Arlington, VA – The National Grocers Association Foundation (NGAF) is seeking applications for a new scholarship program that will cover the cost for a woman or minority candidate to attend the foundation’s annual Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) at Cornell University.
NGAF partnered with PepsiCo to create the Leadership Endowment following the completion of the 2020 Head Start program, which was created due to the pandemic and was successfully executed virtually. The new endowment will award one scholarship a year for the next 10 years to a deserving woman or minority candidate, with the grant covering the cost of attending the program scheduled for June 5-9, 2021.
“This scholarship will ensure that diverse candidates from small businesses who may not otherwise be able to participate in the program will have equal access to leadership development opportunities,” said Maggie White, NGAF director. “We are grateful to PepsiCo for its generosity that makes this scholarship possible.”
“PepsiCo is proud to partner with NGAF to provide rising professionals from underrepresented groups more access to networking and leadership development,” said Kent Montgomery, PepsiCo vice president of North America industry relations. “We know that investing in leaders at critical stages in their career will provide skills needed to advance them to the executive ranks.”
The partnership with NGAF is another step in PepsiCo’s Racial Equality Journey, which in 2020 saw the company make investments of more than $845 million to be utilized over the next five years to advance and empower Black and Hispanic communities in the U.S. These commitments comprise a holistic effort for PepsiCo to help address the need for systemic change with speed and purpose.
Nominees should be a woman or a person of color that are current mid- to upper-level executives with large spans of control and responsibilities that require delegation of tasks to others. These employees must be rising executives who are candidates for increased management responsibilities. Scholarship recipients will be selected by a diverse committee made up of members of the NGAF Board of Regents, the Women Grocers of America, a representative from Cornell University’s Executive Education program, and PepsiCo leadership.
The application period opens on Feb 1., with a deadline for scholarship applications of April 1. The annual ELDP nominations are due by April 16.
A nomination form can be found here. Completed forms may be emailed to nga-foundation@nationalgrocers.org or mailed to 1005 N. Glebe Road, Ste. 250, Arlington, VA, 22201; after Feb. 22, 2021, forms should be mailed to 601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, North Building, Suite 375, Washington, DC, 20004.
NGA is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately owned or controlled food retail company operating a variety of formats. The independent grocery sector is accountable for close to one percent of the nation’s overall economy and is responsible for generating $131 billion in sales, 944,000 jobs, $30 billion in wages and $27 billion in taxes. NGA members include retail and wholesale grocers, state grocers associations, as well as manufacturers and service suppliers. For more information about NGA, visit www.nationalgrocers.org.
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than 1 billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $67 billion in net revenue in 2019, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. “Winning with Purpose” reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of the business. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
The NGA Foundation is the 501(c)3 nonprofit arm of the National Grocers Association. The Foundation provides independent retailers with tools to develop more effective recruiting programs, enhance retention efforts and bolster professional leadership development opportunities for employers. For more information, visit www.ngafoundation.org.
