Trustee Scholars Applications Close with Tremendous Response
As part of the Employee Ownership Foundation’s efforts to invest in the future of employee ownership, the Foundation launched the Trustee Scholars program in late 2023 to provide scholarships in support of post-secondary education. The application process was open from December 15, 2023 until February 15, 2024. Nearly 400 applications were received for this scholarship program in just its inaugural year! Scholarships will be awarded in the spring for the upcoming fall 2024 academic semester.
Each year, the Foundation will award two scholarships of $5,000 each for college or trade school, which are renewable for up to four years. For a student pursuing a four-year degree, this would amount to $20,000 to help pay for education expenses. Scholarship winners will also be eligible for a paid internship in the Washington, DC headquarters of The ESOP Association. As part of the process, applicants sent in transcripts and other information, and also submitted a video describing what employee ownership means to them. The Trustee Scholars program is open to employees and the children of employees who work at ESOPs that are corporate members of The ESOP Association.
There is real excitement about this new investment in our community and how it will help shape the lives of young people seeking future opportunities. The Foundation is working with Scholarship America, a leading nationwide nonprofit that, since 1958, has been dedicated to helping students pursue their educational dreams.
The Foundation’s mission is to increase employee ownership, and through the years we’ve funded important academic research and projects to let the world know about the benefits of employee ownership. What better advocates for employee ownership could there be than children of employee owners who have had a front row seat to those benefits? I’m thrilled to help get this program off the ground.”
- David Fitz-Gerald, VP and CFO of Carris Reels and Chair of the Employee Ownership Foundation.