Echoing Green Fellowship: Start-up grants and technical assistance to help new leaders launch their organizations and build capacity

The Echoing Green Fellowship is now open to accepting applications for its 2011 program. The Fellowship provides start-up capital and technical assistance to help new leaders launch their organizations and build capacity.

The Fellowship is a two-year program and offers:

• A grant of $60,000 for individuals ($90,000 for 2-person partnerships) paid in four equal installments over two years
• A health insurance stipend
• A yearly professional development stipend
• Conferences led by organizational development experts
• Access to technical support and pro bono partnerships to help grow your organization
• A community of like-minded social entrepreneurs and public service leaders, including the Echoing Green network of nearly 500 alumni working all over the world

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible for an Echoing Green Fellowship:

• Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
• Applicants must have sufficient English fluency to participate in interviews and Echoing Green events.
• Organization must be the original idea of the applicant.
• Organization must be in a start-up phase. To be considered a start-up, the organization may have been in operation for up to two years, and Echoing Green’s financial support should qualify it as significant early funder. Applicants who have only worked on their organization on a part-time basis or have yet to start the organization are generally considered eligible.
• Organization 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.
• Applicants must make a full-time commitment (minimum 35 hours per week) to the organization’s development for the duration of the two-year fellowship. It is expected that all selected fellows resign from their current employment to dedicate themselves full-time to their initiatives. Students will not be eligible for their fellowship stipend if their organization is put on hold due to conflicts with their studies.
• Partnerships (organizations led by two individuals) may apply. Both partners must meet all eligibility requirements and make a full-time commitment of no fewer than 35 hours per week to the development of the organization.
• Applicants can be citizens of any nationality and their organizations can be based in any country. However applicants based in the US must have legal status to work in the US. If you are authorized to work in the US, but this status is granted to you through your current employer and you are only authorized to work for that employer, you are not eligible to apply for a US-based proposal.
• Applicants must commit to attending Echoing Green’s training conferences if selected as fellows. All new fellows attend a conference in summer the year they are selected, as well as a winter conference for four years. Echoing Green covers all expenses related to these events and will announce the dates a few months prior to each conference.

The deadline to apply for the program is 12 November 2010. For more information, visit this link.