We build the policy capacity of community organizations while investing in tomorrow’s equity-driven climate policy leaders.
Recognizing our grantee partners’ critical need for in-house policy capacity and expertise, the Equity Fund established a transformative fellowship program that places emerging policy leaders inside community organizations for a period of three years.
During this essential three-year time frame, Climate Equity Fellows connect organizational members to policy opportunities, strategies and leverage, while they develop their own policy skills within a multi-issue power building and organizing context.
In collaboration with their host organizations, fellows have made significant contributions to the field, including drafting champion legislation on key priorities; developing op-eds, toolkits, and case studies; conducting research and analysis; and educating government officials on climate and clean energy issues.
The capacity we gained from having a policy fellow has been stellar, especially for a multi-issue organization like ours.
Jovita Lee, North Carolina Black Alliance
Equity Fund staff prepare fellows for success with robust programming, including an onboarding retreat, a year-long schedule of policy webinars and workshops, community calls, personalized one-on-one check-ins, and an annual retreat to strengthen cohort connections. Fellows also receive an annual stipend for professional development and are matched with a professional mentor in their area of focus in the second year of the fellowship.