This information supplements the program guidelines at wagner.nyu.edu/leadership/sjf. To understand fully the requirements and expectations of the program, please be sure to review both the guidelines and these additional points.)
Please note that, as more questions emerge, this sheet will be UPDATED periodically - with the revision date noted at top.
Contents:1. What exactly is the selection criterion for the fellowship?
Candidates should be able to demonstrate their intimate ties with the community they wish to serve and experience in something related to their project focus. There are no educational requirements whatsoever for the program; neither is professional background a determining factor. Experience may be rooted in volunteer work, professional experience, or other related opportunities.
2. Is the program open only to young people or those who are new to organizing and social justice work?
Age is not a factor with past fellows having come from diverse age groups. As for experience, the program is best suited for applicants with some prior experience and credibility in their community but who are still "emerging" in their leadership and have yet to be recognized in larger circles of influence.
3. Does the program want good people or good projects?
Both. The program is looking for individuals with talent, passion, commitment, and integrity; however, selection is also based upon the strength of the proposed project - meaning its vision, analysis of the problem, innovative proposed solutions, and feasibility within the 15-month term of the program. Applicants are not expected to "tackle the world" within this short time-frame but to offer a plan for taking significant steps in addressing a specific issue that currently is not being adequately addressed. It is likely that work under this fellowship will be a first phase, in which case the proposal should describe preliminary plans for sustaining the work. (For a profile of prior projects, see http://www.soros.org/initiatives/cf/news/nycfellows_20051220.)
4. How do the health and tuition reimbursement benefits work?
Fellows will be eligible to receive $13,000 over the 15-month term of the program to first ensure that they are covered by health insurance and then, secondly, to enable fellows to repay some portion of school debt obtained prior to the start of the program. These funds will be provided on a reimbursement basis subject to submission of invoices. Better health insurance rates may be obtained by securing a sponsored/hosted relationship with another organization and joining their group plan. In such cases, the program will reimburse the hosting organization.
5. What does it mean to have a hosting organization?
As stated in the guidelines and noted above, securing an organization as a host can have some advantages. To achieve one of the biggest advantages - joining the organization's health insurance plan - a fellow will most likely have to be on the organization's payroll. The program allows this; however, in such a case, the hosting organization must understand that the fellow cannot be treated as a regular employee. Fellows must be able to work with a high degree of independence and autonomy - working on their own schedule and with goals determined not by the hosting organization but by what was stated in the fellows' application, plus any further negotiation with the fellowship program. Of course, the fellow's initiative may further the interests of the hosting organization.
To help ensure clarity for all parties involved, the program requires an applicant proposing a hosting relationship to submit a Memorandum of Understanding that details the understanding of both parties. (Please see Section 10 below for greater detail.)
6. Why the emphasis on working independently - and how is that balanced with the push for working collaboratively?
The requirement that fellows be able to work with a high degree of independence and autonomy stems from the program's desire to support the full development of emerging leaders and innovative areas of social justice work. This does not negate however the opportunity for a hosted relationship (as noted above) or for extensive collaboration - as most effective social justice work requires intimate relationships and partnerships with important players in the community. It should be noted however that proposals involving close collaborations, and particularly a hosting organization, should be clear to show how they will operate in a truly independent fashion. (Also critical in such cases will be the memorandum of understanding, mentioned above and detailed below.)
7. Are certain types of projects ineligible?
Yes. In addition to the prohibitions stated in the guidelines (i.e. the supplanting of funds for already existing work or a project of a strictly academic or theoretical nature), projects should not focus solely on direct service. While direct service may be one component, a project must also have a strong plan for addressing structural barriers and necessary policy changes. Furthermore, projects will not qualify if they are focused merely on the expansion of an organization's current programming; for example, if an organization seeks to hire an additional organizer to cover a new part of the city.
8. Can and should a fellow do additional fundraising during the term of the fellowship?
Yes! Fellows are strongly encouraged to pursue other funding avenues that may support their work - both during the fellowship and towards sustaining it beyond the program. Note also that technical assistance workshops are provided within the program to assist fellows in this area and many opportunities are provided for networking and gaining a more intimate understanding of the funding world.
9. What are the work expectations?
The program selects individuals who are driven and projects that are ambitious. The work should therefore be understood as requiring a full-time work commitment - as the program requires fellows to achieve their stated goals and meet periodic objectives in a timely fashion. However, fellows will determine their own work schedules. In the same way that many full-time employees are engaged with other activities - including part-time work or school - beyond their jobs, fellows may have interests and activities outside of the fellowship program. Fellows may not however have other full-time work or school commitments.
10. What is the Fellowship Network?
The program is proud to have a dynamic network of nearly 80 alumni, many of whom are significant leaders in various social justice areas throughout New York City. Members of the network share resources and ideas on developing communities and sustaining their public interest projects. Fellows have worked on collaborative projects and in coalitions to foster relationships across issue areas and institutions to enrich the social justice community of New York City. All fellows become members of the network and are eligible to attend conferences and various technical assistance workshops. The network continues to grow, enhancing the social capital of emerging leaders through informal peer-to-peer exchanges and shared learning experiences.
11. Is the fellowship program competitive?
Yes. The fellowship program is very competitive and has grown increasingly popular since its first funding cycle in 1998 (under the Open Society Institute). The program is currently funded to provide 7 fellowships a year; in 2005 nearly 200 applications were received.
12. What should be included in the "MOU" (Memorandum of Understanding)?
To ensure clarity between both the fellow and the hosting organization regarding the nature of the relationship, as noted in the guidelines, an MOU should have explicit language affirming that the hosting organization understands and accepts that the fellow shall operate in a manner that is highly independent and will not to be supervised as a regular employee - even if the fellow is placed on payroll for the purpose of accessing health benefits or other organizational resources.