Bergel Institute Fellowship - FE3: The Creation of the Mentoring Industry in the United States Grant

Bergel Institute Fellowship - FE3: The Creation of the Mentoring Industry in the United States Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: The Bergel Institute
Amount: US $30,000
Last Updated: February 03, 2026

Summary

Overview

Note: Below are the other Bergel Institute Fellowships: FE1: Bringing an End to the Poverty-Violence Connection in the U.SFE2: Building a Fully-Resourced CommunityFT1: Using AI to Expand Economic OpportunityFS1: Cutting Edge or Pseudoscience?FH1: Expanding our Understanding of Health and Healing The Bergel Institute The Bergel Institute is dedicated to the advancement of human knowledge and the human condition. The Institute focuses on six major areas: Economics ScienceTechnology Consciousness Health Culture The common theme in all of the Institute’s work is the pursuit of what is possible. It brings a commitment to critical thinking and the questioning of accepted norms and approaches to issues that lie at the foundation of what we think and how we live. In every discipline, assumptions are tested against evidence. In addition to its research and programmatic endeavors, the Institute offers fellowships. Fellowships come with high expectations and are supported with structure and active mentorship. Bergel Institute Fellowships The Bergel Institute offers Fellowships to individuals of all ages who wish to spend a year in intensive study and project development in a subject area that aligns with the advancement of human knowledge and the human condition. Each year, the Institute will list specific fellowship topics within these areas. Applicants may pick one or propose a different topic, as long as it aligns with the Institute’s goals. Fellowships run from June to May and are primarily virtual, with two paid Institute visits (to the home office in Florida) as the only in-person expectations during the Fellowship year. Fellows are expected to work approximately 20 hours per week and to bring a strong intrinsic motivation for the project. They will spend the year conducting intensive research and/or project development, supported by Institute staff, with monthly meetings and quarterly progress reports to help maintain momentum. The Fellowship is also intended to function as an incubator, providing time, guidance, and structure for work that continues beyond the Fellowship year. As noted above, Fellows travel to the Institute twice during the Fellowship year to present to leadership: once in August, at the end of Q1, and again in May, at the end of the Fellowship year. The May presentation focuses on what was accomplished during the year and the Fellow’s plans for next steps. Final work may take many forms, including detailed manuscripts, the launch of a business or organization; or a video series, documentary films, etc. Travel and lodging for both presentations are covered by the Institute. Upon completion of the Fellowship year, all Fellows are required to serve as mentors for future Fellows, ensuring that accumulated knowledge and experiences are passed to their successors. FE3: The Creation of the Mentoring Industry in the United States In communities where mentors are needed the most, young children look up to the individuals who have preceded them. These individuals understand the local realities firsthand and can offer the type of consistent encouragement that changes life trajectories. This is at the heart of the Fellowship. Individuals born and raised in communities characterized by high levels of poverty often face challenges that have made it difficult for them to find satisfying employment that leads to generational wealth. For younger children, the cycles of poverty start at birth, and by age seven they are often part of a cycle of academic underperformance and youth violence. Soon thereafter the lack of career-building pathways are devastating, and yet this continues generation after generation in urban, rural, and suburban neighborhoods across the U.S. This Fellowship focuses on building the mentorship industry into a credentialed profession, an essential part of the educational system. The goal is to produce a blueprint and complete the early implementation steps needed to create full-time jobs and career pathways, while improving outcomes for children. The Fellowship includes designing the training, certification, and licensing framework, with The Bergel Institute serving as the standards-setting and certification body. The Institute will work with the Fellow to define competencies, set requirements, approve training partners, and issue credentials to mentors and mentoring organizations beyond the initial pilot site, which will launch during the Fellowship year.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Applicants do not have to be enrolled in or associated with a school or academic program of any kind. Applicants may also be enrolled in a graduate program at an insititution anywhere in the world. Either way, Fellowship subject matter must fall within one of six major areas: Economics, Science, Technology, Consciousness, Health, or Culture.