Echoing Green Fellowship Program

Echoing Green Fellowship Program To accelerate social change, Echoing Green invests in and supports outstanding emerging social entrepreneurs to launch new organizations that deliver bold, high-impact solutions. Through a two-year fellowship program, we help our network of visionaries develop new solutions to society’s most difficult problems. These social entrepreneurs and their organizations work to solve deeplyrooted social, environmental, economic, and political inequities to ensure equal access and to help all individuals reach their potential. Eligibility Requirements • Applicants must be 18 years of age or older • Applicants must have sufficient English fluency to participate in interviews and Echoing Green events • Applicants can be citizens of any nationality and their organizations can be based in any country. However, if the applicant is not a US citizen or permanent resident and does not have legal status to work in the US, no services in connection with their fellowship may be performed in the United States General Information This is not an academic scholarship program. Echoing Green Fellows work in the community to launch, manage and grow organizations that implement and continually expand their ideas for creating lasting social change. The goal of this fellowship is to create a dynamic organization by identifying and supporting talented yet unproven social entrepreneurs. Applicants for this fellowship must present compelling and original ideas for addressing and resolving the root cause of a tough social challenge. Applicants may be an individual or a partnership of two individuals. Organizations must be independent and autonomous. Organizations cannot be considered independent or autonomous if they are started under the direction of an existing organization. The applicant must be the primary decision maker for the organization’s development and management. Generally, organizations with fiscal sponsors are still considered autonomous. Organizations must be in a start-up phase. To be considered a start-up, the applicant may have been running the organization fulltime for approximately two years and Echoing Green's financial support should qualify it as a major/primary early funder. Applicants who have only worked on their organization on a part-time basis or have yet to start an organization are generally considered eligible. Applicants must make a full-time commitment to the organization's development. A full-time commitment is defined as a minimum of 35 hours per week; it is expected that the fellow would resign from their current employment to dedicate themselves full-time to their initiative. Partnerships (organizations led by two individuals) may apply. Both partners must make a full-time commitment of no fewer than 35 hours per week to the development of the organization. Applicants must commit to lead their organization for at least two years. Students who apply should note that they will not be eligible for their fellowship stipend if their organization is put on hold due to time commitment conflicts with their studies. The Echoing Green Fellowship Grant provides both financial and technical support for two years for individuals (up to $30,000) or for partnerships (up to $45,000 per project not per individual). The stipend can be used for any purpose related to the start up of the organization or project. They also offer support through a variety of media including the Internet, conferences, site visits and phone contact. Guidance in strategic and financial planning, staff and board development, fundraising, legal and accounting practices, and many other aspects of staring and building a non-profit organization is also available. Application Procedure and Dates Mid-September through Early December 2009: initial applications will only be accepted online at http://www.echoinggreen.org. Partners must submit a joint application for their project. Early January through Early February 2010: applicants chosen to do so are invited to submit Phase II Applications