Help

Have a question about the fellowship or application process? Consult the most common questions below for an immediate answer. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, please contact us at apply@echoinggreen.org.

Eligibility

My project is based outside the US and I'm not an American citizen. May I apply for a fellowship?

My project is structured as a for-profit organization. May I apply for a fellowship?

I’m not sure if my proposal meets your criteria. May I schedule a personal interview to review my proposal before I decide whether I should complete an application?

I am currently a full time student. May I apply for a fellowship?

I am a working towards my doctorate degree. May I apply for an Echoing Green grant to fund a research project in support of my degree requirements?

I currently have a full time job and have been running an organization on the side for three years. Am I eligible to apply for a fellowship?

I am creating a new project within an existing organization. The new project will be completely under my control and direction. Am I eligible?

Do I need to have 501(c)(3) status before I can apply for a fellowship?

I have never run a nonprofit before nor do I have nonprofit experience. May I still apply for your program?

I have more than one idea for an innovative new program. May I submit both ideas?

I am working on a book that I believe will have significant social impact. Am I eligible?

My organization has a fiscal sponsor. Am I still eligible to apply?

Application Process

I haven’t identified a partner but am very interested in the partnership application. May I begin the application process as an individual and convert to a partnership application once I find a partner?

I have a number of articles and other supplemental materials that I want to include with my application. May I attach them to my application or submit them to your office?

When is the application due?

I have limited access to the Internet. Can you mail me an application or can I download a copy off your website? Instead of using your format, may I mail you my business plan?

Can you provide me with some samples of successful applications?

Fellowship

What is the total amount of your grant and how is it paid?

Your grant amount of $30,000 per year is less than I am making in my current job. How am I supposed to pay my bills and mortgage? Do you offer grants of different sizes based on the applicant’s experience or financial need?

My organization was founded by several people. Can we all apply for the fellowship?

Eligibility

My project is based outside the US and I'm not an American citizen. May I apply for a fellowship?

Yes, so long as you meet our other criteria. We encourage applicants of all nationalities, working in any country, to apply for the fellowship. The only limitation is that if your project is based in the US, you must have American work authorization (i.e., citizenship, permanent residence status, or a work visa).

My project is structured as a for-profit organization. May I apply for a fellowship?

Yes, so long as you meet our other criteria. Echoing Green seeks applications for innovative organizations creating high-impact social change, regardless of profit orientation. Both for-profit and nonprofit fellows receive their stipends in the form of grants, not loans or investments.

I’m not sure if my proposal meets your criteria. May I schedule a personal interview to review my proposal before I decide whether I should complete an application?

Echoing Green has a small staff. Annually, we receive close to 1,000 applications for our program. If we cannot offer personal interviews to all applicants, in fairness we cannot grant personal interviews to any applicants, either over the phone or in person. Please do not contact our office requesting an appointment for a personal interview; we simply cannot honor these requests.

Our eligibility criteria are generally straightforward. The criteria that cause confusion are the requirements that a program be the original idea of the applicant and be innovative. It is very difficult to come up with an idea for creating social change that is truly innovative. We suggest that you do some research before applying to determine if someone else is implementing your idea, either in your community or in a different community. If you are adopting an existing model – it is new in your community but isn’t innovative – Echoing Green is not the right program for you. If a similar model currently exists but your plan is to execute this model in a different way in order to make it more effective than existing programs, you may be eligible for a fellowship. If your idea is truly novel and untested with tremendous potential for creating lasting social change, we encourage you to apply.

I am currently a full time student. May I apply for a fellowship?

You may apply for our fellowship program while you are a full time student in a degree program. However, you must have completed your studies by the beginning of the fellowship period on September 1, 2010. If you are awarded an Echoing Green Fellowship, you are agreeing to make your program your full time employment. While we do not doubt that you have very high energy and enthusiasm for both, our experience is that individuals who try to launch new organizations while maintaining a full course load experience very high burn out rates and both their academics and their program suffer. If you intend to be a full time student at any point during the 2009 fellowship period (September 1, 2010 – August 31, 2012), we invite you to apply for our program after you have completed your degree. If you will complete your studies before September 1, 2010, you are welcome to apply for a fellowship.

I am a working towards my doctorate degree. May I apply for an Echoing Green grant to fund a research project in support of my degree requirements?

Echoing Green does not provide scholarship money or fund research. If you are proposing a research project as part of your academic studies, your project is not eligible for our program.

I currently have a full time job and have been running an organization on the side for three years. Am I eligible to apply for a fellowship?

If your program is still in a start up phase (signs that you are in a start up phase may include: you have not hired full time staff, you do not have a board of directors, you have raised minimal operating funds), you may be eligible for our program.

If you are awarded an Echoing Green Fellowship, you are expected to commit no less than 35 hours per week to this program. In other words, you will not be able to continue in your current full time employment if you accept an Echoing Green Fellowship.

I am creating a new project within an existing organization. The new project will be completely under my control and direction. Am I eligible?

No. To be eligible for consideration for an Echoing Green Fellowship, the program must be independent and autonomous. It cannot be under the management of another organization. It cannot depend on another entity for funding or access to funds.

Do I need to have 501(c)(3) status before I can apply for a fellowship?

No, you do not need to establish 501(c)(3) status before you apply.

I have never run a nonprofit before nor do I have nonprofit experience. May I still apply for your program?

Yes. Echoing Green believes in identifying and supporting talented, yet unproven social entrepreneurs.

I have more than one idea for an innovative new program. May I submit both ideas?

No. Echoing Green only allows one submission per applicant per year. If you submit both ideas, or submit the same idea twice, you will automatically be removed from further consideration for a fellowship.

I am working on a book that I believe will have significant social impact. Am I eligible?

No. Echoing Green funds ideas for creating sustainable organizations; we do not fund discrete projects. Examples of discrete projects (those with definitive beginning and ending points) include writing a book or script, producing a play or creating a new film.

My organization has a fiscal sponsor. Am I still eligible to apply?

Yes. Echoing Green requires fellows to lead autonomous organizations. However, since fiscal sponors generally only provide support and do not exert control over organizational decisions, you are still eligible for a fellowship so long as this applies to your situation.

Application Process

I haven’t identified a partner but am very interested in the partnership application. May I begin the application process as an individual and convert to a partnership application once I find a partner?

We do not allow applicants to change their application type from individual to partnership (or the other way, from partnership to individual) during the application process. Nor can you swap out one partner for another during the application process or during the fellowship period.

The decision to launch an organization as a partnership (two individuals leading an organization) is one that should not be taken lightly. Echoing Green expects partnership applicants to function as a team and to work as equals. It is very difficult for two different individuals to share the leadership position and maintain the same vision and personal priorities over time. Partnerships typically have a high failure rate, resulting in one or both of the partners leaving the organization. If you are considering applying as a partnership, we recommend that you and your partner spend considerable time discussing both your personal and professional goals before you begin completing the application. You can use our Partnership Guide to help with this process.

I have a number of articles and other supplemental materials that I want to include with my application. May I attach them to my application or submit them to your office?

No. Any extraneous materials submitted will be discarded.

When is the application due?

The 2010 application is due on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 5PM EST. The online application system will be shut down at that time and no more applications will be accepted. We highly recommend that you plan to submit your application well before the deadline to ensure that you don’t miss the deadline as a result of technical difficulties with either your own equipment/network or as a result of heavy traffic on the Echoing Green website.

I have limited access to the Internet. Can you mail me an application or can I download a copy off your website? Instead of using your format, may I mail you my business plan?

No, you must submit your application using our online tools. If you have limited access to the Internet, we suggest printing out the Application Guide. This will provide you with each of the questions contained in our application. You can work on composing your answers offline, either by hand or in a Word document. This will save you considerable time when you go online to enter your responses. Note: If you compose your answers in a word processor and copy them into our online system, you must make sure that they still fit our character limitations – including spaces.

We will not accept any other documents (e.g., letters of inquiry, business plans) in lieu of the online application.

Can you provide me with some samples of successful applications?

Echoing Green does not provide sample applications as they would not be helpful to you. Every year, Echoing Green looks for the strongest applications that present compelling and original ideas for addressing and resolving the root causes of tough social challenges. We look for well-rounded applicants who display a solid understanding of the issues they plan to address and demonstrate leadership potential. These successful applications are all incredibly unique and thus, trying to mimic one would not improve your probability of being awarded an Echoing Green Fellowship. However, the Help Text in our Application Guide can definitely help you focus your answers on the information we are looking to evaluate.

Fellowship

What is the total amount of your grant and how is it paid?

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.

Echoing Green pays the grants in four equal installments over two years. The first payment is issued in early September 2010. Subsequent payments are made in March 2011, September 2011 and March 2012.

Your grant amount of $30,000 per year is less than I am making in my current job. How am I supposed to pay my bills and mortgage? Do you offer grants of different sizes based on the applicant’s experience or financial need?

Echoing Green does not vary the amount of the grant based on experience or financial need. Echoing Green does not restrict our fellows from raising funds from other sources during their fellowship period. In fact, we fully expect that in the first two years of their fellowship, our fellows will need to raise additional funds at least equal to the size of their Echoing Green grant. Echoing Green’s recognition in the funding community will help you achieve these financial goals.

My organization was founded by several people. Can we all apply for the fellowship?

No, only two founders can apply per organization. As a result, please choose two, at most, to represent your organization to Echoing Green. However, you don't need to change your leadership structure to suit Echoing Green. Even if only two founders can be Echoing Green Fellows, you can have as many people leading your organization as you see fit.