Looking for a chance to make a real difference in your life and the lives of others? These 40 social impact fellowships could be exactly what you need. Whether you’re an experienced changemaker or someone ready to pivot into a career with purpose, these opportunities offer funding and resources to tackle pressing social challenges. From advancing education reform and championing social justice to driving innovation in public health and international development, there’s a fellowship here for you. Some programs focus on making an impact in your own community, while others offer the chance to work abroad.
Check out these 40 social impact fellowships, and be sure to bookmark these opportunities to your ProFellow account!
Fellowships for U.S. Applicants
AAUW Community Action Grants
Community Action Grants provide funds to individuals, AAUW branches, and AAUW state organizations as well as local community-based nonprofit organizations for innovative programs or non-degree research projects that promote education and equity for women and girls. Grant projects must have a direct public impact, be nonpartisan, and take place within the United States or its territories. Special consideration is given to projects focused on K–12 and community college girls’ and women’s achievements in science, technology, engineering, or math.
National Urban Fellows
The National Urban Fellows (NUF) program is a rigorous, 14-month, full-time leadership accelerator for early to mid-career professionals, especially people of color and women, who are committed to racial equity and social impact. In addition to fully-funded graduate education, Fellows gain ongoing personal and professional development. They also receive a $25,000 stipend distributed over the 14 months of the program, along with reimbursements for health care, books, and relocation expenses. Fellows also receive travel and lodging at NUF’s annual leadership conference in January.
Tulsa Service Year Fellowship
Tulsa Service Year fellows get hands-on experience working full-time at one of the several organizations in Tulsa’s non-profit ecosystem. This program wants the best, brightest, and most change-focused new college graduates to join the team on the testing ground of social strategies for a year of service work. Recent college graduates are welcome from all across the United States to apply. Fellows can choose from four service tracks: Entrepreneurial Support, Social Impact, Civic Leadership, and Arts and Education. This yearlong program starts in May and the annual salary is $40,000. Join the next generation of change-makers.
Watson Institute Flagship Fellowship
The Watson Institute Flagship Fellowship is a 16-week fully funded program for impact-focused entrepreneurs seeking to elevate their ventures. It begins with a 2-week in-person Immersive in Boulder, Colorado, followed by virtual sessions. Weekly commitments range from 6 to 15 hours, covering modules like Foundations, Funding, and Team Management. It offers mentorship, a global network, and a Summit for pitching to leaders. Eligible candidates lead social impact ventures, display community commitment, and seek growth as effective leaders. The program targets ventures in Problem-Solution or Product-Market Fit stages with proven impact and revenue outcomes, aiming to equip participants with skills and connections to enhance their ventures. Applications will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis until the spots are filled.
Black Leadership Institute
The Black Leadership Institute (BLI) connects, inspires, and uplifts senior-level Black leaders shaping social impact across the country and sectors. Through transformative programming, BLI supports Black leaders with the resources, network, and community to build upon their social, financial, knowledge, and cultural capital as they step into positions of greater power and influence. The 18-month program includes in-person regional convenings and virtual sessions with the full national cohort, and individual, virtual executive coaching. Ideal candidates are experienced nonprofit, philanthropic, public, and private sector executives, social entrepreneurs, and senior leaders who have direct oversight of a team and who share a passion for, and dedication to, racial and gender equity.
Fellowship for Utopian Practice
Culture Push’s Fellowship for Utopian Practice is a testing ground for new ideas that aim to create positive social change through civic engagement and horizontal learning opportunities. Culture Push serves artists by providing creative, analytical, and logistical tools for the creation of truly transformative projects. Artists must complete their project in New York City and will have support and mentoring through all aspects of the project as they build and exhibit their work. Financial assistance of $2,000 is provided at the start and other fundraising opportunities are available to help complete the project within 1 year.
Avodah Justice Fellowship
Find your place in the local, values-based Jewish community with the Avodah Justice Fellowship in Kansas City, Chicago, and New York City. You’ll join a cohort of emerging leaders who’ve spent 2-8 years engaging in social and economic justice work and are ready to deepen their anti-poverty analysis while building a meaningful Jewish community. Through workshops, retreats, mentorship, project-based learning, and a robust alumni network, you and your cohort will gain the tools needed to make your work for justice more effective, collaborative, and sustainable.
Nathan Cummings Foundation Fellowship
The Nathan Cummings Foundation Fellowship supports visionary leaders by giving them boundless space to turn an inspired idea in the field of social justice into a world-changing reality. The Fellowship awards three individuals up to $150,000 each to pursue an innovative project that seeks to address a challenge related to climate change or inequality – or within the intersection of these two major issues. Fellows will be thought partners informing the Foundation’s work and will have the use of a dedicated office at NCF’s New York City headquarters. Only U.S. citizens whose projects are focused on work within the U.S. are eligible for the Fellowship at this time.
The Practitioner Fellowships at the Digital Civil Society Lab (DCSL)
The Practitioner Fellowships at the Digital Civil Society Lab (DCSL) support civil society practitioners working to address racial, gender, class/caste, sexuality, and economic inequality in relation to technology. The program aims to catalyze and support a broad range of projects led by the selected fellows that can inform and improve the vitality of digital civil society. The fellowship provides time, space, expertise, and financial support to help turn ideas into prototypes or action, and fellows become part of a cohort and alumni network that thrives with access to an intellectual community. A $25,000 stipend, paid at the beginning of the fellowship, to support work on an 18-month project. [temporarily not accepting applications]
Open Society Foundations Soros Equality Fellowship
The Soros Equality Fellowship seeks to support individual leaders with 10+ years of work experience who are influencing the racial justice field. The Fellowship aims to provide a space to incubate new ideas, promote risk-taking, and develop different ways of thinking that challenge and expand our existing assumptions. A successful project should identify a challenge and propose a critical intervention that will meaningfully address the systems that reinforce inequities and discrimination in the United States. Applicants must be able to devote at least 35 hours per week to the project if awarded a Fellowship. Applicants may be based outside the U.S., provided their work directly pertains to a U.S. racial justice issue and can demonstrate proficiency in spoken and written English.
Atlas Corps Fellowship
The Atlas Corps Fellowship is a transformative 12-month professional development program for global social change leaders. Atlas Corps Fellows are matched with U.S.-based Host Organizations to undergo intensive on-the-job training, complemented by professional development sessions provided by Atlas Corps, and networking opportunities with peers worldwide. Fellows receive a stipend to cover basic living expenses, including accommodation, utilities, groceries, and local transportation. The structure of each Fellowship is tailored to the specific placement opportunity offered by the Host Organization. There are two main formats of the Atlas Corps Fellowship: Remote Fellowship, and U.S. Fellowship.
National Equity Atlas Fellowship
The National Equity Atlas Fellowship is a year-long program that provides intensive, hands-on data training and support to leaders of color in communities across the United States who are advocating for equity-focused policy solutions. The fellows will develop data visualizations and products for advocacy campaigns focused on advancing policy and systems change. The fellowship is open to people of color who are currently employed by community-based organizations that are working to increase racial and economic equity by advancing policy solutions and systems-level transformation. Organizations will receive a $7,500 stipend to support their fellow’s participation in the program.
INP RISE Fellowship Program
The RISE Fellowship brings together the next generation of highly motivated, mission-driven, early-career social sector and community leaders who are passionate about social change and advancing equity. The RISE Fellowship is designed for early-career individuals looking for impactful leadership development opportunities to propel their careers. During the program, RISE Fellows gain an understanding of how mission-driven, social impact organizations function, develop essential leadership and professional skills, and engage in mentoring relationships and networking. After the priority deadline applications will be considered on a rolling basis.
Inter-American Foundation Grassroots Development Program
The IAF Grassroots Development Program is the process by which disadvantaged people organize themselves to improve their families, communities, and societies’ social, cultural, and economic well-being. As funders of sustainable development, IAF invests in community-led development projects across Latin America and the Caribbean. IAF partners with local organizations that identify innovative, yet viable solutions to local development challenges—particularly in disadvantaged or excluded communities. IAF invites your organization to apply for a grant from them. Currently, fund requests for amounts between US $25,000 and $400,000.
Encore Fellowships
Encore Fellowships are designed to deliver new sources of talent to organizations solving critical social problems. These paid, time-limited Fellowships match skilled, experienced professionals at the end of their midlife careers with social-purpose organizations. During the Fellowship period (typically six to 12 months, half to full time), the Fellows take on roles that bring significant, sustained impact to their host organizations. Applications are open in U.S. cities and London, U.K. with varying deadlines.
The Ripple Fellowship
The Ripple Fellowship is a fully funded, 9-month educational program for young adults ages 18-24. With a comprehensive curriculum, immersive travel experiences, and 1:1 mentorship, The Ripple Fellowship will mold impactful social entrepreneurs who will go on to create lasting change in their communities. Fellows will have two domestic travel experiences, engage in a weekly online curriculum facilitated by a variety of experts and changemakers, be paired with a mentor, construct a business plan that supports people and the planet, and participate in a formal incentivized business pitch to The Ripple Center community at large.
FAO Schwarz Fellowships
The FAO Schwarz Fellowships are a two-year program that helps new college graduates gain the skills and experience needed to become social impact leaders. Fellows work at leading nonprofit organizations in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia known for delivering significant value to their communities. The Fellowship program also includes a variety of professional development, mentorship, and networking experiences. The fellowship offers a salary, full health care benefits, and a free subway pass.
FUSE Executive Fellows
FUSE Executive Fellows are mid-career professionals who are committed to racial equity, have 15+ years of private sector experience, and are looking to transition their careers for greater social impact. Executive Fellows are embedded in a government agency full-time for one year. FUSE works closely with government and community partners to co-create fellowship projects based on their highest priority challenges. Executive Fellows receive a salary of $80,000 and have access to a range of benefit options. The FUSE Executive Fellowship Program launches three cohorts annually in the spring, summer, and fall.
Education Pioneers Impact Fellowship
The EP Impact Fellowship is an intensive, 10-month experience that helps turn rising leaders’ skills and passions for social good into new, tangible leadership opportunities — supporting educational equity and advancing careers, at the same time. Fellows serve a 10-month placement within a leading education organization. EP recruits and places Impact Fellows in roles in data, analysis, and strategic project management. Through 10 months of workshops and targeted learning opportunities, you’ll focus on growing as a transformational leader for the education sector and the world at large. The 10-month placement offers a $58,000 stipend.
Future Leaders in Action (FLIA) Fellowships
For up to 13 weeks over the spring, summer, or fall, Future Leaders in Action (“FLIA”) places fellows, and emerging social sector leaders in youth-oriented nonprofit organizations to develop or implement enrichment programs that cultivate their leadership skills. Fellows work full-time, on-site with a partner on an enrichment program that focuses on one of the following areas: advancing skills for success, promoting public health, and protecting the environment. There are fellowships available in New York, Portland, and Iowa and past partners have included Boys & Girls Clubs, the Fiver Children’s Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and other health-related organizations.
Peace Corps Volunteers
Peace Corps Volunteers work abroad for 24 months after 3 months of training. Volunteers work with governments, schools, non-profit organizations, non-government organizations, and entrepreneurs in education, hunger, business, information technology, agriculture, and the environment. Peace Corps Volunteers serve in 75 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, South America, Europe, the Pacific Islands, and the Middle East. PCVs receive a living allowance, free travel, and transition rewards after completing 27 months of service. Peace Corps is open to U.S. citizens age 18 and older who are curious about the world and committed to helping others.
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Fellowships
The CBCF Congressional Fellowship Program equips early-career policy professionals who are committed to contributing to public policy with the necessary skills to become the next generation of leaders in public service. The program is an intensive 12-month policy training and leadership development program that enables fellows to receive hands-on public policy training as full-time legislative aides and policy analysts. CBCF fellowship types include Congressional Fellowships, John R. Lewis National Racial Equity Initiative Social Justice Fellowships, and Research Fellowships. Fellows are paid an annual salary plus benefits. Participants must reside in or relocate to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Greenlining Institute Leadership Academy Fellowship Program
The Greenlining Institute – Leadership Academy Fellowship is an 11-month professional development program for emerging social justice leaders taking the lead on race equity work, and advocating for change on a systemic level. Fellows are assigned to specific policy teams and hone their expertise by working with Greenlining staff on critical issues impacting our communities. Leadership Academy Fellows are passionate about working towards an equitable and just future for communities of color. Fellows are propelled by today’s political climate to engage in racial equity work and join a diverse, multicultural cohort that values and celebrates inclusivity.
Halcyon Programs
Halcyon is the community that supports a diverse range of impact-driven businesses and social entrepreneurs through its various programs. This programs offer fellowships for social entrepreneurs and funding vehicles to help them scale their ventures. These may include ventures focused on sustainability, social justice, healthcare innovation, education, technology for social good, and other areas aimed at creating positive social or environmental impact. The Halcyon provides space, community, and access to empower social entrepreneurs and ventures dedicated to addressing pressing global challenges and making a difference in their communities. Each program includes specific benefits to fellows.
Autry Fellowship
The Autry Fellowship Program builds networks of emerging leaders who will address social issues related to equity in the South. Each year, MDC recruits a talented and passionate recent college graduate for a one-year Fellowship that provides opportunities to work alongside MDC staff on a range of projects addressing pressing issues of equity in the South. MDC provides Autry Fellows with an experience that will enhance their understanding of social change and help further them on their path to promoting equity. Fellows grow as leaders while learning MDC’s strategies for promoting economic and social justice. Salary beginning at $42,000 and adjusted based on work experience*
WKKF Community Leadership Network Fellowship
The WKKF Community Leadership Network equips leaders with the skills they need to meet the challenges of the modern world. This 18-month program offers hands-on training, personalized coaching, community-based support, and practical experience. Through this fellowship unite with a diverse group of leaders from across the U.S. and learn from each other. Fellows are organized in cohorts based in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, and New Orleans – the Kellogg Foundation’s priority places – along with a national cohort. Upon graduation, fellows join a powerful network of peers leading transformative change in their communities.
Encore Fellowships
Encore Fellowships are designed to deliver new sources of talent to organizations solving critical social problems. These paid, time-limited Fellowships match skilled, experienced professionals at the end of their midlife careers with social-purpose organizations. During the Fellowship period (typically six to 12 months, half to full-time), the Fellows take on roles that bring significant, sustained impact to their host organizations. Applications are open in U.S. cities and London, U.K. with varying deadlines.
International Innovation Corps
The International Innovation Corps (IIC) is a new, unique opportunity for graduates to play an active role in building and implementing innovative solutions to some of India’s toughest social problems. Fellows will work at Indian public sector enterprises for paid, one-year assignments that tackle important social challenges. The Fellowship is open to recent and forthcoming University of Chicago graduates of the college and any graduate degree program as well as other US-based institutions. Each IIC fellow receives a stipend, health insurance, and RT airfare to India.
Open Society Foundations Soros Justice Fellowships
The Soros Justice Fellowships support outstanding individuals—including lawyers, advocates, grassroots organizers, writers, print and broadcast journalists, artists, filmmakers, and other individuals with distinctive voices—to undertake full-time projects that engage and inform, spur debate and conversation, change policy or practice, and catalyze change around the U.S. criminal legal system at the local, state, and national levels. Fellowships can be either 12 or 18 months in duration and may be undertaken with the support of a host organization.
Fellowships for Global Applicants
AsiaGlobal Fellows Program
The AsiaGlobal Fellows Program at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a 13-week interdisciplinary program designed to nurture future leaders. AsiaGlobal Fellows are promising mid-career professionals from around the world and across a spectrum of occupations, including policymakers, policy advisors, business, and civil society. They share a common policy interest in Asia, have demonstrated strong leadership potential, and are committed to making a positive impact on society. The program provides Fellows with a monthly stipend to help with living costs, accommodation, round-trip travel, site-visit travel expenses, and insurance. For promising, mid-career professionals with 8 to 25 years of working experience.
Atlantic Fellows for Racial Equity
The fellowship supports leaders who have a track record of improving the quality of Black life in their local or regional contexts. Over the 12-month Fellowship, all Fellows participate in a series of virtual convenings, a two-week, in-person residency in Johannesburg, South Africa; and an in-person immersion in Oxford, United Kingdom. Applicants must have a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in racial equity or related field and living in Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe, or the SWANA region during virtual programming.
Global Changemaker Fellowship
The Global Changemaker Fellowship is a 6-month advancement virtual program intended to interface and develop a pipeline of Social Change Leaders who are focused on handling challenges in their local communities. Throughout the program, the Fellows continue with implementing their initiative while participating in immersive workshops, training, and mentorship. The fellowship equips changemakers with an opportunity to get access to global knowledge, community, training, and tools to become more effective collaborators of change and grow their initiatives. The program seeks leaders aged 13-30 with an entrepreneurial mindset.
Echoing Green Fellowship
This is a full-time, 1.5-year Fellowship for people working on a plan to make the world better in a big way through their organizations. Social innovators, visionary leaders, and change-makers who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color who are committed to upending structural oppression and creating change in their communities so that all people can thrive are strongly encouraged to apply. Fellows can be based anywhere in the world and must be the primary decision-makers and able to commit full-time to your organization. Organizations can be structured as nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid. A stipend over 18 months (80,000 USD) is provided.
Blossom Hill Foundation Fellowship
Blossom Hill offers fellowships to social entrepreneurs who have developed an innovative approach, program, or product that positively impacts war-affected Middle Eastern communities, either in-country or displaced due to conflict. These solutions are spearheaded by individuals who hail from the region or are deeply connected to the Middle East. Fellowships are up to $50,000 a year and are renewable every year depending on the assessment and evaluation of the project’s impact.
Young African Leaders Initiative Regional Leadership Center Fellowships
Launched by U.S. President Barack Obama, the YALI Regional Leadership Centers in Africa provide high-quality training, mentoring, and networking support to exceptional young African leaders between ages of 18 and 35. Four Regional Leadership Centers in Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa. Selected cohorts of participants engage in innovative leadership training across three tracks of study: (1) Business and Entrepreneurship, (2) Civic Leadership, and (3) Public Management. The program covers the cost of travel, housing, and meals and the customized academic and leadership course.
Ashoka Fellows
Ashoka Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs who we recognize to have innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society. Fellows work in over 70 countries around the globe in every area of human need. From nomination to election as a Fellow, candidates go through an extensive series of in-depth interviews, a judging panel, and a final executive board vote. There are no age, education, class, race, or other such bars to the election. The three-year fellowship includes a living stipend to cover all expenses (customized for each Fellow). Applications are accepted all year round on a rolling basis.
Global Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs
The Yunus & Youth Global Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurs is a customized 6-month online program that empowers young people to build, develop, and expand innovative and economically viable social businesses that contribute to the achievement of the 17 UN SDGs. Yunus & Youth provides early-stage social business leaders with the tools and training they need to succeed. Applicants are between 18 and 30 years of age and hold primary decision-making power in organizations created to solve a social or sustainable challenge in their community.
Global Good Fund Fellowship Program
The Global Good Fund Fellowship is a 12-month program supporting the leadership development of social enterprise leaders across the globe. The Global Good Fund develops each innovator by pairing them with a professional executive coach and a C-suite business executive who serves as a mentor. Ideal Fellows hold a leadership position at their social enterprise, operate for 3-5 years, and demonstrate coachability. The Fellowship provides fellows with a 360 Mirror leadership assessment tool, a personalized Leadership Development plan, executive 1-1 coaching, 1-1 business mentorship, and a 10,000 USD stipend to use in relation to the leadership goals of the social entrepreneur.
Vital Voices Global Fellowship
The Vital Voices Global Fellowship brings together women leaders from across the world and sectors to build skills and capacity, foster a collaborative network, and exchange ideas. In the inaugural year, Vital Voices offers programming across two pillars – social entrepreneurship and political leadership. Fellows will engage in focused learning on sector-specific skills and knowledge and with changemakers relevant to their industries. Through the fellowship, Vital Voices also aims to create opportunities for cross-issue collaboration and harness the collective creative potential of women leaders working on critical challenges disproportionately affecting women and girls.
Acumen East Africa Fellows Program
The Acumen East Africa Fellows Program is a one-year, fully-funded leadership development program that gives 20 individuals from across East Africa the training they need to accelerate their social impact and leadership potential. Fellows participate in five seminars and travel and accommodations are covered. During each seminar, Fellows receive world-class training on topics ranging from design thinking to adaptive leadership. Candidates are entrepreneurs who started their organizations, or individuals who are influencing change within an existing organization.
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