Talent Platform
Becoming an Echoing Green Fellow now starts with joining our Talent Platform. It’s free, open-year round and requires only three brief questions. Only Talent Platform members will be invited to apply for the Fellowship.
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP
The Echoing Green Fellowship supports bold leaders from all over the world who are solving the world’s toughest problems alongside their communities.
The Talent Platform is not the Fellowship application, and it doesn’t make you a Fellow or Finalist. It starts the relationship with Echoing Green.
HOW THE PROCESS WORKS
STEP 1
REQUEST TO JOIN THE TALENT PLATFORM
Build your profile and tell us about your idea by answering three short questions.
STEP 2
KEEP BUILDING YOUR IMPACT
If accepted as a member of the Talent Platform, you can use our resources to turn your vision into reality.
STEP 3
APPLY FOR THE FELLOWSHIP
We’ll invite you when the application opens.
STEP 4
STAY ENGAGED
Not selected as a Fellow? Keep going! Many Fellows have applied more than once.
Key Dates
We will welcome our first innovators to the Echoing Green Talent Platform in April 2027. Request to join the Talent Platform by March 31, 2027 to be included in this first submission period. Subsequent windows are tentatively planned on a quarterly cadence, with the next ones in July and October 2027 respectively.
Everyone who requests to join by March 31 will be notified of our decision in April. If you’re not selected, we’ll share what feedback we can.
Fellowship selection dates will be announced in early 2027.
What is the Talent Platform?
Echoing Green's Talent Platform lets social entrepreneurs start the journey toward a Fellowship whenever it works for them.
- Open year-round, and free. Request to join on your own timeline. If selected, membership lasts one year.
- Support before you apply for the Fellowship. Members get access to curated resources and support to accelerate their impact. This might include exclusive webinars, curated resources and opportunities from our network, and opportunities to connect with our ecosystem partners.
- Where every Fellow starts. Only members are invited to apply for the Fellowship.
HOW TO JOIN THE TALENT PLATFORM
Who we support
Echoing Green backs social entrepreneurs at the start of their journeys. Our Fellows identify the root causes of problems in their own communities and build local solutions with strong potential for systemic impact. We fund across regions and issue areas, and our global community includes more than 1,000 social innovators. Meet our newest Fellows!
We are looking for our Talent Platform Members to share the same qualities as our Fellows, with a particular focus on the following:
- Proximity. Deep, firsthand knowledge of the problem and a shared lived experience with the communities they serve.
- Systemic change. A focus on root causes and the structures that keep problems in place, not isolated symptoms.
- Innovation. A bold new approach to a problem, even if it’s unproven — not a better version of an established solution.
Who it's for
Do I need to have raised money?
No. More than a third of our strongest submissions come from people who have raised under $10,000, and close to three in 10 from people who have raised nothing. What matters is that something exists, not how much you’ve raised.
Nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid?
All are welcome, including people who haven’t decided yet. We look at the underlying work.
Do I need to be the founder?
Yes. We back founders and co-founders, the people who started the work and still set its direction. If you joined an organization someone else founded, however senior your role, we’re not the right fit. If your organization has more than one founder, choose one to submit.
Where you are
Am I too early?
We back unproven, unfunded, and unfinished work, but not unstarted work. Serving three people counts, as long as you know who they are and what changed for them. If nothing has happened yet, it’s a not yet, not a no. You don’t need to be incorporated.
Am I too far along?
We’re built for the founding chapter, while the shape of the work is still being settled. You may be past it if your operations are stable, you can say confidently what your organization will look like in 12 months, and what you need most is capital for a strategy you already have. Other funders are better suited to that stage.
What you're building
Our work is good, but it isn't new. Does that rule us out?
Usually, yes. Many strong organizations run established models with skill and care. We fund attempts to change how something works, which is narrower and riskier work.
Talent Platform
If I'm accepted, am I a Fellow?
No. All members are invited to apply when the Fellowship opens, but only a small number are selected.
Why the change?
We listened to applicant feedback. The Talent Platform starts with a much shorter submission, so you spend less time before you know whether the Fellowship is a fit. It’s open year-round, so you can join on your timeline instead of ours. And it lets us support social entrepreneurs earlier, well before the Fellowship application opens.
I applied to the Fellowship before. Do I need to request to join?
Yes. Everyone now starts by requesting to join the Talent Platform, including past applicants and finalists.
Why join before applying for the Fellowship?
The short submission screens for many of the Fellowship’s key criteria. It saves you time by confirming you’re a strong candidate before you complete the full application.
How long does membership last?
One year. To renew, update your profile so you’re ready for the next Fellowship application.
Does it cost anything?
No. Membership is free.
What if the answer is no?
A no from us says nothing about you or whether the problem you’ve chosen deserves attention. Many of our strongest submissions come from people trying again after testing their model and thinking.
Eligibility
I'm not based in the U.S. Can I join?
Yes. We welcome social entrepreneurs of any nationality, working in any country. Echoing Green does not sponsor U.S. work permits.
Are there any educational requirements?
No.
Further questions?
If you still have questions, please email us at fellowship@echoinggreen.org. We usually respond within two business days.
