What do Fellows do?
What are some of the criteria for a Fellow project?
What kind of background do Fellows have?
What type of training do Fellows receive?
What organizations do Fellows serve with?
What are some examples of past Fellow projects?
Who are the program's partners?
Are Fellows paid?
What classes can Fellows take at Northeastern?
How do Fellows live on $14,000 per year?
What can we expect to achieve by hosting a Fellow?
Is our organization eligible?
What is the timeline?
What are some criteria for a Fellow project?
Are there any prohibited activities?
How are host-sites selected?
What kind of background and training do Fellows have?
Who is responsible for recruiting and hiring the Fellow?
What are some examples of past Fellows projects?
Can we apply for more than one Fellow?
What does the Fellowship program provide?
What is the host-site required to provide?
How much is the cash match?
Working in partnership with citizens, corporations, organizations and communities taking action to improve the lives of young people, Fellows:
- Increase the presence of adult mentors in young people’s lives
- Provide children with safe places and structured activities during out of school time
- Provide young people with access to health care
- Place students in work-based learning experiences, and encourage youth to serve in their communities
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Fellow projects:
- Meet the demanding needs of young people, ages 0 to 24
- Are new projects or an expansion of an existing project
- Have a large-scale impact
- Are Fellow-led or are a Fellow-led portion of a larger project
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Fellows come from across the country, have diverse backgrounds and average 20 to 25 years old.
All Fellows exhibit:
- A passion for community service
- Proven leadership ability
- Excellent communication skills
- An outstanding sense of humor
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Fellows receive an initial orientation, monthly training sessions from the program and additional ongoing training and professional development opportunities throughout the year. Fellows also participate in a fall and winter retreat. The Fellow network creates a unique community of support and collaboration throughout the year. Specific training opportunities include:
- Leadership and team building
- Diversity training
- Youth development
- Project planning and implementation
- Volunteer recruitment
- Asset-based community development
- Public speaking
- Grant writing
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Fellows have served in over fifty communities across Massachusetts—from Boston to Pittsfield and from Lawrence to Brockton. Fellows have served with organizations both large and small, like Health Care for All, the City of Brockton, Conte Community School, YMCA, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Asian Community Development Corporation and many others. See a full list.
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- Developed the Student Lunch Project, a statewide partnership between health providers and the school lunch program to determine eligibility and enroll over 87,000 children in health care.
- Coordinated the SERVICE Program, a project encouraging 55,000 state employees to utilize eight hours of leave per month to volunteer in schools or mentor.
- Created the Teen Health Advisory Council, a 15 member teen council designed to deliver a leadership development curriculum and broaden the role of teens working on health access and service delivery.
- Created BOOYAH!, a program dedicated to placing youth volunteers in service projects.
- Created the A-VOYCE program, a youth development program for youth in Boston’s Chinatown.
- Expanded the Railroad Street Youth Project apprenticeship program by building partnerships with local businesses to match young people up with business owners to learn specific trades, including culinary arts and cosmetology.
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Fellows are part of the national service network of over 500,000 AmeriCorps members. AmeriCorps, the domestic Peace Corps, engages Americans of all ages in intensive, results-driven service each year.
The Fellowship shares its vision with America's Promise. The Massachusetts Service Alliance, Northeastern University, and the College of Professional Studies are also the program's partners.
Learn more about our partners.
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For a one-year commitment and 1700 hours of service Fellows receive:
- A $14,000 dollar, taxable, annual living allowance ($269/week)
- Comprehensive health benefits
- Excellent training opportunities
- Free graduate and undergraduate courses at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies
- A 4,725 dollar educational award
- A monthly transportation allowance
- Loan forbearance
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Fellows are eligible to take free courses at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies only during their Fellowship year. Fellows can choose from undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education courses. All courses are offered in the evenings and Fellows also have the opportunity to enroll in online courses.
Fellows interested in taking courses at the College of Professional Studies are required to apply for admission and submit required application materials. For more information, please visit the College of Professional Studies website at www.cps.neu.edu.
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Over 180 Fellows have completed the program and were able to live on the 14,000-dollar annual stipend. Many Fellows have part-time jobs, live with roommates and find other ways to make additional income. In addition, the Fellowship helps out by:
- Providing free health insurance
- Giving Fellows a $50 monthly transportation allowance (for gas or an MBTA pass)
- Assisting Fellows with locating affordable housing
Since Fellows receive a stipend and not a wage, they qualify for public assistance. Several Fellows take advantage of this benefit each year and receive food stamps and/or fuel assistance. It is important that all Fellows understand that they are committing to a year of service for the experience, not the paycheck.
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Hosting a Fellow enables an organization to:
- Provide expanded services to the community by creating a new youth-focused project
- Improve the quality and effectiveness of its current youth programming
- Partner with a network of youth-serving organizations and agencies
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To be eligible your organization must meet the following criteria:
- Be a non-profit organization—with tax exempt (501(c)3) status—school or government agency
- In operation for at least one year with one full-time staff member and the capacity to host a Fellow
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For the complete timeline, please visit the Host a Fellow section. In general, host sites will be selected and notified in early spring and Fellows will begin service in August.
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Fellow projects must:
- Be youth-focused
- Meet a defined need and benefit young people (ages 0 to 24 years)
- Be a new project or an expansion of an existing project
- Have large-scale impact
- Be Fellow-led or be a Fellow-led part of a larger project (Fellows can also be involved with one or
more project)
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Fellows and Fellow projects cannot:
- Displace a current employee or serve in a regular staff position
- Be involved with political advocacy, religious instruction, voter registration, fundraising for host site match/operating expenses, writing federal grants, union organizing or clerical activities*
- Fellows can, however, perform limited administrative duties necessary for their project
- Sign off on a grant
- Serve as an assistant
- Supervise other AmeriCorps members
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Proposals to host Fellows are reviewed by a community review committee, current Fellows, and the Fellowship advisory board that recommend host-site organizations. Final decisions are made by the program staff.
Key elements of a successful host-site include:
- Organizational capacity to develop and manage the project
- Clearly defined need
- Realistic goals and objectives with measurable outcomes
- Alignment with the Fellowship mission
- Support and training for the Fellow
- Strong element of project ownership
- Project vision
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Fellows are AmeriCorps members who have committed to a year of service and average 24 years of age. They are leaders from across the country with diverse backgrounds and a passion for community service. Most Fellows are recent college graduates and looking for a hands-on service experience.
Fellows receive an initial orientation and training from the program, as well as ongoing leadership training and professional development opportunities throughout the year. The host-site is responsible for site-specific training and orientation.
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We ask prospective host-sites to help with the recruiting and hiring process. Hiring is site-specific; prospective sites know best the skill set needed to make a particular project a success.
The Massachusetts Promise Fellowship is familiar with what it takes to become a respected leader in the service community. We will help advertise the positions, assist in the interviewing process and handle the official hiring of the Fellow with your organization’s approval.
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Fellows have accomplished a myriad range of projects, including:
- Developing the Student Lunch Project, a statewide partnership between health care providers and the school lunch program to determine eligibility of children and enroll in health care services
- Created BOOYAH!, a program dedicated to placing youth volunteers in service projects.
- Created the A-VOYCE program, a youth development program for youth located in Boston’s Chinatown.
- Expanded the Railroad Street Youth Project apprenticeship program by building partnerships with local businesses to match young people up with business owners to learn specific trades, including culinary arts and cosmetology.
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Yes! Several organizations have had Fellows serving in teams, leading and coordinating a number of
projects together.
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The Massachusetts Promise Fellowship program is committed to the success of each Fellow and their host-site. As our contribution to the partnership with the host-site we provide:
- A full-time Fellow (~35 hours per week) committed to a year of service (hired in partnership between the program and host-site)
- In-service leadership and project management training, regular retreats and monthly meetings for the Fellow, including over 170 hours of training as well as optional training opportunities
- Access to the national service network and associated training and conferences
- Orientation and training for the host-site and Fellow supervisor
- Regular site visits to address host-site specific needs and evaluate project goals
- Administration of Fellow benefits; post-service educational award ($4,725), health insurance, training opportunities, free coursework at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies, a 50 dollar monthly travel allowance and a service stipend ($14,000 per year).
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Each host-site is required to provide:
- A clear vision of the project you plan to implement and how the Fellow can be most effectively utilized
- Supportive leadership from staff and the host-site to ensure that the Fellow is considered and treated as an integral part of the organization
- One designated host-site supervisor who will provide weekly supervision and support to the Fellow and project and attend two mandatory meetings
- A cash match to defray a portion of the Fellow benefit costs
- Adequate workspace for the Fellow including desk, phone, fax, access to computer and office supplies
- Reimbursement for travel costs incurred as part of the Fellow's service for the host-site (other Fellowship-related travel is paid for by the program)
- Complete a background check on your Fellow and submit a letter verifying the completed process
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We ask each host-site organization to invest in the partnership by providing a non-federal cash match. The match is used to defray a portion of the total cost of the Fellowship position (training, travel, benefits and living allowance) at your host-site.
The amount of the cash match is based on the organization's total operating budget, including salaries, funds distributed as grants and any other operating costs:
2009-2010 Total operating budget Match
- $300,000 or less $8,000
- $300,001 - $500,000 $9,500
- $500,001 - $1,000,000 $11,000
- $1,000,001+ $12,500
The cash match is due within the program year. For the amount of your cash match, your organization receives a full-time, AmeriCorps member for one year of service.
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