ELIGIBILITY:

Applicant Eligibility

Will you be 18 years or older by the time you begin the Fellowship?

Echoing Green Fellowship applicants must be 18 years or older by June 1, 2025.

Are you able to communicate proficiently in English?

To be eligible for the Fellowship and fully participate in programming and support offerings, you must be able to proficiently communicate in English. Support throughout the Echoing Green Fellowship is offered in English. Please note that reasonable accommodations will be made to support the full participation of those with visual, hearing or speech impairments.

Are you an original founder or a leading member of your proposed organization’s original founding team?

We use the term “original founder” to describe people who launched or are launching an organization that is their original idea. You cannot have assumed a leadership position within the organization after its founding. To be eligible, you must be a leader with decision-making power within the organization and be either 1) a sole founder or 2) a leading founder on a team of people who
created the organization.

Organization Eligibility

Does your proposed organization have a parent organization?

Organizations that are independent but have fiscal sponsors are eligible for the Echoing Green Fellowship as long as the fiscal sponsor has no authority over the organization’s work and decision making.

Does your proposed organization operate independently and autonomously from your parent organization?

To be eligible for an Echoing Green Fellowship, you must be able to make and act on organizational decisions of your own choosing. If other organizations or entities manage or hold decision-making authority for your proposed organization, you may not be eligible. Organizations that are independent but have fiscal sponsors may be eligible as long as the fiscal sponsor has no authority over the organization’s work and decision making.

In your personal assessment, would you describe your organization or idea in the “early stage” of its development and in need of financial and non-financial resources to become sustainable?

Echoing Green seeks applicants in need of funding to initiate or scale their organizations. We generally describe early-stage organizations or ideas as those that 1) have operated with full-time staff for less than five years or 2) still need resources to grow and sustain their operations. Organizations that already have all of the following in place *may* not qualify as early-stage enough for the Echoing Green Fellowship: a well-defined program model; an initial strategic plan; basic organizational infrastructure (like a bank account, payroll, job descriptions, etc.); a staffing plan; initial funding sources; and a board of directors that meets regularly to manage organizational governance. If you do not have all of these elements in place yet, you may still be in your startup phase and eligible to apply for an Echoing Green Fellowship.

Does your organization use lobbying to further its mission or goals?

Per the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Echoing Green cannot distribute funds to organizations whose primary purpose is lobbying. Lobbying is defined as activities that seek to support specific political candidates, specific political parties, or urge action on specific legislative bills. Issue-area advocacy, defined as the attempt to cause political action using methods such as civic education and public campaigns, is not considered lobbying. For more details, please reference the IRS definition here: irs.gov/charities-non-profits/lobbying.

Does your organization promote or recruit for a specific religious faith?

To be eligible for an Echoing Green Fellowship, the organization cannot engage in recruitment, promotion, or conversion for a specific religious faith to your constituency. If your organization’s work has a spiritual element or works with existing faith communities but does not promote or recruit on behalf of that faith, you may be eligible.

Have you or any members of the organization’s founding or leadership team previously received an Echoing Green Fellowship?

For you and your organization to be eligible for an Echoing Green Fellowship, no founding team members and no people in a leadership position can be an Echoing Green Fellow.

BENEFIT:

Leadership Development: A comprehensive program to build and grow leadership skills and develop the strategies needed for ideas to thrive.

Wellness and Wellbeing Support: Ongoing support focuses on mental and emotional wellbeing along with self-care workshops designed specifically for all struggles of entrepreneurship.

Expert Resources: The programs team facilitiates the Fellow experience and connects these leaders to experts and opportunities according to their needs.

Seed Funding: A stipend over 18 months ($100, 000 USD). Funding offered to for-profit organizations in the form of recoverable grants.

Virtual and In-Person Convenings: Gatherings to connect Fellows within and across classes, regions, and communities to build strong ties among Fellows over their entrepreneurial journey.