Deadline: 14-Aug-20
Applications are now open for the Gratitude Network Fellowship, it is a leadership development program for social entrepreneurs serving children and youth globally.
The Gratitude Network Fellowship is a 12-month virtual leadership development program designed to help social entrepreneurs hone their leadership skills, work with their teams more effectively, and increase their organization’s impact.
The Gratitude Network supports its social entrepreneur Fellows to enable them to help more children and youth. Once selected, Gratitude Fellows become a part of their yearly cohort as well as the greater Gratitude Network comprised of Alumni Fellows, Coaches, Supporters, and Expert Advisors. The Fellowship is considered the beginning of the relationship between the Fellow and the Gratitude Network.
All Gratitude Fellows:
- Coaching: Are matched and meet at least monthly with a highly-skilled Leadership Coach
- Learning: Regularly scheduled topic based Webinars
- Advising: Receive support from Expert Advisors to tackle operational and execution issues
- Leadership Summit: Have the opportunity to attend the Gratitude Network’s annual Leadership Summit – a multi-day networking, learning and collaboration event
- Network: Remain a valued member of the Gratitude Network Alumni and family for continued support, connection, and collaboration
- Connection: Meet regularly with their peer Fellows for networking, problem solving, and partnership.
- Visibility: Are given visibility on the Gratitude Network website, social media, newsletter and various virtual and live events
Benefits
The Gratitude Network Fellowship Program includes:
- 12 Months of tailored guidance from a knowledgeable and dedicated Leadership Coach
- Access to a network of experienced Expert Advisors with knowledge in a wide variety of operational areas
- Membership into a structured peer leadership cohort
- Regularly scheduled webinars on a variety of operational topics
- Access to the Network website with tailored content, resources, presentations, and more
- Invites to learning and networking events specifically for the social impact community
The Gratitude Network Approach:
- Focus on leadership development to grow leaders who in turn grow their organizations
- Focus on key leadership areas including:
- Vision, Strategy, and Objectives
- Organization and Team
- Execution
- Personal Leadership Development
- Offer varied opportunities for Connection
- Provide multiple avenues into the Network for support and learning
Program Structure
The Gratitude Network Fellowship Program Structure:
The average time commitment for a Gratitude Fellow is 5 hours per month and additional time commitment for the optional Gratitude Leadership Summit in June 2021.
- Monthly Coaching Calls
- Gratitude Fellows meet with their Gratitude Coach
- Phone/video call
- 1-2 hours length with additional 1-2 hours of pre/post work
- Exact dates/times determined by Fellow and Coach
- Every Other Month Peer Connection Calls
- Every other month all Fellows meet for an all cohort Leadership session as well as small group collaboration
- Phone/video calls
- 1.5-2 hours
- Monthly Growth Webinars – Optional
- Every month all Network members are invited to topic, learning webinars presented by various members of the Network including Expert Advisors, Coaches, and Alumni
- Webinar
- 1-1.5 hours
- Monthly Fellow and Alumni Roundtables – Optional
- Every month all Fellows and Alumni are invited to brainstorming/problem solving Roundtable sessions designed to tackle specific, current issues/opportunities
- Phone/video calls
- 1-1.5 hours
- Expert Advisor Calls – As Needed
- As needed, calls will be set with specialized Expert Advisors
- Phone/video call
- 1-2 hour length
- Exact dates/times determined by Fellow and Expert Advisor
- Leadership Summit
- All Network learning and collaboration event held virtually or in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA (if global travel and large events are permitted by the event time)
- Workshops, networking time, and social events allow Fellows to bond and collaborate with their peers, Coaches, advisors, and the Gratitude Network Team
- Dates: June 2021
- Attendance at the Leadership Summit is highly encouraged, but optional. If the event is in-person, partial travel stipends will be provided as needed and available.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to be considered for the Fellowship, Applicants and the organizations they lead must meet the following minimum requirements:
For Organizations
- Organization is at least one-year old.
- Organization must have at least two full-time employees (including the Applicant).
- Organization’s beneficiaries must primarily be children/youth.
- Organization must be serving children/youth in one of the following categories:
- Education such as school systems, training of teachers, education technology, and early childhood programs as well as how/what children learn at school or outside of the classroom (e.g. after-school or summer programs).
- Health and Wellbeing such as addressing children’s basic needs, including poverty alleviation, nutrition, water, safe shelter, disease prevention, mental health, and social-emotional health.
- Children’s Rights such as protecting children and families from abuse, exploitation, trafficking, incarceration, and other harm, as well as other advocacy.
For Applicants
- Applicant is committed full-time to the social enterprise organization.
- Applicant has strategic decision making power for the social enterprise as the organization’s Founder/Co-Founder, Executive Director, CEO, or similar level role.
- Applicant is committed to actively participate in the Coaching and leadership development process with honesty, self-reflection, and self-motivation.
- Applicant is able to commit to the time commitments of the Fellowship.
Tips for Creating an Effective Application:
The Gratitude Network receives numerous applications each cycle for its Fellowship program. Review the tips below to better help you craft your application.
- Review the Fellowship Eligibility Requirements. Review the Fellowship Eligibility Requirements to ensure that your applicant meets the basic eligibility requirements for the Fellowship. In general, you should not submit an application if your applicant is not eligible.
- Provide Details and Context. Assume that the reader of your application does not know about your applicant, the organization, and why the work is important. Be sure to include relevant background details and historical information if appropriate. Consider providing some cultural background to frame your applicant’s work. Avoid the use of jargon.
- Provide Examples and Real Data. Give compelling evidence to support your claims about your applicant and the organization. Using quotes of support, summarized case studies, real data, and specific outcomes will show that your applicant’s organization is dedicated to transparency and accountability. Highlight specific examples of the real impact the organization has had – this is more compelling than speaking in generic terms.
- Be Honest. When talking about your applicant and the organization, never exaggerate. Applications are extensively reviewed, and Finalists for the Fellowship are rigorously researched, so overstated accomplishments will be unveiled.
- Be Descriptive. Be sure to paint a colorful picture in your application to help it stand out as memorable, bold, and special. Use language that is reflective of the values and culture of your applicant and the organization. The application should be enjoyable and inspiring to read.
- Be Inspiring and Unique. Before you begin your application, write down the one thing you must communicate about your applicant and the organization – something that makes your applicant or the organization stand out. Be sure to include this information somewhere in your application. If needed the last page of the application provides a space for any additional comments you would like to communicate.
- Give Yourself Time. Although the application window is open for several weeks, we recommend that you do not wait until the last minute to submit your application. Give yourself plenty of time to gather important material and craft your responses.
- Collaborate. If you are submitting an application for someone else, talk to your applicant – it is virtually impossible to submit an effective application without talking to the applicant first. Ask them specific questions and gather lots of details. If you are submitting an application for yourself, we still encourage you to work with your colleagues for suggestions and proofreading.
- Prepare, Edit, and Proofread. Make sure you prepare your responses ahead of time. We suggest typing your responses outside of the online system, so that you can copy and paste them in – just in case there is a technical error and you have to restart. Make sure to re-read your entire application before submitting it – you will NOT be able to edit it afterwards. Apply Today – Click Here 16 The long form response section of the application has a word count maximum of 500. Any answer over the word limit will be truncated. Check all word counts in a word processor prior to submission so your answers do not get cut off.
Prior to starting your application, it is recommended that you review the Gratitude Network Fellowship Application Preparation Guide.
Still have questions? Read Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section.
For more information, visit http://gratitude-network.org/the-gratitude-network-fellowship/