To build a better and more equitable North Carolina with leadership reflective of its communities, North Carolina urgently needs more skilled issue, community and electoral organizers. To help meet this need, Brighter Future Institute, in partnership with Movement Voter Project, is offering a brand new Organize NC Fellowship program for 2023, with the intention of preparing fellows to be employed, full-time community organizers through at least 2024. This is a 5-month, full time, paid fellowship opportunity, with potential for future employment, for new and aspiring community organizers based in North Carolina who are interested in a career in the North Carolina social movement ecosystem. Base salary is the pro-rated equivalent of $52,000 annually.
The program's objective is to prepare organizers interested in pursuing an organizing career in North Carolina. This is a great opportunity for new and aspiring community organizers who want to develop skills and experiences to organize communities, build grassroots power, and advance racial, social, gender, and economic justice in North Carolina.
Learn more about the program here and apply by completing the application form.
How it works
The program combines training, coaching, and leadership development with on-the-ground organizing experience through a placement with one of our partner organizations pursuing grassroots community, labor, and electoral organizing across the state. Fellows will be supported and managed in their organizing work by the host organization, with training, coaching, and mentorship provided by Organize NC.
The program comprises of three phases:
- Training Intensive (August). 3 week in-person organizing training program equips fellows with core organizing skills, tools, and competencies. Aug 8-11, 15-18, 22-25. Whitakers, NC.
- Partner Placement (Sept-November). Field placement with partner organizations. Fellows will spend 4 days/week in on-the-ground organizing, with 1 day of ongoing training, learning, and coaching provided by program staff.
- Program Wrap (December). Final training and assessment, reflection and debrief. The fellowship will end by December 15th, with 2 weeks of PTO through the end of December.
Who you are
The Organize NC Fellowship Program is a great entry point for people interested in exploring a community organizing career to advance racial, social, gender, and economic justice in North Carolina. You don't need past organizing experience or a fancy resume. What you do need is to be:
- Eager to organize. You are passionate about working directly with Black, Brown, working class, gender-diverse, LGBTQ+ and youth communities to build power.
- Willing to learn. You bring a growth mindset, view challenges as opportunities to grow and develop, and are willing to receive coaching and feedback.
- Relationship-based. You value relationships, have strong interpersonal skills, and are willing to talk to and build relationships with many different people.
- Self-motivated and self-aware. You are emotionally intelligent and good at setting goals and managing your time.
- Politically clear. You are committed to working towards racial, social, gender, economic, LGBTQ+ and immigrant justice.
Next Steps
- Apply. Priority application deadline is Sunday May 21st at 11:59PM, and the final application deadline is Sunday June 11th at 11:59PM. We are asking you to provide a resume and answer a couple of short application questions. We are not asking for cover letters.
- Screening. If we're excited about your application, we may ask you to answer a few more questions, submit references, and/or participate in a brief screening interview to figure out what opportunities are right for you.
- Matching. Once we've learned more about you, we'll share your information with our grassroots partner organizations across North Carolina. If there's a good match with one of our partners, they may choose to interview you, and will let us know if it's a match.
- Placement. We will notify you once you're selected by one of our partner organizations, and they will reach out with a paid fellowship offer. We will provide you with a 3-week, paid organizing training prior to starting to work with the organization. And we will continue to provide ongoing training and coaching throughout your fellowship to equip you with the skills, tools and competencies to succeed. We aim to notify applicants of placement decisions by early July.
Questions? Email us at [email protected].
Note: To answer some of our application questions, we ask that you review Brighter Future Institute's Values and World View, which you can read here: https://bit.ly/bfvalues.