LEONARDTOWN, Md. – During the season of giving, The Patuxent Partnership (TPP) presented Leadership Southern Maryland (LSM) with a $10,000 donation this fall to renew its Gold Sponsorship and to contribute an LSM Nonprofit Scholarship.
The annual LSM Nonprofit Scholarship supports nonprofit leaders’ participation in the nine-month LSM experience when they might not be able to otherwise. Dream Queen Foundation Executive Director Maryanna Lanham, a current scholarship recipient, explained the importance of TPP’s contribution.
“The connections I have made through participating in Leadership Southern Maryland so far have been invaluable,” said Lanham. “The Dream Queen Foundation is a small local nonprofit supporting teen girl leadership. As the Executive Director, I am tasked with creating lasting relationships in the community to serve more teen girls (she/her they/them). From marketing advice to volunteer support from my fellow LSM cohort members and their organizations, I have already learned how to better serve the Southern Maryland community and I’m only half way through my LSM experience.”
TPP established the scholarship more than a decade ago, recognizing that nonprofit leaders would indeed benefit from participating in LSM and that LSM would benefit from the perspectives of nonprofit leaders.
“The TPP Board of Directors established the LSM Nonprofit Scholarship to ensure that nonprofit leaders have a seat at the table of Leadership Southern Maryland,” TPP Executive Director Bonnie Green said. “We had a discussion about the fact that the nonprofit community would benefit greatly from participation in LSM, but nonprofit organizations often operate with shoestring budgets that constrain their ability to provide their employees professional development opportunities.”
TPP envisions the scholarship opening doors for nonprofit leaders able to supplement it with support from their boards or foundations. That has often been the case but not always. The Dream Queen Foundation was not able to supplement Lanham’s tuition, but that did not deter her.
“My non-profit organization cannot afford to pay my tuition, so I am paying out of my own pocket to participate, knowing it will benefit the community,” Lanham said. “I’m truly grateful for The Patuxent Partnership’s support. One of my favorite quotes is, ‘Alone you can go fast, but together you can go far.’ TPP and LSM have created a new pathway for me to go far in Southern Maryland.”
“The Patuxent Partnership is one of Southern Maryland’s greatest benefactors,” said LSM Executive Director Sybol Anderson. “It is a 200-member organization that gives back to the community, not only through its generous financial support of LSM, other nonprofits, and our local schools and colleges, but also through a truly impressive scope of programming that includes several STEM education initiatives and lecture series that bring high-profile subject matter experts to our region. LSM is grateful to be a beneficiary and partner of TPP and proud of the many TPP members and staff who are LSM alumni.”
TPP is a nonprofit organization that has fostered collaboration among government, industry, and academia in Southern Maryland for more than 20 years to strengthen the economic base of the region. A founding sponsor of LSM, TPP has supported LSM’s mission to inform, inspire, and facilitate collaboration among Southern Maryland leaders since 2008. That support takes myriad forms, including sponsorships, TPP staff participation in LSM programs, and the annual LSM Nonprofit Scholarship.
Leadership Southern Maryland’s flagship Executive Program is an interactive and life-enriching nine-month, tuition-based “behind-the-scenes” experience designed to enhance the collaborative abilities of our region’s top senior professionals. LSM welcomes mid- to senior-level executives representing diverse geographic locations, industries, professions, ethnicities, genders, and other backgrounds who are committed to addressing the community needs of Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties. Find out more and learn how you can become an LSM participant or supporter at www.leadershipsomd.org
