Echoing Green Fellowship Programs for Social Entrepreneurs, 2015

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. They believe investing in and supporting the right people relative to the right ideas and ability to execute, rather than specific business plans, results in a lifetime of leadership. Echoing Green has invested over $40 million in seed-stage funding and strategic assistance in nearly 700 world-class leaders driving positive social change around the globe. Echoing Green Fellows include the founders of Teach For America, City Year, College Summit, Citizen Schools, One Acre Fund, and SKS Microfinance.

About the fellowships:
- The Global Fellowship is their 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.

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;
- 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.

Fellowship
During their first two years, Fellows receive up to USD 90,000, participate in leadership development gatherings, and 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. They continue to support their Fellow community long after their initial funding period with ongoing programs and opportunities at critical inflection points in their organizations or careers.

Further details:
http://www.mladiinfo.eu