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Cause Effective Fellows Program: Advancing Leaders of Color in Fundraising 
Winter/Spring 2024 Application 
Thank you for applying to the Cause Effective Fellows Program: Advancing Leaders of Color in Fundraising. We are thrilled to be launching our 5th year of this program under our groundbreaking initiative, Preparing the Next Generation, with the support of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Altman Foundation, and Kramer Levin, among others.

The Cause Effective Fellows Program arose from Cause Effective’s “Money, Power and Race: The Lived Experience of Fundraisers of Color” report (2018), which reflects participants’ experience that while diversity matters in the nonprofit sector, people of color need to be skilled not only with fundraising acumen, but also have the awareness and tools to navigate the intersectional dynamics of power, race and class that are endemic to fundraising encounters.  The program is designed for mid-career Development Directors who self-identify as a person of color across various spectrums of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, ability, and socio-economic class, to build their capacity as fundraising professionals and develop their leadership within the organizations they serve.

This program has a $10,000 value but is provided at a lower cost of $5,000 to participants. In addition, subsidies are available for organizations based on a sliding scale aligned to organizational budget. 

Before beginning your application, please review the following regarding your candidacy:

1. This program requires full commitment from participants and a statement of support from their Executive Directors. You can download a copy of the required statement of support here.

2. Programming will occur during the following dates and times. We highly encourage applicants to schedule these dates into their calendar in the event they are accepted into the program: 

• February 7, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• March 13, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• April 3, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• May 1, 2024 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• May 22, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• June 12, 2024* from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

*Please note that the session on June 12th is intended for Directors of Development and Executive Directors.

3. All programming, unless otherwise noted, will take place virtually through Zoom, and a recurring link will be provided to you prior to each session.

4. Completed applications will be due on January 19th and applicants will be notified of their acceptance by January 30th. 

To view the application questions before submitting an application, please download them here. 

Thank you again for your interest in the Cause Effective Fellows Program and we look forward to receiving your application.

Sincerely,
Sonya Shields, Executive Director & President

About You and Your Development Experience 

Please tell us about yourself, and about your experience as a development professional. 






















Your Current Development Role: 










Personal Narratives

As part of your application, please submit narratives for the following four questions. We ask that you write up to 3 paragraphs for each response.




The goal of the Cause Effective Fellows Program is to strengthen the development field for people of color. We know that your success only makes the nonprofit sector stronger.  We are committed to supporting your work to effectively manage the challenges of the job, and we will partner with you to produce outcomes related to skills development, greater success on the job with respect to key performance measures, and increased job satisfaction. 




Thank you for your application to the Cause Effective Fellows Program: Advancing Leaders of Color in Fundraising. We anticipate receiving a high volume of applications for this opportunity, and we will be in touch regarding your candidacy for this year's cohort by January 30th. We look forward to reading your application and are committed to compiling a cohort that is representative of the goals of this program.

Our intention is to be considerate and respectful of the pre-existing workloads of Fellows, including providing substantial prior notice of required preparation before convening dates. However, it is important to recognize that the Cause Effective Fellows program is rigorous and entails a significant amount of time and commitment from the Fellows and their organizations. For this program, we are asking for full participation. We are confident in asking for this commitment because we believe that we can make a significant difference in the effectiveness of both Fellows and the work of their organizations. Full participation means preparing for and attending all full-group program activities as well as participating in the individual elements of the program.

As an organization, we are committed to provided an environment that is a safe space of fellowship for our cohort, mentors and facilitating team. We provide and ask of our applicants and fellows to maintain confidentiality of their peers during the duration of the program as well as after the program concludes.

If you have any questions regarding your application, please contact Kirsty Bryant, Program Manager, at kirsty@causeeffective.org. 

Sincerely, 

Kirsty Bryant
Program Manager, Leadership Development

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