disabilities and substance abuse issues from the Greater Lawrence area. The grant will provide for two full scholarships per year for the next three years to students participating in Merrimack College’s Non-Profit Management Certificate Program.

“We are proud to support local nonprofits with these scholarships,” said Glenda Cadwallader, executive director of the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation. “The health and well-being of our communities depends upon strong nonprofit organizations that have the resources to provide safety net services to these vulnerable populations.” 

The Non-Profit Management Certificate Program, a collaboration between Merrimack College’s Girard School of Business and International Commerce and the School for Advanced Studies, is designed to introduce entry-to-mid-level employees of human service organizations to the fundamental theories and business practices that guide successful leaders within the field of social services. Through the organizational scholarship program, the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation will be building the capacity and improving the organizational effectiveness of local nonprofit organizations.

“Many non-profits are struggling in this economy,” said Jane Larkin, dean of the School for Advanced Studies at Merrimack College. “We are grateful to the Tower Foundation for demonstrating its commitment to cultivate nonprofit leaders in our community who will serve with compassion and approach the challenges that nonprofits face from a business perspective.”

Non-profit staff, such as social workers, nurses, licensed alcohol and drug counselors, teachers and other employees involved in the delivery of services to vulnerable populations are eligible to compete for the scholarships. For more information about the Non-Profit Management Certificate Program and to apply for the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation Scholarships, call Dr. Jane Larkin, dean of the School of Advanced Studies, at (978) 837-5327 or email her at jane.larkin@merrimack.edu.

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