Short Answer Question HELP GUIDE. Fellowship Programs Application

Transcription

1 Short Answer Question HELP GUIDE Fellowship Programs Application

2 Submission Policies 1. Echoing Green will only accept applications submitted through our website. You may not mail, fax, or your application. Applicants will be able to access the application between December 2, 2014 and January 5, 2015 through the Echoing Green website at 2. Do not send supplemental materials via or postal mail to be matched to your initial application. Echoing Green will not accept attachments or supporting documents as part of the initial application. Any extraneous documentation sent to Echoing Green as part of an initial application will not be reviewed in the evaluation and cannot be returned. 3. Applications cannot be revised once they have been submitted to Echoing Green. 4. Echoing Green will accept only one application submission per applicant per year. Any applicant who submits multiple applications for the same project or single applications for multiple different projects will be disqualified from consideration. 5. Partnerships (organizations led by two individuals) must submit a joint application for their project. Partners who submit separate applications for the same project will be disqualified from consideration. 6. If you have questions about the application process, please consult our Frequently Asked Questions section on our website. Application Tips 1. Review the Echoing Green website ( Many otherwise strong applicants have disqualified themselves by failing to review our support materials or by failing to understand Echoing Green as an organization prior to applying. 2. Don t wait until the last second to start an application. The best answers are those that are well-thought out, reflective, and concise. Time should be built in for several rounds of proofreading. 3. Be specific! Applications are often rejected due to lack of clarity. Don t just tell us that you re going to save the world - show us how you re going to do it. Your answers have character limits, so don t waste time with vague generalities or tangents. Instead, provide concrete examples and statistics and demonstrate a clear connection between your work and your goals.

3 4. Make sure you explain the why in your application. While Echoing Green seeks to know the what and how about your organization, we also want to know why you are the right person for the job. Be sure to detail your personal connection to the community you will serve. 5. Provide an appropriate resume. Your resume should make clear your qualifications to be the leader of the organization. Echoing Green does not expect applicants to have started an organization previously nor do we require they have formal education in their program area. However, we do seek applicants who have demonstrated their interest, passion, and leadership abilities through their previous work as well as their academic and volunteer experience. Focus on relevant skills and experiences that demonstrate your qualification. 6. Have several people proofread your application! Have someone serve as an editor for mechanics (style, structure, spelling), have a content area expert read for feasibility (logic and persuasion), and have someone who knows nothing about your organization read for coherence and clarity. After reviewing your answers, ask each person to pitch your organization back to you to see if your application is conveying your organization accurately. Program Area Clarification On the Phase 1 application, you will be asked to select the program area category that BEST describes your organization. Review the examples beneath the program categories to help you determine which best fits your organization. The examples under each category are not exhaustive, but should give you an idea of the types of programs that might fit into each category. Arts & Culture Media and Performing Arts Preservation Civil & Human Rights Access to Legal Service Humanitarian Relief Legal Advocacy Peacebuilding

4 Education Programs/Services Reform/Advocacy Tools/Software Mentorship/Leadership Environment Clean Tech/Alternative Energy Green Building Green Jobs Protection/Conservation Food & Agriculture Agriculture Food Systems Nutrition Health & Healthcare Access/Health Service Delivery Prevention/Treatment Poverty Alleviation & Economic Development Access to Capital Employment/Job Training Entrepreneurship Public Service & Civic Engagement Citizen Advocacy Volunteerism

5 Phase 1 Application Questions and Help Text Please review the following Phase 1 short answer questions. The supporting information under each question should help you focus your answer. We highly recommend that you consult this help text before completing the application. Remember to take note of the character limits for each essay question. Character limits include spaces. Space to answers each question is limited, so keep answers concise.. To avoid potential loss of information, we also recommend you draft your essay responses in a word processor offline and copy and paste your answers into the online form when you are ready. Please note that the online form will not accept rich text, which includes any formatting such as bullets, bolding/italicizing/underlining, text color, etc. General Short Answer Questions 1. Summarize your organization s mission in one sentence. (150 characters) Keep it simple and concise! Try to answer who, what, where, and why. 2. Summarize your organization s mission and activities in one paragraph. (500 characters) Expand on your answer to the previous question regarding who, what, where, and why. Do not assume that this is a continuation of the previous question. This paragraph should be able to stand alone and explain your organization. Imagine that a friend who knows little about your field of work asks you to explain your organization. How would you describe your organization to them? You may also think of this as your elevator pitch ; if you only had a brief moment to describe your organization to someone during an elevator ride, what would you say to sell them on your organization? 3. Describe the specific problem your organization is working to solve. Use statistics and references to identify the size and scope of the problem. (500 characters) Identify the problem you intend to address and explain why it s significant. If possible, use of statistics from experts or constituents to show the need for your work. Tell us about the lives of the population your organization will serve. It is acceptable to identify your references without providing a detailed footnote (for example, you do not need to include publisher, volume number, page number, etc.). One common mistake made by applicants is stating the need without sufficient statistics, sources, or examples to support the claim. Another common mistake is presenting a need that is a market opportunity but not a true social challenge. Show us that you have done your research and understand those you intend to help.

6 4. Describe the specific programs or products of your organization. (1000 characters) When we ask about your programs or products we want to know specifically you re your solution or activity is to the problem you are trying to address. What will your work look like? What will you or your staff do on a daily/weekly/monthly basis? Think about a member of the population served by your organization and tell us how they will experience your products or programs. Do not repeat the idea behind your organization over again, but explain how your organization will make your idea a reality. For example, if you run a teacher training program, tell us the length of the program, how many teachers will attend, and what will be the steps of each phase of the program. 5. How is your approach boldly innovative compared to the status quo? (1000 characters) It is likely that there are other entities, from local community organizations to governmental agencies, which deliver services to the constituency/community that you have identified. It is also possible that one or more organizations are focused on the same area of need, either in your community or outside of your community. How, then, is your idea different to what other people are already doing? This can be a product or process innovation. Why will your idea lead to significant social change? Name specific organizations working in your field; explain how your organization is a significant improvement on existing models. Why do you think your organization will be more successful than the others? If possible, quote experts or publications that validate your assertion. 6. In what way will the lives of specific individuals be better because of your organization s work? Please identify the group(s) of individuals and how many lives will be impacted by your organizations work over time? (1000 characters) In five years from now, How will the world be different because of your work?. Tell us the connection between what your organization will do and the impact of those actions on the world. How do you plan to measure this impact? For example, if the work of your organization is to tutor low-income high school students to improve their college attendance rates, one activity (or Output ) might be 500 hours of tutoring sessions over a year, while one result (or Outcome ) might be a twenty percent increase in college attendance among the targeted students. A measurement system for this project might include weekly reports from tutors on the number of tutoring hours logged and quarterly surveys of past participants in the program to determine their current education status. If you are still figuring out what your desired outcomes might be, then walk us through what you might measure in five or ten years from now.. Using the same example from above, you might know you want to increase college attendance, but not know what target number you re aiming for. Similarly, you might know you want to follow-up with students after they

7 leave the program but not know what that follow-up system will look like. It s okay if you don t have all the details figured out, just explain what you re currently thinking in terms of measuring your impact. 7. Budget Questions Don t worry if you have yet to raise any money or develop a sophisticated budget. We fund entrepreneurs at all points within the start-up phase but we want to get a sense of where your organization currently stands. The purpose of this question is to help applicants seriously consider their organizational costs, so they know approximately how much money will be needed for their program to function and be sustainable. a. In total, how much money have you raised for this organization from launch to date (in U.S. dollars): $ This should be an honest assessment of your current financial situation and should reflect the total amount of money raised by your organization from its founding (not just the current year). This should include money already received as well as confirmed pledges, but should not include any money you have requested but not been promised. If you have personally invested or donated money to the organization, that money can be included in this total. Answer for this question must be in numerical form. For example: $100,000 b. List the names of any individuals or organizations who have provided greater than $10,000 in funding to date: (250 characters) We understand that many organizations applying for an Echoing Green Fellowship have not yet received sums of this size, so don t worry if you need to leave this section blank. c. How much money do you hope to spend in 2015 (in U.S. dollars): $ You should have a thoughtful plan for how much your organization will need to operate next year. This should be the amount of money you need to operate in 2015, not the amount you hope to raise. If your fiscal year is not your calendar year, you may use your next fiscal year here. d. Approximately how much money do you think you might need to spend in 2 years (2017) and in 5 years (2020) (in U.S. Dollars): 2 years: $ 5 years: $ This should be a realistic estimate of your future budget. While you may not have an exact budget for this far in the future, please give us your best projection of how much money you hope to operate on in 2017 after the Echoing Green Fellowship and then in 2020 as you are thinking about scale. Carefully consider what resources you will need to accomplish your goals and intended impact.

8 e. What do you hope will be your main sources of funding over the next two years? (500 characters) Aside from Echoing Green, please list any other sources of funding. This is your ongoing plan for income generation and fundraising each year. How will you earn or raise enough income each year to continue operating and growing? This should include sources such as philanthropic donations, investment, or earned income. 8. When and how did you come up with the idea for your organization? Please list anyone who could be considered a co-founder? (500 characters) Describe how you developed this idea and emphasize why it is important to you. Please provide the names of any individuals that were integral in the development of the idea that you may consider co-founders. Partners, this answer should reflect both individuals. 9. Why are you, unlike the majority of people, so passionate about this issue that you are willing to take the risky leap of starting a new organization? (1000 characters) What motivates you to take on this challenge? Why is this the right moment for you to take this action? Be sure to include any experiences you have working in this field and geographic area, or any experiences working with the population you intend to serve. Please be specific about the duration of your experience and the capacity in which you served. This should not be a reiteration of your resume, but instead should help us understand your passion and commitment to this issue, idea, and/or community. Partners, this answer should reflect both individuals and may be a shared story or two separate stories of how each individual was inspired to work on this particular issue. 10. What skills or experiences demonstrate that you will be able to attract money, people, and other resources to your organization? (1000 characters) Provide us with examples that show you possess skills to attract resources to your organization. Think about your experiences and describe a time when you were able to start something new or when you influenced others to join you in a challenging endeavor. Partners, this answer should reflect both individuals. 11. Describe one example of your bold, entrepreneurial spirit. (750 characters) Describe an experience that demonstrates your ability to be bold and take initiative. This doesn t mean you have to have an example of starting an organization. We want to see that you re willing and able to take risks, think big and drive change. Partners, this answer should reflect both individuals. 12. Provide one or two examples of your ability to overcome challenges and adversity. (1000 characters)

9 Starting a new organization or company is difficult, and entrepreneurs often run into many obstacles in this early stage of development. Describe a time in your life when you were faced with challenges that compromised your success and how you managed the situation. Your answer should help us understand how you deal with difficult situations, and could even highlight a time that you learned from a failure. Partners, each individual should list at least one personal example of adversity. 13. If you have previously applied for an Echoing Green Fellowship for this or any similar idea, what has changed since you last applied? (500 characters) How has your organization changed? What are you doing differently? What has happened in the year (or more) since you last applied? For example, have you expanded or run a pilot program? Have you been able to measure the impact your organization has in a new or different way? If you received feedback from our judges in the past, this is your opportunity to address their concerns. If you have applied in the past for a completely different idea, you may want to use this space to tell us what has changed with you personally or professionally that caused you to change your idea. Partnership Short Answer Questions Please note: This section is only required for those applying with a partner. 1. Partnership History: How did you come to start this organization together? How long have you known each other, and in what contexts? Are there other co-founders? If so, what is their current status and if applicable why are other co-founders not applying? (500 characters) Provide a context for your partnership, including how you met, how long you have known each other, how well you know each other, and any previous collaborations. As conflicts are inevitable among partners, how will you and your partner work to resolve problems? Also, tell us who came up with the idea, who started the organization, and what prompted you to work together on it. If there are other founders or organizational leaders not included in the application, please elaborate on both their initial and current roles, including if they are still involved in the organization and the reason why they are not applying for the Fellowship. 2. Roles/Responsibilities: Describe your individual roles within the organization and the nature of your working relationship. (500 characters) Like any relationship, a successful partnership requires compatibility in many areas, including delineation of responsibilities. Explain what your respective titles will be and how you chose them (or how you will choose them in the future). When describing your responsibilities, please be extremely precise, explaining which specific tasks will each of you be responsible for within the organization. Explain how your roles complement each other in the leadership of your organization.