Community organizations: Are you interested in hosting a Community Leadership Fellow for the 2023-2024 academic year? Email ginsberg.match@umich.edu to set up a consultation.
The Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning offers a year-long fellowship for University of Michigan undergraduate juniors and seniors. The Community Leadership Fellows program seeks to provide students an opportunity to apply their existing leadership experience, community-based work, and classroom learning to a project that directly addresses community impact areas.
Projects will be determined by the interests and previous experiences of each fellow, and informed by community-identified needs which will be addressed using a collective impact approach. Fellows participate in ongoing leadership development training and mentorship, connect as a cohort, and engage in critically reflective practice throughout the program. Upon successful completion of fellowship goals and expectations, each Ginsberg Fellow will be awarded a $5,000 stipend distributed over the course of the academic year (~September - April).
Students Applicants
Who: Rising junior and senior students interested in addressing community-identified needs and furthering their leadership learning.
Time Commitment: Each fellow commits to 8-10 hours a week for both the Fall and Winter semesters, including regular meetings with their assigned mentor and bi-weekly cohort meetings.
Application: The application for 2023-2024 is available on M-Compass and due by 11:59pm on Friday, April 7th, 2023.
Please contact the Fellows advisor, Dr. Jesse Carr at jesscarr@umich.edu with any questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the typical week look like for a Community Leadership Fellow?
Each fellow is expected to commit 10 hours a week for the program. This would include office hours, working onsite or virtually with their placement site, meetings with their fellows mentor, and bi-weekly fellows cohort meetings. At the beginning of the term, each fellow will work with their fellowship site and the fellows advisor to determine their schedule, informed by their course and work schedules.
How will we decide what project I will be working on?
As fellows begin their experience, they will meet multiple times with their fellows mentor and the fellows program advisor to determine a project, or multiple projects. The project will be informed by community-identified needs, fellow's interests, and previous experiences. Each project is student-led and will require some comfort with ambiguity, taking initiative, and ability to be flexible with changing community needs.
At what sites will Fellows be placed?
The Ginsberg Center is proud to work with campus and community organizations that align with our mission to create social change for the common good. Each year, we work with community organizations to identify who would benefit from a fellowship placement. Past fellows' sites have included:
- The Washtenaw Housing Alliance
- Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice
- Student Advocacy Center
- Food Gatherers
- Hope Village
- 826 Michigan
- Washtenaw County Public Health Department
- Avalon Housing
- Habitat for Humanity
- The Office of Community and Economic Development
- The ChildCare Network
- We the People Michigan
- Willow Run Acres
Fellows will be placed with an organization based on the needs and availability of community partner organizations, and guided by fellows' expressed interests, skills, experience, and personal development goals.
What are past projects that have been completed?
In the past, fellows have focused on increasing community capacity with the Ginsberg Center and campus partners. Previous fellows have:
- Coordinating program assessment initiatives to inform organizational effectiveness and impact
- Create and facilitate trainings for community members and clients
- Organize advocacy campaigns around local and state policymaking
- Coordinate communication strategies for policy advocacy, including press releases, newsletters, and community meetings
- Oversee grassroots fundraising campaigns and events
- Design curriculum for and facilitate programs
- Tutor, mentor, and teach local K-12 students
- Conduct research, and publish findings, on diversity of elected bodies across Washtenaw County
- Write grants for community-based organizations and initiatives
What is it like to be in the cohort?
In line with the principles of the Ginsberg Center, learning is best done in community with others. The fellows program uses a cohort model in which the learning and growth that fellows receive is mutual and connected. Fellows are responsible for their own development and are expected to contribute to the learning, growth, and support of their cohort-mates. In the bi-weekly meetings, different aspects of community engagement and leadership will be explored through activities, presentations, and critical reflection.
For more information about the fellowship positions and an overview of the application, please follow this link to check out our page on M-Compass.