2021 FellowshipApplication Process Review

About Voqal

• Unapologetically progressive • Focuses on social equity • Promotes democratic values and practices

About the Fellowship

• Started in 2013 • Intentional to fund early-stage and progressive ideas • Focus on personal and professional development

Perks

• $30,000 for six-months• Two Events:

– Kick-off Convening: January, Virtual– Netroots Nation: July/August, TBD

• 1:1 coaching and Monthly group calls• Exclusive resources • Unique storytelling curriculum

Important Dates

• Applications Open: September 8• Applications Close: September 25• First Review: October• 1st Interviews (invite only): Early November• Second Review: Late November • 2nd Interviews (invite only): Early December• Final Selection: Mid-December

Be Bold

• Does not have to meet all the following criteria• Seek bold ideas more than who has the most check

boxes

Criteria: Idea stage

• Has not been tried or tested• Have not incorporated or otherwise created an

organization • Have outside support, including paid staff and

volunteers, but it is minimal and barebones

Criteria: Organizing at the Center

• Work with communities to address issue and offer a solution

• Gathers folks together to act • Incorporates community feedback and perspectives • Does not solely center on information dissemination or

raising awareness

Criteria: Media or Technology Integration

• Uses a media or technology platform to organize a community to influence social change

• Involves use of television, radio, music, movies, music, magazines, comics, websites, apps, social media, gaming, and/or news

• Does not use media or technology to provide a service

Criteria: Unabashedly Progressive • Focuses on equity, not equality• Centers on specific, disadvantaged groups • Embraces social justice in one of the following areas:

– Representative Government: every vote counted, every voice heard, representatives reflect the people

– Fundamental Rights: equal treatment, basic freedoms – Media Democracy: info systems that focuses on conduct of

government (mass media reform, alternative media)– Fair Laws and Courts: fair and transparent in the way laws are

written, interpreted, and enforced– Participatory Engagement: citizens participate in the political

process

Criteria: Disrupt the Status Quo

• Does not reinforce what is, but imagines what could be• Dismantles the inequitable systems, does not offer

band-aid solutions• Builds political power for disadvantaged communities

Criteria: Innovative

• Creates something new, or use of an existing product/platform in a more innovative manner than its current intention

• If similar, market is not saturated or differentiating factor is substantial

Criteria: Representative

• Lived experience matters, understand issue from an intimate perspective

• Demonstrates how work with and for a community, not around it

• Intention to fund LGBTQIA folks, women, indigenous people, and people of color

Fellow Spotlight: Cat

• Developed WorkIt to support people in low-wage jobs• Integrates technology (assisted AI, apps), peer

networks, legislative information, and company policy • Workers can connect with others to share experiences,

access information, and collectively advocate for workplace security

Fellow Spotlight: Andrea

• Developed City Bureau to support Chicago’s South and West sides

• Allows for residents to identify and compile data for civic investigations

• Trains Chicagoans to report on official meetings and news literacy

Fellow Spotlight: Erick

• Developed #GameTheSystem to gamify grassroots organizing

• Incorporates app technology with texting, email, and social media

• Energizes communities to bring fun to laborious, intense work

Fellow Spotlight: Richard

• Started Equity & Transformation (EAT) to organize an often tossed aside population, those working in the informal economy

• Combines online and on-the-ground organizing techniques to enact policy-level changes and protections

• Advances social change at the city and state level to increase equity for the community

Review Process

• Voqal staff and Fellowship alum will read all applications and rate them against the outlined criteria

• Voqal staff will narrow the field to 20-30 applicants for a first-round interview

• The field will then be narrowed down to 12 applicants for a second interview that includes a pitch presentation – Applicants invited to this stage will receive more information about

the pitch process at the time of invitation• From those 12, Voqal staff will choose the 8 Fellows for the

2021 cohort

Rejected Applications

• Does not mean we don’t see value• All applicants will receive resources for building a social

enterprise • Voqal staff can provide general feedback for why groups

of applications did not move on

Application Questions

• Overview: You will be asked to provide basic information– Your pronouns– Project name– Project description (elevator pitch)– How did you hear about us?– Choose a program area– Verify eligibility – to understand how you will balance current

commitments with the fellowship

Application Questions, Cont.

• The Pitch: You will be asked to dive into the details– Describe the issue– Describe the intended impact– Provide a plan of action– Provide a timeline– Outline any potential competition– Describe what you want to takeaway – Provide a budget (template provided) – see next slide– Describe other funding opportunities

• Will have space to attach documents or provide information not asked in the previous set of questions

Application Questions, Cont.

• Looking to see how you are thinking about structure, not evaluating the budget breakdown

• The Budget – Allowed Expenses – Living expenses– Legal fees– Potential taxes– Operation expenses– Contractors/Paid staff – Demo or other testing

22

Application Questions, Cont.

• About You: We want to learn about you and your background – Describe your lived experience and how it prepared you for this moment– Upload a resume, CV, or other documentation outlining your formal or

informal work experience– Provide social media or other online profiles/websites– Describe your motivation for social entrepreneurship – Describe how you reject the status quo– Describe your preparedness to go on an emotional and technical journey

• You will also be asked to provide basic demographic information so we may better understand the applicant pool overall

Online System

• Access the online portal here: bit.ly/VoqalFellowship• Need to create a basic profile, including a username

and password– If you have applied in the past, please use the same credentials

• Once logged-in, click “Apply”

Online System, Cont.

• Then, complete the form• When ready, save or submit

Things to Know

• If you have applied in the past and did not receive a Fellowship, you can apply again– Previous Fellows have submitted in multiple years before being

chosen• Can only submit one project each cycle • Can edit your application as much as possible until

submission deadline• Only submitted, complete applications, will be

considered

Important Dates Review

• Applications Open: September 8• Applications Close: September 25• First Review: October• 1st Interviews (invite only): Early November• Second Review: Late November • 2nd Interviews (invite only): Early December• Final Selection: Mid-December

Remember

• Embrace Boldness This is about the Story of Self• Realize New Truths This is about the Story of

Venture• Chart the Path Forward This is about the Story of

Future

Questions?

Contact

Mary ColemanProgram Manager, Grants and Fellowship

Brenda Williams SearsDirector, Grantmaking and Fellowship

voqalfellowship@gmail.com