Echoing Green Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs 2017 – $90,000 + Leadership Development

Dates:

Application Open: October 2016
Application Closed: November 2016
Finalists will be announced and interviewed in New York City: May 2017
Fellows announced: June 2017

Brief description: Seeking the World’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs, Echoing Green’s Fellowship Programs will offer more than $4.6 million in seed-stage funding and support this year to emerging leaders working to bring about positive social change.

Eligible Field of Study: Social Entrepreneurs

About the Fellowship: The Global Fellowshipis the twenty-seven-year-old program for smart leaders who are deeply connected to the needs and potential solutions that may work best for their communities. Any emerging social entrepreneur from any part of the world working to disrupt the status quo may apply.

The Black Male Achievement (BMA) Fellowship is the first fellowship in the world for social entrepreneurs dedicated to improving the life outcomes of black men and boys in the United States. The Fellowship was founded and is supported in partnership with the Open Society Foundations since 2012. BMA Fellows generate new ideas and best practices in the areas of education, family, and work, such as initiatives related to fatherhood, mentoring, college preparatory programs, community-building, career and economic opportunities, communications, and philanthropic leadership.

The Climate Fellowship, built in partnership with The ZOOM Foundation, is specifically targeted for next-generation social entrepreneurs committed to working on innovations in mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The threat of global climate change is one of the greatest humanitarian and economic challenges of our time. Our interest is in considering the full spectrum of responses to the climate crisis – from innovative technology in Silicon Valley to community organizing in the developing world.

Fellowship Offered Since: not specified

Fellowship Type: Social Entrepreneurship

Selection Criteria: Successful applicants not only present an innovative way of addressing social issues, but also explain why they as individuals have what it takes to succeed. Echoing Green is not a grant-making organization. We are a fellowship program because we believe in the importance of the individual social entrepreneur as well as his/her project. As such, we look at both the applicant and the applicant’s idea.

Applicant Criteria

Purpose / Passion
Resilience
Leadership
Ability to Attract Resources

Organization Criteria

Innovation
Importance
Potential for Big, Bold Impact
A Good Business Model

Eligibility: In order to be eligible for an Echoing Green Fellowship, the applicant must be:

Over 18 years old
Fluent in English
Able to commit a full 35 hour work week to their organization.

In order to be eligible for an Echoing Green Fellowship, the organization must be:

The original idea of the applicant(s)
In its start-up phase, usually within the first two years of operation
Independent and autonomous

There are often some misconceptions about what types of organizations are eligible for the Echoing Green Fellowship.

An organization can be either a non-profit, a for-profit, or hybrid.
An organization does not only have to be run by one individual. Partnerships can apply for a Fellowship
Organizations still in the idea phase are eligible

The following types of organizations are not eligible to apply:

Students, scholarships, or research projects
Lobbying or faith-based organizations
Existing organizations which have grown past their start-up phase

Number of Scholarships: Several

Value of Scholarship:

Fellows will receive up to $90,000, participate in leadership development gatherings
Fellows will access the powerful network of Echoing Green Fellows, partners, and friends. Echoing Green’s 2015 Barclays Brain Trust Series, sponsored in part by Barclays, is a program of roundtable and mentorship opportunities for Fellows with leading professionals working in marketing, fundraising, business development, and technology.
Echoing Green will continue to support its Fellow community long after their initial funding period with ongoing programs and opportunities at critical inflection points in their organizations or careers.

The Fellowships are awarded annually to individuals or partners who receive:

A stipend of $80,000 for individuals (or $90,000 for two-person partnerships) paid in four equal installments over two years
A health insurance stipend
A yearly professional development stipend
Leadership development and networking gatherings
Access to technical support and pro bono partnerships to help grow their organization and a dedicated Echoing Green portfolio manager
A community of like-minded social entrepreneurs, public service leaders, and industry leaders including the Echoing Green network of more than 600 Fellows working in over sixty countries all over the world.

Duration of Fellowship: two years plus ongoing support

Eligible Countries: all

To be taken at (country): Not restricted

Offered annually? Yes

How to Apply: Apply on the webpage

Visit fellowship webpage for details

Sponsors: Echoing Green Feellowship