Scholarships

Empower Foundation

Gerry and Rose Frainier Scholarship

The Empower Foundation offers scholarships for agency associates to pursue formal education and professional development.

Eligibility

• Must be a current Empower employee (full-time or part-time)
• Must have worked for Empower for a full-time equivalent of two years (approximately 3,000 hours)
• Funds are awarded as the Foundation’s funding allows. There is no guarantee of approval.

For College Tuition

Scholarships may be used for graduate, undergraduate, or junior college course tuition at an accredited institution. If approved for a scholarship, the employee pays the tuition and then applies for reimbursement from the Foundation.

The following requirements apply:
• Recipients must remain working for Empower for a period of time equivalent to the time spent in the educational program being paid for. (Example: if your scholarship covers a four-month semester, you are expected to remain working for Empower at least four months after the semester ends.)
• Recipients must successfully complete the course(s) and receive a passing grade, if applicable. Appropriate documentation to verify the successful completion must be provided to the Executive Director as soon as possible so the scholarship award can be paid to the employee.

For Professional Development

The Foundation offers funding to cover or reduce the cost of professional development workshops, seminars and conferences for Empower employees. The Foundation has a special interest in funding technology-related learning opportunities for employees.

How to Apply

• The employee obtains an application from Human Resources or downloads it here: Scholarship Form (PDF) or Scholarship Form (Word Format)
• The employee completes an application and submits it to his/her division director
• The division director forwards the completed application with his/her recommendation to the Foundation Executive Director
• The Foundation Executive Director presents the application to the Foundation Board, which meets quarterly
• The Board makes the final decision about which requests will be funded, and for what amount

Questions?

Contact Foundation Executive Director Jeff Paterson at 716-297-0798 or jpaterson@empower-wny.org