Deadline: 28-Jul-21
The Morgridge Family Foundation (MFF) is currently seeking applications for the Morgridge Acceleration Program (MAP) Fellowship to create positive impact while developing professional skill sets and networks.
MAP Fellows collaborate with peers and industry leaders to challenge the status quo, foster new and meaningful connections, and spark the sustainable change needed to achieve a profound and lasting impact.
While driving impact for nonprofit organizations, MAP Fellows gain elite mentorship, executive coaching, networking opportunities, travel, and access into a tight-knit group of peers. This year, Forbes called the MAP Fellowship “a powerful opportunity for collaboration and innovative thinking.”
Program Highlights
From October 2021 through March 2022, MAP Fellows commit to opportunities that foster community, personal and professional growth, as well as leadership development. They’ll bring the lessons they learn and relationships they build back to their full-time positions, sharing the knowledge and networks they gain with their primary employer and colleagues.
- Challenge: Mentors identify a specific challenge facing their organization that fellows commit to solving over six months. Each fellow pledges approximately 10 hours a month to solve the problem at hand. Along the way, mentors provide hands-on guidance and knowledge.
- Challenge Fund: Up to $4,000, generously underwritten by The Rieschel Family Foundation, is available for each organization to test, explore, and further innovate their challenge solution with their fellow. Proposals for the funds must be received by November 15, 2021 and will be approved pending challenge relevance.
- Kick-Off Event: The kick-off event, hosted in-part by MindSpark Learning, is designed to be immersive, hands-on, and fun, challenging fellows to grow leadership skills and develop the strategies needed for their solutions to thrive. Mentors join to discuss their challenges in-depth and build community with their cohort. The kick-off event will take place in Denver, Colorado, in early October 2021, pending CDC recommendations.
- Coaching: Fellows work with an executive coach to develop and achieve their personal and professional goals in the program. They will also work with a public-speaking coach to prepare for their culmination event presentations.
- Mind Melds: Fellows meet monthly for a virtual brainstorming session that mines the collective thought of their peers. Each fellow will host a Mind Meld to pose questions they are navigating while solving their challenge. The diverse perspectives and experiences of the cohort drive dialogue that inspires an innovative course of action.
- Cohort Convenings: Fellows and mentors participate in two virtual events that facilitate community-building. In the past, these events have included speed networking wine-tastings and challenging conversations sparked by a behind-the-scenes tour with the Denver Art Museum.
- Nonprofit Site Visit: Fellows visit their mentors for two days to allow fellows and mentors to work together on-site, as well as to provide the fellow an opportunity to shadow and observe their mentor in action. The site visit will take place according to CDC recommendations. Fellows and mentors must schedule their site visit by November 1, 2021, and complete their site visit by February 15, 2022.
- Culmination Event: The program culminates with an event where each fellow presents to an audience of public, private, and social sector leaders, providing them a platform to share their MAP experience. The culmination event will take place in Washington, D.C. in late March 2022, pending CDC recommendations.
- Alumni Access: Upon completion of the MAP Fellowship, all Fellows and Mentors join a thriving and continuously growing community. The alumni ecosystem is a space for networking, sharing ideas, asking questions, and supporting each other’s growth and success. This lasting community is one of the MAP Fellowship’s greatest strengths.
Benefits
The Morgridge Family Foundation will:
- Cover all travel, meals, and accommodation expenses for mentors and fellows.
- Provide each nonprofit up to $4,000, generously underwritten by The Rieschel Family Foundation, for their Fellow to test, explore, and further innovate their work.
- Oversee all programming and logistics of the fellowship with the exception of the fellow site visits. While MFF funds the site visits, scheduling and logistics are the responsibility of the fellow and mentor.
- MFF’s Program Manager will work closely with program participants throughout their collaboration, acting as a thought partner, coach, and facilitator, as necessary.
- MFF’s Communications Team will amplify the work of the cohort and is available to publish content as interested by each fellow and mentor.
- MFF’s Impact Analyst leads measurement and evaluation of the program and the impact of each Fellow.
MFF is looking for:
The MAP Fellowship focuses on unlocking and unleashing the potential of the next generation of social sector leadership. They are searching for individuals who have demonstrated remarkable accomplishments early in their careers and who crave opportunity for collaboration and coaching from esteemed leaders in their field.
- Imagination: You are an emerging social impact leader with skills that allow you to tactically and creatively solve the MAP Challenge to which you are applying.
- Initiative: You have a track record of being the driver on a foggy road: navigating the uncertain, understanding when to ask for directions, and ultimately finding your way.
- Integrity: You do the right thing and will rise to commitments of the fellowship.
Eligibility Criteria
- All MAP Fellows must live in the United States and be able to travel domestically as outlined by the program.
- The admissions team is looking for the strongest candidates possible, no matter their age.
- Graduate students are encouraged to apply for the MAP Fellowship.
For more information, visit https://morgridgefamilyfoundation.org/about/map/