Segal Family Foundation African Visionary Fellowship for African Changemakers 2018

Segal Family Foundation is happy to announce applications for the 2018 African Visionary Fellowship!
Application Deadline: 20th February 2018
Eligible Countries: African countries
About the Award: Beginning in 2017 with an inaugural cohort of 24 fellows from across eight countries, our African Visionary Fellowship offers capacity building designed for and by local visionaries themselves. Fellows receive mentorship, exposure, and the support of a community of like-minded changemakers.
AVF is a two-year fellowship program that brings together some of the most promising African leaders in the social sector in East Africa.
Being a Fellow also means making a commitment to fully participate and contribute to our AVF community. Upon acceptance into the Fellowship program, you agree to:
• Attend all three in-person AVF Summits in your first year of the Fellowship and two out of three of the Summits in your second year. In 2018, the Fellowship Summits are tentatively scheduled for early May, late July, and early October (leading up to SFF’s Annual Meeting)
• Regular communication and feedback to the SFF team to help improve the program
• Remain open and willing to collaborate, learn and support other Fellows
• Ensure that the learning and capacity-building support provided through the Fellowship is applied within your organization and team
• Commit to help mentor first-year Fellows when you become a second-year Fellow
 
Type: Fellowship (Professional)
Eligibility: This year we will select 15 Fellows to join the 2018 Cohort of AVF. This decision will be based on each
individual’s application and alignment with the following criteria:
• You are an African national.
• You are the top leader and primary decision-maker of your organization.
• You care deeply about the community you work in and are passionate about the issues your work addresses. Your work is a vocation, not just a job.
• You have deep contextual knowledge of the location and community within which you work.
• You can demonstrate that your work has potential to lead to improvement in the lives of the communities and individuals they serve, especially youth.
• You think big and address old problems in new ways, demonstrating innovation in your approach.
ORGANIZATION CRITERIA
• SFF PARTNER: This program is only open to SFF partners who are currently receiving funding from Segal Family Foundation and have completed at least one full grant cycle with SFF.
• LOCAL: Carries out its work locally. Is led by people of that community, or people who live and work in that community and are deeply rooted to the issues on which the organization is working. We do not support local offices or affiliates of national and international organizations.
• COMMUNITY-DRIVEN: Serves the community directly and gets meaningful involvement, input, and support from the community in its work. The organization’s strategies should engage communities in their own development rather than as passive beneficiaries.
• EARLY-STAGE: Should be a small organization that is early in its development, and has not received support from many domestic and international funders. The organization’s budget should not be more than $1 million.
• BOLD: Has ambition to grow its impact by going deeper in its communities or generating models and methods that can be adapted to similar challenges in other communities.
• CLEAR VISION: Has an informed understanding of the challenge(s) it seeks to address in its community that goes beyond the symptoms (the why) and how to go about addressing it.
• LEGAL STATUS: Preference will be given to organizations that do not have a 501(c)3 or other charity status outside their country of operations.
Number of Awards: Not specified
Value of Award: Being a Fellow gives you access to the following:
• Two years of capacity-building support opportunities, such as coaching, mentorship, and specific technical assistance catered to your organization’s needs
• Promotion amongst SFF’s network of funder friends
• Stipends and access to international conferences and funder spaces (when possible)
• Access to a community of passionate, supportive, like-minded African leaders
Duration of Program: 2 years
How to Apply:

•  If you believe you are a fit based on the above criteria, please fill out the application form no later than February 20th, 2018.
• At  the end of the application form, you will be asked to upload one recommendation letter from within your organization or board.
• Any questions about the Fellowship or the application process should be directed to beatrice@segalfamilyfoundation.org.
• The 2018 Cohort of Fellows will be announced in early March

Visit the Program Webpage for Details
Award Providers: Segal Family Foundation