The Common Cause Democracy fellowship aims to provide students with the skills to address the voter suppression that young people especially young people of color experience by working with Minority Serving Institutions and the communities around those campuses. This academic year we are hosting the following five democracy fellowship programs:
- Georgia HBCU Program
- Maryland HBCU Program
- Jackson and Hattiesburg Mississippi Program
- North Carolina HBCU Program
- Virginia HBCU Program
All applicants must attend one of the campuses listed above in order to be a fellow.
This is about a five to ten-hour-per-week commitment for the semester. Selected Democracy Fellows will receive a $1000 stipend per semester divided into 3 monthly payments.
Over the course of the Fellowship, you will
- Receive ongoing coaching and support.
- Receive mentorship to help you build your network and develop your skills.
- Receive training to support you in creating a Get Out the Vote campaign based on your community’s needs.
- Engage in weekly discussions and design-thinking workshops in our community.
- Join monthly webinars with public sector leaders and organizers.
- Work with your co-fellows to complete your learning, discovery, and networking goals.
- Find, plan, and complete a social impact campaign that builds on your strengths while stretching you to grow.
- Get personalized feedback on designing and achieving your purpose-driven impact career.
- Receive guidance on telling your personal story and why politics is important to you.
- Develop your own campaign or capstone project that you can use to enhance your resume and portfolio.
The desired outcomes of the fellowship are:
- At least one published writing.
- At least one civic engagement and/or education event.
- A base of volunteers and/or student activists..-
- An increase in understanding of your state legislative process.
- A student network of campus activists.
- An understanding of the core values of organizing campus communities.
Opportunities
- Build relationships with student leaders on your campus, in your state, and across the country;
- Participate in leadership and organizing trainings to prepare you for future work in politics, law, advocacy, public relations, and more;
- Develop a mentoring relationship with Common Cause’s staff and connections to Common Cause’s community of partners.
An ideal candidate will
- Demonstrate leadership qualities
- Engage peers and the surrounding community in the electoral process
- Have strong written and verbal skills
- Be a self-motivator
Contact us by email at youthprograms@commoncause.org if you have any questions.