Funding, Fellowships and Training Opportunities

Funding

Kickstarter is a funding program that uses “all-or-nothing” funding. The project director sets a fundraising target for their project and donors pledge donations. If the project receives enough pledges to meet its funding target within a certain time period it gets the money, otherwise it does not get anything. Kickstarter is usually used for creative or artistic projects.

The Foundation Center is an organization that helps programs find donors. It maintains a database of donating groups, guides on how to successfully get funding from various groups, and research on current trends in fundraising.

Ashoka's Youth Venture provides funding and guidance to teams of young people who want to improve their communities. It aims to create a global network of youths who are working on projects to address social needs. Funding is targeted at people ages 12 - 20.

OpenAction is a start-up that helps to consolidate information about global development projects so that projects and activists can connect with each other to collaborate, or more easily locate funding for their work.

Catchafire matches professionals with skills they'd like to volunteer with organizations that need their help.  The site lists a set of projects organizations often need help with and that professionals can assist with.  Organizations list the projects they need assistance with, and get a two week trial period with the person Catchafire matches them with before they choose to hire.

Fellowships

Ashoka aims to empower “social engineers” to work to solve society’s problems. Ashoka invests in projects for social change. The program funds projects all over the world.

Echoing green is an organization centered in New York City that funds new projects and ideas for social change. It emphasizes “seed funding”, funding brand new projects to help them get off the ground.

The Unreasonable Institute combines funding with a strong emphasis on mentoring new project leaders. Fellows selected by the institute receive six weeks of training and extensive networking opportunities with various foundations. The organization expects that this support will help projects stay organized and funded in the long term.

The Awesome Foundation provides $1000 grants to organizations with “awesome” ideas. Every month each chapter of the foundation chooses a project to give money to. Unlike many organizations, this is not a loan, meaning that the money can be used on ventures that are purely for the public good, with no chance of making a profit. Many chapters focus on local issues, so check the list of chapters on the website to see if there is one in your area.

The Greenlining Institute is a US-based organization that seeks to help minority groups in the US advocate effectively. Its “Leadership Academy” provides training on grass-roots advocacy, organization, and leadership. It also organizes a coalition of over 30 groups organizing for interests in the Asian, Black, and Latino communities.

The Cordes Fellowship for Opportunity Collaboration provides training and networking opportunities with other social movement leaders. Selected fellows attend a five-day conference that includes classes on effectively managing and growing an organization for social change, and discuss issues with their peers.

The PopTech Social Innovation Fellowship aims to take promising programs to new heights. Fellows that are selected for the program attend a training program and take classes on topics that will help elevate their organizations, such as media relations or organizational development. The fellows then present at the annual PopTech conference and get continued support on their project from mentors and other fellowship members.

IndiCorps is an organization that encourages Indians across the globe to participate in development programs for their native country. The organization aims to integrate talented people living in other nations with development initiatives in India to create a culture of service.

Equal Justice Works helps lawyers work for social progress. The organization runs a fellowship program that supports lawyers across the country who are working on social justice causes. It also provides training for selected public defenders and guides and advice for young lawyers who are interested in working for non-profit organizations.

Fellowship of Reconciliation Colombia is an organization that has conducted non-violent resistance against the conflict in Colombia.  Volunteers go to Colombia and assist the organization.  Extensive training and a stipend to cover living expenses is provided.  All applicants to volunteer must be at least 23 years old and proficient in both English and Spanish.

Legacy Heritage Fellowship is a program to help college graduates and recent post-graduates in the public policy sector work in a leadership position in government, non-government research, or media organization. Fellows participate in a year long seminar and have a mentor help them work in their new position. The fellowship focuses on issues in the Middle East, specifically the peace process between Israel and Palestine.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research studies issues women in the United States face, such as gender discrimination in the workforce and lack of women among elected officials. It also has research on discrimination against women in other parts of the world, especially the Middle East.

Global Citizen Year is a “gap year” program for students taking a year off between their high school graduation and beginning college. The students work with various non-governmental organizations around the world. The program gives extensive training to young advocates prior to their experience in the field. Once working, the student works an “apprenticeship” position to learn about working for social change first hand

The Mind Trust Fellowship supports entrepreneurs with new ideas for education. Fellows receive two years of salary and start up funding to make their ideas a reality. Note that fellows must regularly meet with Mind Trust staff in Indianapolis, so travel may be involved.

The Acumen Fund gives loans to entrepreneurs that plan to launch businesses with a strong anti-poverty component. The group uses “patient capital” to support organizations, which means it is willing to support riskier projects, is not concerned with short term gains, and values social success more than financial success.

TedGlobal Fellows brings together young people from around the world who have remarkable accomplishments. Many of these accomplishments are related to fights for social change. Fellows attend the prestigious TED conference and network with influential people who have been invited. Some fellows give a talk at the conference, which provides an excellent platform to raise awareness about a cause.

ProInspire is an organization that recruits business professionals to work in the non-profit organizations. The ProInspire fellowship is a program that selects very successful businessmen who have been working in the private sector for several years and want to transition to working for non-profits. Fellows receive a year of training. Once training is completed, non-profits can hire fellows to help their organizations.

The Congressional Hunger Center trains people to work in the non-profit sector for organizations that fight the problem of hunger in America and around the world. The organization offers scholarships and a list of organizations that are working against hunger.

Training

People Power is a game that simulates a civil resistance movement. Players work their way through scenarios that are designed by other players, and can design scenarios of their own based on their experiences with civil resistance in the real world.

Beyond the Fire provides an interactive look at the effect war has on teenagers. Youths from around the world tell the stories of how conflict has shaped their lives.

A Force More Powerful catalogues the history of non-violent struggle. It offers links to books and videos that explore specific movements in more detail.

198 Methods of Non Violent Action lists 198 techniques for a leading a successful movement without resorting to violence. The techniques are taken from the book The Politics of Nonviolent Action, Vol. 2 by Dr. Gene Sharp.

Canvasopedia.org is a multimedia library of resources related to non violent struggle.  It has a database of guides on various protest methods as well as articles written about social movements.  You can look up a method for non-violent struggle then read about social movements who have used that strategy.  The site also has video section.

United States Institutes of Peace Practitioner's Toolkit  offers best practices guides mainly directed at peacebuilding processes.  The organization focuses on three aspects of conflict resolution:  prevention of conflict, mediation, and post-conflict peace.  The group also has a grant and fellowship program.

W3Schools offers a wide range of tutorials for html, xhtml, css, php and more -- all the tools needed to create a website.  The tutorials are not only extremely in depth, they also include interactive components, where users can edit sample code and see the effects.  This is a valuable resource and learning tool for people of all skill levels.

The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict runs an intense training course every June at The Fletcher Institute in Medford, Massachusetts.  Other events happen across the United States, and are typically talks from experts about current non-violent movements.  For a historical perspective, the site summarizes dozens of past movements worldwide.

The New Organizing Institute has a variety of programs to develop the skills of social leaders. The institute offers a mixture of online courses and courses that take place in various locations around the United States. There are also guides on the website on how to plan, organize, and build support for a movement.

The Non Profit Guides to Grant Writing helps organizations recieve funding from other groups.  To get money from the fellowships listed here, an organization must explain why it needs and deserves funding. This site describes the components of an effective funding proposal and then gives tips on how to write each component. It also has sample proposals so organizations can see examples of effective writing.

Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU) is a school run by the community. Members teach lessons to other members on a variety of topics. People in courses asses their peers work and learn together. P2PU is split into multiple school, including the school of social innovation.

 The Virtual Activist 2.0: A Training Course is a guide which explains how to engage in online activism. It is somewhat dated, but does a good job of explaining the basics of how to effectively use the internet for social change.

Training for Change offers a variety of workshops to help social groups be more effective. The workshops take place across the the United States, range from a few days to a few weeks long, and cover a variety of topics related to activism. The website also has a list of guides that complement the material covered in the workshops.