About Nancy Galkowski and the Mission of the Fund
Nancy Galkowski served as a local government administrator for 35 years in Massachusetts’ towns and was an officer in the International City Management Association (ICMA), a Board member of the Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) and a former president of Massachusetts Municipal Management Association (MMMA). She was deeply committed to lifelong learning and professional development opportunities not only for professionals just starting their careers in municipal management, but also for existing and long-time managers [and those aspiring to the leadership role] whose budgets may preclude them from pursuing such opportunities.

“The Nancy Galkowski Legacy Fund was established to honor the spirit of the consummate professional manager Nancy was. Nancy encouraged young professionals to take a leap into the profession knowing that they would shortly and unexpectedly find themselves with that same passion she had. Seasoned managers were similarly touched by this singular passion along with her devotion to, and support of, ICMA, MMA and MMMA. It is with this same spirit that the Fund was established: to promote, educate and encourage municipal professionals to look beyond their own comfort levels, continually seek out new information and share it with others, and make their communities better.” ~ Larry Galkowski

The mission of the Nancy Galkowski Legacy Fund is to assist with defraying the costs of professional development, training and mentoring opportunities for current and future local government administrators and to ensure that the Massachusetts Municipal Management Association has the resources to support future conferences and other learning opportunities in the region.

Amherst Director of Communications & Civic Innovation Brianna Sunryd was a 2019 award recipient. In her own words, “Receiving the Galkowski Scholarship last year allowed me to attend my first ICMA conference in Nashville, TN. The Galkowski Legacy funds were critical in making it possible for my community to send me to the conference, where I was able to attend my first Digital Strategies Advisory Board meeting. At the conference, I focused on the civic health and community cohesion sessions. These sessions were invaluable, allowing me to bring back strategies to Amherst for engaging diverse residents and building more just and inclusive communities. If you’ve been looking to further your career through a professional development opportunity, I strongly encourage municipal employees in Massachusetts to apply to the Galkowski Legacy Fund this year.”

What programs qualify for funds?
We encourage applicants to think outside the box! Examples of the more traditional opportunities that have received funding in the past, for which you may apply, include but certainly are not limited to:
• MCPPO Procurement Training courses for certification;
• Numerous ICMA workshops and webinars, including ICMA’s “Emerging Leaders” Program and “Leadership ICMA”; Annual Conference
• MEMA trainings including emergency preparedness courses;
• MWI Inc., Mediation training;
• UMass-Boston Grant Writing courses;
• Homeland Security and Basic Public Information Officer Course and Massachusetts Economic Development Council (MEDC) program, which have included TIFs, Downtown Development, Clean Energy and Business Recruitment and Retention;
• MMHR Supervisory Leadership Development Program;
• SHRM Programs (Society for Human Resource Management)

These are just a sample of the courses that qualify for funds and have been awarded before. The Galkowski Legacy Fund Committee welcomes applications for training and professional development programs that folks in the management profession believe can forward their careers. Bring forward new ideas!

Please note that requests for tuition for college level degree courses are not eligible and will not be considered, including any certificate programs, such as those offered at Suffolk University, UMass-Boston, Clark University and beyond. This includes the Suffolk University Certificate in Local Government Leadership & Management Program.

Please note that membership in the MMMA is not a prerequisite to applying.

Application Criteria
Applications are to be completed electronically and will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
• Compatibility of request with mission of the Legacy Fund and Nancy’s passion for the profession
• Applicability/relevance of program request to applicant’s current/future position in the profession
• Financial need of applicant
• Plan to share program materials
• Applicability/relevance of program to others in the organization, i.e. potential for program to benefit others within the organization
• Potential for training the trainer

If you have any questions and to submit your application, please email Denise Baker at the MMA at dbaker@mma.org.

Deadline: May 31, 2024