Apply to Host a Fellow

Please read the following before beginning the application process to host a fellow. We will begin recruiting for the 2014-2015 fellowships in late summer or early fall of 2013.

What to Know Before Creating a Fellowship Project

• Philly Fellows partners with AmeriCorps*VISTA to create each fellowship project. All projects are bound by the terms and conditions of VISTA in addition to Philly Fellows’ policies.

• Fellows serve at their host agencies for one year in a full-time role (forty hours/week). Most host agencies are able to reapply for a new fellow for up to three years on a continuing project.

• All projects should be organized around a capacity-building goal for the host agency. Direct service should not be the focus of the project. As an example, a suitable role for a fellow could be designing and implementing a new after-school tutoring program, but working directly with the students in the primary role of a tutor would not fit within these guidelines.

• This new capacity must be sustainable for your organization. The end-results of the project should continue to benefit your agency and constituents after fellows are no longer placed with you. Agencies should not rely on fellows as a long-term staffing solution.

• All projects must have a focus and an end result that contributes to eliminating conditions of poverty. The key objectives recently identified by our partners at AmeriCorps*VISTA are: creating economic opportunities for low-income Americans (including financial literacy, housing, and employment), improving education (including school readiness, K-12 success, and post-secondary success), ensuring healthy futures for Americans (including anti-obesity and food security initiatives), and increasing opportunities for veterans and military families.

• When designing fellowships, it is best to conceive of them as distinct projects. So rather than creating a position that just gives you extra manpower in one of your departments, your agency would be more likely to be matched with a fellow if you were to present a project that focused on a specific goal or initiative that is distinct from the day-to-day work of that department or your agency.

• The work of the fellow should directly lead to measurable and reportable outcomes related to the anti-poverty goals stated above.

• Project locations must be within the City of Philadelphia.

• Fellows should not serve in roles in which they are replacing an existing employee.

• Fellows may not be involved in any of the following activities as part of their projects: direct political advocacy or lobbying, proselytizing or other direct religious activity, pro- or anti-organized-labor activities, and voter registration or voter-turnout initiatives. If your agency engages in these activities, the fellow’s work must be separated from them.

• We generally have a competitive process when it comes to recruiting new host agencies. When selecting agencies to become part of the fellowship, our two most important criteria are: 1) whether the project will have a meaningful impact on the agency that leads to stronger and more just communities in Philadelphia, and 2) whether the project would be compelling to a typical Philly Fellows applicant and encourage them to apply for the program (project descriptions are included in our recruiting materials for prospective fellows).

Reply Form

The Philly Fellows Reply Form is a short letter of intent to host a fellow for the coming year. The form, which will be posted by September 2013 for the following year's fellowships, helps Philly Fellows staff determine whether prospective agencies align with the priorities and mission of Philly Fellows as well as AmeriCorps*VISTA.

After the Reply Forms come in, selected agencies will be asked to submit a full application, providing more detailed information about the structure and goals of their project, including plans to measure the fellow's impact.