Each year, Echoing Green awards 12-15 two-year fellowships to social entrepreneurs. Fellows receive up to $90,000 in seed funding and technical support to turn their innovative ideas into sustainable social change organizations.

Overview:

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, Echoing Green helps its network of visionaries develop new solutions to society’s most difficult problems. These social entrepreneurs and their organizations work to solve deeply-rooted social, environmental, economic, and political inequities to ensure equal access and to help all individuals reach their potential. To date, Echoing Green has invested over $28 million in seed funding to over 471 social entrepreneurs and their innovative organizations.  Each year, Echoing Green awards 12-15 two-year fellowships to social entrepreneurs. Fellows receive up to $90,000 in seed funding and technical support to turn their innovative ideas into sustainable social change organizations.

For information about 2009 fellows click here.

Eligibility Requirements:

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.
  • Organizations must be the original idea of the applicant.
  • 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 full-time 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.
  • 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. 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 July the year they are selected, as well as a November conference that year and for the next three years. Echoing Green covers all expenses related to these events and will announce the dates a few months prior to each conference.

The following proposals are not eligible for consideration for an Echoing Green Fellowship:

  • Plans for the expansion of an existing organization that is past its start-up phase
  • Plans for research projects
  • Plans for lobbying activities
  • Plans for faith-based initiatives (in this context, faith-based implies that you are associated with a religious institution or are promoting a specific faith; if your work has a spiritual basis but is not tied to any specific religion or faith, you may be eligible for consideration)
  • Recipients of prior Echoing Green funding

Award Amount:

Fellowships awarded to individuals are $30,000 a year for two years, or a total of $60,000. Fellowships awarded to partnerships are $45,000 a year (per project not per individual) for two years, or a total of $90,000.

How to Apply:

Echoing Green’s felloship application process has three phases. At the conclusion of each phase, the most competitive applicants will be invited to continue in the process. Ultimately, 12-20 new fellows will be selected.

The first phase entails filling out an online application that may be submitted between September 21, 2009 and December 2, 2009.  A short essay about the applying organization and a resume are required.  Advancing applicants will be announced January 8, 2010.

The second phase requires the completion of an online application and mailed materials.  This phase begins on January 9, 2010 and ends on February 8, 2010.  It requires a longer essay about the organization, a sample budget, a sector analysis, references and a possible phone interview.  Advancing applicants will be announced March 26, 2010.

The third and final phase is the in-person interview phase.  Applicants will be flown to New York City courtesy of Echoing Green, where they will provide a 90-second pitch of their idea and participate in two interviews.  This phase will begin on April 29, 2010 and end on May 1, 2010 with the winners announced the last week of May.

To go to the application, click here.

Contact:

Fellowship FAQ’s: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship/help

Email contact: apply@echoinggreen.org

Deadline:
December 2, 2009 – 5pm EST

For more detailed information:

http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship

Note: Please do not contact the Green Economy Post regarding this opportunity.  We re not affiliated with the sponsoring organization, and therefore have no additional information. Sometimes the link is changed for the opportunities.  When this happens, go to the home page of the organizers to locate information on the opportunity or contact the organization directly.

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Author: Abhijit Khanna (5 Articles)

Abhijit Khanna, a Huntsville, AL native, has long had an interest in environmental issues. Since graduating from Birmingham-Southern College with a degree in Computer Science, he has been pursuing a career in IT and business, but always with an eye towards today's green concerns. After spending the last five years in Seattle and observing many of the innovations taking place in the Pacific Northwest, Abhijit is currently seeking to transition his career into sustainability. His interests in this area include corporate environmental strategy, governmental environmental policy and planning, and green building. He recently helped found the first Green Drinks chapter in Alabama in Huntsville. In addition, he is an avid reader and traveler.