Greater Worcester Community Foundation’s long-running scholarship program is getting a big boost from the former Becker College, which has committed $13 million to establish the Becker Scholarship Fund, the Becker Global Public Service Award, and the transfer of the Grace S. Hampel Scholarship Fund at the Foundation.

Already the largest non-college scholarship provider in the region, Greater Worcester Community Foundation awarded 428 scholarships to students across Worcester County in 2024, committing $1.6 million in one-time and multi-year awards. The new $10.2 million Becker Scholarship Fund will increase the Foundation’s annual scholarship award distribution by at least $400,000, providing students with substantial multi-year scholarships to cover the costs of tuition, room and board, books and academic materials and other eligible costs of college attendance. In honor of Becker College’s history and legacy, scholarships from this fund will prioritize students from communities most connected to the college, such as Worcester and Leicester.

The Becker Scholarship Program also includes the $2 million Becker Global Public Service Award, which will provide a monetary award to support a humanitarian project developed and to be led by a rising or graduating college or university senior. In recognition of Becker College’s commitment to global human welfare, the project can take place anywhere in the world. College and university presidents in Worcester County will be able to nominate one student per year from their schools, and Greater Worcester Community Foundation, along with a volunteer committee, will oversee the award selection process.

Additionally, the gift includes the transfer of the Grace S. Hampel Scholarship Fund, totaling $778,000, a restricted fund that will prioritize graduating seniors of Hoosac Valley High School who plan to attend college in Worcester County.

This gift will be endowed at the community foundation, providing support for Worcester County students in perpetuity. More details about eligibility and criteria for the prize and the scholarships will be available in fall 2025.

Becker College, a private college with campuses in Worcester and Leicester, permanently closed at the end of the 2020-21 academic year. Through the careful stewardship of its remaining assets, including scholarship funds and real estate proceeds, Becker College will distribute more than $17 million to local and regional institutions, including Clark University, Worcester State University, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, EcoTarium, Mount Wachusett Community College Foundation and Greater Worcester Community Foundation.