COMMUNITY BUILDING FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The Community Building Fellowship is designed to provide financial support as well as a unique educational and academic program experience to graduate students committed to pursuing careers in community development in the nonprofit and/or public sectors. This includes students interested in leading or managing social or economic community development or community-based organizations, and who exhibit promise to be effective in such positions. Preference will be given to students intending to pursue such professional work in the St. Louis bi-state metropolitan region.

The objectives of the Community Building Fellows program are to:

• Recruit and support students who are committed to pursuing careers in community development and community building.
• Develop and facilitate multidisplinary opportunities that will enable students to examine urban student internship, practicum and build skills to address public concerns.
• Strengthen partnerships with community organizations in the metropolitan area by providing unique student internship, practicum and community project opportunities that support community partner priorities.

The Community Building Fellowship Program encompasses a series of learning experiences over a twelve-month period, including:

• Participation in academic courses related to community building.
• Mentoring and career exploration opportunities.
• Regular conversations with community builders from the public, nonprofit and commercial/for profit sectors.
• Group site visits to community-based organizations and community projects.
• Completion of a field education experience in a nonprofit or public sector setting.

Fellowship awards will be $3,000 and based on merit. Click here for examples of priority field education experiences for 2008.

Community building is defined as strenghtheningthe capacity of residents, associations, and organizations to work individually and collectively to sustain positive local community change.

The 2007 Community Building Fellowships were awarded to
Tiffany Jackson and Ann Chisholm.

ELIGIBILITY:
Only current UM–St. Louis graduate students or individuals who have already applied for graduate admission are eligible. Students must be pursuing either a Master’s in Public Policy Administration, Master’s in Social Work, and/or graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership.

SELECTION PROCESS AND CRITERIA:
Applications will be evaluated on the basis of merit. Merit will include both academic performance, with a minimum eligibility requirement of a 3.0 GPA in graduate and undergraduate studies, as well as commitment to and promise of effectiveness in professional work managing and leading community building efforts.

The application deadline is January 11, 2008.
Finalists for the Fellowship will be required to participate in an interview with the Community Building Fellowship Selection Committee, composed of UM-St. Louis faculty and leaders from our region's nonprofit and public sectors, on the afternoon on January 17. Fellowship recipients will be announced by January 22, and the Fellowship awards will apply beginning with the spring 2008 semester. The Fellowship Program activities will begin in late January and conclude in December 2008.

FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION MATERIALS:
Fellowship Application
Letter of Recommendation Form

The Community Building Fellowship Program is sponsored by the Community Partnership Project and the Nonprofit Management & Leadership Program at UM-St. Louis and is supported by funding from the Urban Extension Program, a joint project of University of Missouri Extension and the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Examples of priority field education experiences for 2008

The following are examples of possible fellowship field opportunities for 2008. Other projects ideas will be considered.

• Asset building: working with a community-based organization, neighborhood association and school district to explore strategies to support savings programs for higher education and strategies to prepare students for college.
• Healthy communities: working with a neighborhood association and community partners to develop strategies that strengthen the overall health of the community's population.
• Community development corporations: working with several neighborhoods to explore the characteristics of effective CDCs, opportunities for sharing learning, and support mechanisms needed to foster new CDCs.