Palmer Scholars
Palmer Scholars is a Pierce County, Washington-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing mentoring, training, scholarships, and career pathway services to young adults ages 16 to 26, including high school students, trades-track youth, and those disconnected from education and employment.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1983
- HeadquartersLakewood, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Palmer Scholars does
Palmer Scholars is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1983 by Merle Palmer and Rev. Al Davis, headquartered at 4500 Steilacoom Blvd SW in Lakewood, Washington. The organization provides mentoring, training, scholarships, and career pathway services to young adults in Pierce County, operating three distinct programs: the Legacy Program (high school junior year through postsecondary completion, including two-year, four-year, technical college, and apprenticeship tracks), Palmer Pathways (ages 18-26 interested in trades careers and not currently enrolled or employed), and Palmer Fit-4-Me (ages 16-24 disconnected from education or employment seeking next steps). All services are delivered at no cost to participants, funded through donations and grants rather than fees or equity investment.
The organization reports having served over 817 students since 1983 and disbursing $6,222,988.25 in scholarships since 2001, with stated 2023 graduation rates of 95% for Pathways and 85% for Legacy. Governance is led by CEO Tricia Speid with a board of directors; the organization holds the 2022 Candid Platinum Seal of transparency. Headcount is disclosed as 1-10 employees. No funding rounds, acquisitions, parent company, or ownership transfers exist, consistent with its status as a registered charity (EIN 91-1742581).
The technology footprint is minimal: the website (palmerscholars.org) is built on Wix, no proprietary software or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed, and there are no APIs, SDKs, or third-party integrations. Distribution relies on direct in-person service delivery through school and community partnerships, supplemented by grassroots marketing via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, email newsletters, and SMS. The organization's market remains geographically constrained to Pierce County, Washington.
Palmer Scholars firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Palmer Scholars
- Legal name
- Palmer Scholars
- Website
- https://palmerscholars.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1983
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Palmer Scholars is a Pierce County, Washington-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing mentoring, training, scholarships, and career pathway services to young adults ages 16 to 26, including high school students, trades-track youth, and those disconnected from education and employment.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Palmer Scholars industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Education & Workforce Development
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)
Keywords
Where Palmer Scholars is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lakewood
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Palmer Scholars business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Palmer Scholars product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Palmer Scholars is a nonprofit that provides mentoring, scholarships, training, and career pathway services to young adults in Pierce County, Washington. It delivers free academic support, college-readiness coaching, and post-secondary transition assistance to help participants access and complete higher education and enter the workforce.
Product overview
Palmer Scholars offers a trio of mentoring and scholarship programs designed to bridge the gap between potential and opportunity for students in Pierce County. The Legacy Program is the flagship offering, supporting young adults from high school junior year through postsecondary completion, covering 2-year degrees, 4-year degrees, technical colleges, and apprenticeships. Palmer Pathways targets disconnected young adults ages 18-26 interested in trade careers, while Palmer Fit-4-Me serves ages 16-24 who are out of school and work, helping them identify their next steps. Together, these programs achieved 85% (Legacy) and 95% (Pathways) graduation rates in 2023, and have collectively awarded over $6.2 million to scholars since 2001.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Legacy Program: Serving young adults from junior year of high school through postsecondary program completion. Scholars may attend 2-year, 4-year, technical college or apprenticeship programs.
- Palmer Pathways
- Palmer Fit-4-Me
Products and services
- Legacy Program Long-standing core mentoring and scholarship program for young adults in Pierce County, providing academic support, college access coaching, and scholarship funding to help participants complete higher education.
- Palmer Pathways Career pathway program providing training, career-readiness, and post-secondary transition support to help young adults move into higher education and the workforce.
- Palmer Fit-4-Me Tailored program component providing individualized support and training to young adult participants, aligned with the organization's mentoring and college-access mission.
Quantifiable outcome
- 95% graduation rate for Pathways program in 2023
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Palmer Scholars
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Palmer Scholars technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Palmer Scholars partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Palmer Scholars competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- iMentor: National nonprofit pairing low-income students with trained mentors and structured college-readiness curricula. The pairing of long-term mentoring with college navigation is structurally analogous to Palmer Scholars' Legacy program.
- College Possible: Nonprofit that delivers intensive coaching and college-success support to students from low-income backgrounds. Operates a similar mentoring-coaching-plus-pathway model across multiple U.S. regions.
- College Success Foundation: Washington State-based 501(c)(3) that pairs scholarships with mentoring and college-readiness support for low-income and first-generation students. Nearly identical service model (scholarships + mentoring + career navigation) and overlapping geography make it the closest direct comparable.
- Generation Hope: Nonprofit pairing scholarships with wraparound mentoring and case management for teen parents and first-generation college students. Closely aligned model — mentoring + tuition + career pathway support — for a similar demographic.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound: Regional mentoring nonprofit operating in the same Pierce/Puget Sound geography. While broader in mission (one-to-one youth mentoring), it is directly comparable on the mentoring-driven youth development axis.
- Washington State Opportunity Scholarship: State-level scholarship and mentorship program supporting Washington students pursuing STEM and trade-aligned pathways. Operates in the same Pierce County/Puget Sound service universe and shares the dual mentoring-plus-scholarship design.
Broad incumbents
- Hispanic Scholarship Fund: Large national scholarship organization with mentoring components and a multi-decade track record. Comparable on scale, scholarship-plus-mentoring model, and outcome reporting, but operates nationally rather than regionally.
- Scholarship America: The largest U.S. private scholarship organization, administering donor-funded scholarship programs nationwide. Comparable as an incumbent in the scholarship administration and donor partnership space that Palmer Scholars competes with for foundation and corporate dollars.
Regional players
- United Way of Pierce County: Pierce County's largest community funder and convener. Not a program provider, but a likely grantmaker and ecosystem peer sharing the same donor base and school-district relationships.
- Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound: Regional youth-development organization serving the same Pierce County geography. Competitor for the same school partnerships and donor dollars, with a broader youth-development (rather than scholarship-led) focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Palmer Scholars social profiles
Digital presencePalmer Scholars financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Palmer Scholars leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Palmer Scholars funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Palmer Scholars M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Palmer Scholars
What does Palmer Scholars do?
Palmer Scholars is a nonprofit that provides mentoring, scholarships, training, and career pathway services to young adults in Pierce County, Washington. It delivers free academic support, college-readiness coaching, and post-secondary transition assistance to help participants access and complete higher education and enter the workforce.
Is Palmer Scholars a public or private company?
Palmer Scholars is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Palmer Scholars founded?
Palmer Scholars was founded in 1983. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Palmer Scholars based?
Palmer Scholars is headquartered in Lakewood, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Palmer Scholars's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are iMentor, College Possible, College Success Foundation, Generation Hope, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound and Washington State Opportunity Scholarship. Broad incumbents are Hispanic Scholarship Fund and Scholarship America. Regional players are United Way of Pierce County and Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound.
Does Palmer Scholars have an API?
No public API is recorded for Palmer Scholars.
What industry is Palmer Scholars in?
Palmer Scholars's product category is Youth Education & Workforce Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAHAC, Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.