Soros Justice Fellowships Grant

Soros Justice Fellowships Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Open Society Institute
Amount: US $100,000 - US $140,000
Last Updated: December 18, 2024

Summary

The Soros Justice Fellowships support innovative individuals dedicated to reforming the U.S. criminal justice system. These fellowships, available in two tracks, offer funding for 12 or 18 months to projects that inspire dialogue, influence policy, and drive change. Track I is aimed at emerging leaders, while Track II is for seasoned professionals. With grants of $100,000 and $140,000 respectively, the program emphasizes collaboration and aims to foster a network of leaders committed to addressing injustice and inequality.

Overview

NOTE: We are taking a moment to pause and analyze the future of our three U.S. based fellowship programs. This means we will not be issuing a call for proposals for 2025 fellows, as we would have done this fall. Background Open Society-U.S.’s Soros Justice Fellowships fund outstanding individuals to undertake projects that advance reform, spur debate, and catalyze change on a range of issues facing the U.S. criminal justice system. The Soros Justice Fellowships support outstanding individuals—including lawyers, advocates, grassroots organizers, writers, print and broadcast journalists, artists, filmmakers, and other individuals with distinctive voices—to undertake full-time projects that engage and inform, spur debate and conversation, change policy or practice, and catalyze change around the U.S. criminal legal system at the local, state, and national levels. Fellowships can be either 12 or 18 months in duration, may be undertaken with the support of a host organization, and should begin in the fall of the specified year. There are two fellowship tracks Track I, which is for people at the earlier stages of their careers and who demonstrate the potential to develop into leaders and important voices in their respective fields; and Track II, which is for more experienced individuals with a proven record of achievement and expertise. Track I comes with a grant of $100,000 over 18 months and Track II comes with a grant of $140,000 over 18 months (grants for both tracks are prorated for 12-month projects). Through the Soros Justice Fellowships and our partner fellowships within Open Society-U.S.—the Soros Equality Fellowship and the Leadership in Government Fellowship—the Open Society Foundations aim to provide a network of leaders with the resources to effectively address injustice and inequality, and the space to imagine a more just and equitable future. Given the overlapping goals and strategies across the different fellowships, we may, with applicants’ permission, refer applicants to other fellowship programs within Open Society-U.S. should they be deemed a better fit (all three fellowship programs have the same application deadline and roughly the same selection timeline). Applicants, however, cannot apply to more than one fellowship program.

Eligibility

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Application Details

GUIDELINES AND APPLICATION
2022 Youth Activist Fellowships
Guidelines and Aplication
Deadline: March 2, 2022
SOROS JUSTICE FELLOWSHIPS

2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
Summary
The Soros Justice Fellowships seek applicants for its Youth Activist Fellowships.
Applications are due on March 2, 2022 (11:59 pm PST) and must be submitted
online through the application portal. The application portal can be accessed
through the Soros Justice Fellowships website:
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/soros-justice-fellowships. Please
note that the portal will open on February 8, 2022.
This document contains the eligibility Guidelines and Application.
General
The Soros Justice Youth Activist Fellowships will support outstanding individuals
aged 18 to 25 to take on projects of their own design that address some aspect of
the U.S. criminal justice (or, as some people prefer to say, “criminal (in)justice”
or “criminal legal”) system. Projects can range from public education and
training, to grassroots organizing and policy advocacy, to social media campaigns
and other forms of creative communications. Youth Activist Fellowships must be
undertaken in partnership with a host organization. Projects can be full-time or
part-time, 12 or 18 months, and can begin anytime in the fall of 2022.
Youth Activist Fellowships come with an award of $57,500 for full-time, 18-
month projects (the award is pro-rated for part-time or 12-month projects).
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2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
1. Guidelines
1.1 Fellowship Projects
Project Focus
We will consider projects that focus on one or more of our broad criminal justice
goals: reducing the number of people who are incarcerated or under correctional
control, challenging extreme punishment, and promoting fairness in the justice
system in the United States. Whether it’s efforts to combat police abuse, to end
the punishment and harsh treatment of youth who come into conflict with the law,
to dismantle the barriers that people face following a period of incarceration, or to
challenge harsh and punitive responses to drug use, there are countless ways to
advance these broad goals.
However, we don’t have a defined list of topics or issues that we’ll consider.
Instead, we expect applicants themselves to make the case that their projects have
the potential to make an important contribution to a particular issue or in a
particular place. In this way, the fellowships are designed to be flexible and open
— a space for projects that build effectively on work that has come before,
explore new and creative ways of doing things, take risks, offer new insights and
perspectives on what we thought we knew, and teach us about what we don’t
know but should.
Of course, we are living in what feel to many like unprecedented times, where
toxic narratives, racialized anxiety, economic insecurity, militarized policing, and
an onging health pandemic have reinforced divisions and the systems that
perpetuate inequities. As such, we encourage applicants, where appropriate, to
demonstrate how their projects fit within the current social and political moment;
and to show how their projects are necessary to counter these threats and move
toward a more inclusive multi-racial democracy.
What We Are Looking For: Young People with Potential
Beyond the basic requirement that projects focus on one or more of our broad
criminal justice goals, we’re also looking for young people who: demonstrate a
passion for and commitment to social justice but who are at the earliest stages of
their careers and are just now learning about what it takes to be most effective as
an activist; show strong signs that, if given the time, opportunity, and exposure
that the fellowships offer, they have the potential to develop into the kind of
leader that the field needs; would bring fresh thinking and fresh perspectives to
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2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
the work; and would teach us (and the field) some important lessons about how to
best identify and support the next generation of activists leaders.
In addition, we’re looking for candidates who have not had easy access to existing
leadership pipelines or other paths to achievement and accomplishment, but who
nonetheless have the drive, aptitude, savvy, and tenacity to seize upon
opportunities for growth and development.
Activities Supported by the Soros Justice Youth Activist Fellowships
Applicants may engage in, either alone or in combination, any number of
activities to achieve the goals set forth in their projects, including but are not
limited to: public education, curriculum development and training, social media
campaigns and other strategic and creative forms of public communication, policy
advocacy, coalition-building, grassroots organizing and mobilization, and
research and analysis. Ultimately, we look to applicants to make the case that the
activities they undertake — whatever those activities may be — are the most
promising ones for accomplishing their fellowship goals.
Regardless of the activities undertaken, all Youth Activist Fellowship projects
should, during the term of the fellowship itself, actively seek to change the status
quo. In other words, their projects must, in some way, seek to change the world as
it presently is — and represent an effort to move from what “is” to what “can be.”
Intersectional Projects
We encourage applications that demonstrate a clear understanding of the
intersection of criminal justice issues with the particular needs of low-income
communities; BIPOC communities; immigrants; LGBTQ people; women and
children; and those otherwise disproportionately affected by harsh or unfair
criminal justice policies. We also welcome projects that cut across various
criminal justice fields and related sectors, such as education, health and mental
health, housing, and employment.
Directly Affected Individuals
We in particular welcome applications from individuals directly affected by, or
with significant direct personal experience with, the policies, practices, and
systems their projects seek to address. This includes but is not limited to
applicants who have themselves been incarcerated; applicants who have a family
member or loved one who has been incarcerated and whose fellowship project
emerges from that experience; and applicants who are survivors of violence and
crime. It also includes people with deep ties and connections to the communities
or constituencies that are the focus of their projects.
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2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
Not Sure if Your Project Fits? Submit an Email Inquiry
Applicants who are uncertain whether some aspect of their proposed project fits
within the parameters of the fellowships guidelines or whether the project is
otherwise likely to be of interest may submit an email inquiry. The email should
provide a brief (no more than 200 words) description of the proposed project, as
well as some background information on the applicant, and should be sent to:
sorosjusticefellowships@opensocietyfoundations.org. We will do our best to
respond to all email inquiries within a week of their receipt. Those who submit
email inquiries but do not receive a timely response will have to make their own
determination of whether the proposed project fits within the guidelines.
Please be aware that an email inquiry does not constitute an application.
1.2 Awards
The fellowship comes with an award of $57,500 for full-time, 18-month projects
(the award is pro-rated for part-time or 12-month projects), plus project-related
expenses, as well as access to a range of training and professional development
opportunities.
These award amounts are all-inclusive, i.e. they are intended to cover a fellow’s
living expenses, project-related expenses, travel, conference fees, health
insurance, etc. We do not provide additional funds beyond the fellowship award
(we do, however, cover any costs associated with attending fellowship-related
conferences, gatherings or events that we in the fellowships program organize).
Fellowship awards are considered public information, and the fellows’ names and
project descriptions will be included in the Open Society Foundations’ tax returns,
as required by Internal Revenue Service regulations.
1.3 Eligibility
Experience
The Youth Activist Fellowship is likely a good fit for a range of people at
different points in their activist lives, including but not limited to: people just
entering the field following post-secondary education; people both working and
attending college part-time; people who’ve had some relevant volunteer or
internship experience; and people joining the activist world after some other type
of life experience (e.g. post-incarceration). However, the ideal candidate will be
someone who isn’t already deeply entrenched in a particular body of activist work
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2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
or obviously in a leadership pipeline or on a clear path to further achievement and
accomplishment. And while we don’t have a rigid cut off, in terms of the number
of years of experience or types of experiences that would make someone “too
experienced” for the Youth Activist Fellowships, those with more than two (2)
years of full-time experience as an activist or advocate, as well as those who have
completed or are soon to complete graduate school, are unlikely to be well suited
for this fellowship. People with more than two years of full-time activism or
advocacy experience should consider applying for the Soros Justice Advocacy
Fellowships.
Age
Applicants must be between the ages of 18 – 25 at the time of application.
Education
There are no minimum education requirements.
Time Commitment
Fellowships are either 12 or 18 months in duration and can begin anytime in the
fall of 2022. Projects can be either full-time (minimum of 35 hours/week) or part-
time (minimum of 20 hours/week). Fellows cannot be full-time students or have
full-time jobs during their fellowships, even if the fellowship is only part-time.
Joint Applications
The fellowships do not allow multiple individuals to apply jointly for a single
Youth Activist Fellowship.
Enrollment in an Academic Institution
The fellowships do not fund enrollment for degree or non-degree study at
academic institutions, including dissertation research.
Project Location
Projects must be based in the United States (including U.S. territories).
Lobbying
Fellowship funds cannot be used to support projects that include lobbying
activities. Please carefully review the Tax Law Lobbying Rules before applying.
If awarded a fellowship, applicants must agree to refrain from engaging in
restricted lobbying activities during the term of the fellowship.
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2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
1.4 Host Organizations and
Mentors/Supervisors/Champions
Host Organization
Youth Activist Fellowship applicants are required to secure a host organization.
Host organizations — which can be advocacy or community groups, scholarly or
research institutions, government agencies, or other nonprofit organizations or
associations — should provide access to resources such as office and meeting
space, technology (computer, internet access, phone, etc.) and networks (i.e.
connections to other individuals and organizations), as well as supervision,
mentoring and guidance.
Prior to submitting an application, applicants and host organizations can develop
fellowship projects in any number of ways (e.g. a project may be developed
entirely by applicant, developed jointly by applicant and host, or initially
developed by host organization but tailored to suit applicant’s skills and interests).
The main thing is that applicants select host organizations that they feel will be a
good fit with the project they have in mind and that can provide the kind of
infrastructure and support they think they’ll need throughout the fellowship.
If awarded a fellowship, grant payments must be passed through the host (unless
there are compelling reasons to pay the fellow directly), which means that the host
must have the appropriate organizational status, as well as grants management and
finance/accounting systems and safeguards to be able to receive the grant award
and make regular payments to the fellow, e.g. 501(c)(3) or supported by a
designated fiscal agent; and must agree that the grant award is made to the host on
the fellow’s behalf. We do not provide the host organization with supplemental
funds.
While applicants can be currently employed or contracted by their proposed host
organization, fellowship projects cannot duplicate the host organization’s existing
work; and fellowship funding cannot be used to replace, supplant, or supplement
funding for activities or projects already being, or reasonably expected to be,
carried out by the host organization.
Mentor/Supervisor/Champion
Applicants should identify at least one person (and up to three people) who will
provide them with advice, guidance, and support on a consistent basis throughout
the project — someone who would be considered an applicant’s mentor,
supervisor, or “champion.” This person can but is not required to be from the host
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2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
organization; and can but is not required to be the fellow’s actual supervisor. This
should be someone who is familiar with the applicant’s fellowship project and
who will be committed to helping them achieve the project’s goals and objectives,
as well as to supporting the fellow’s growth and development as an activist. Also,
this person ideally will have deep familiarity with the issue that is the focus of the
fellowship project or with the geographic location of the fellowship project work.
1.5 Application and Selection Process
There are three stages to the application and selection process. First, all applicants
must submit a full application by the application deadline. Second, from the pool
of applicants, we will select a group of finalists, who’ll be invited to interview
with a selection committee consisting of Open Society Foundations staff and
outside experts (finalists will also be asked to submit additional materials to
supplement their initial applications). And finally, from the pool of finalists, we
will select 13 – 16 individuals to receive fellowships (this final number of
fellowships — which is contingent on availability of funding — will be a mix of
Advocacy, Media and Youth Activist Fellowships).
Depending on the composition of the applicant pool, we will consider adding a
stage to what is described above by holding a round of “semi-finalist” interviews,
from which we would then select a smaller number of candidates for the finalist
interviews.
We reserve the right, at any stage of the application and selection process, to
request that an applicant be considered for a fellowship category (Advocacy,
Media, Youth Activist) or track (Track I, Track II) different from the one for
which the applicant applied.
PLEASE SEE NEXT PAGE FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO APPLY
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2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
2. Application
2.1 Application Information
The application deadline is March 2, 2022 (11:59 pm PST). Incomplete
applications will not be given full consideration.
Online Submission
Applications must be submitted online via the application portal, accessed
through the Soros Justice Fellowships website:
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/soros-justice-fellowships. Please
note that the portal will open on February 8, 2022.
All communications with applicants will be sent to the email used to register with
the online system, so applicants should ensure that emails from us do not end up
in their “Junk Mail” or “Spam” folder.
Content of Complete Applications
Complete applications consist of the following documents and information that
must be uploaded to or otherwise entered into the online application system:
Resume, Proposal, Names of Mentors/Supervisors/Champions, Names of
Recommenders, and Name of Host Organization. Below is more information on
each of these items:
RESUME of no more than three (3) pages. Although applicants are
welcome to include both a resume and a bio within the three pages,
applicants should not submit only a bio.
Single-spaced PROPOSAL of no more than 1500 words (about three
single-spaced pages in 12-point font) containing responses to the four (4)
questions listed below in order, with the headings as listed below. While
you can provide written responses to all of the questions below, for
Questions 2 and 3 you have the option to instead provide a video of you
verbally responding to the question. We consider each video response to
equal approximately 500 words of the 1500 word limit (e.g. if you respond
to one question via video, then you’d have 1000 words left for your
remaining written responses).
If submitting responses in video format, you can either attach a video file
or a Word or PDF document with a link to the video (e.g. Vimeo,
YouTube). In all cases, your response to any single question should not
exceed three (3) minutes.
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2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
Question 1 (Project Description) [WRITTEN]: “Provide a detailed
explanation of the project, why it’s needed, what you propose to do,
and the change you hope to achieve through your work. Where
appropriate, you should use statistics, stories, or other types of
information to explain the project and why it’s needed.”
Applicants selected as finalists will be asked to provide a detailed
timeline for their project activities. They will also be asked to provide
any project updates or revisions.
Question 2 (Why You) [WRITTEN OR VIDEO]: “Explain why, based
on your experiences (personal, professional, academic, etc.), skills,
interests, and attributes, you are the right person to carry out this
particular project. You should also explain how you are connected to
the community where your project will take place or to the people that
your project serves.”
Question 3 (Your Future) [WRITTEN OR VIDEO]: “What do you
hope to be doing as soon as the fellowship is over? How about several
years from now? And how will the fellowship help you with your future
plans?”
Question 4 (Non-Fellowship Commitments) [WRITTEN]: “Describe
any non-fellowship work or educational (or other) commitments that
you expect to have during the course of your fellowship, including the
approximate time to be devoted to these commitments.”
Names and affiliations of up to three (3) people who you consider to be
your MENTORS, SUPERVISORS OR CHAMPIONS. See page 5
above for what we’re looking for.
Names, affiliations, and contact information of three (3) people — ideally,
current/former supervisors or close colleagues — who would provide
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION (we don’t need the actual letters
at this stage in the process). These people can be the same people you
listed as “Mentors, Supervisors, or Champions,” but they don’t have to be.
If selected as a finalist, you will have to provide letters from two of the
three people named.
Name and contact information for proposed HOST ORGANIZATION
(if applicable).
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2022 Youth Activist Fellowships: Guidelines and Application
If selected as a finalist, applicants will be asked to supplement their applications with
a host organization commitment letter. This letter should be written by a senior staff
member of the organization or someone otherwise authorized to commit the
organization to serving as a host for the project. The letter should describe the
following: host organization’s mission and existing work; how the proposed project
fits with the organization’s mission and existing work; support provided to the
applicant, if awarded a fellowship; in-kind contributions provided; and any other
resources provided to the fellow. The letter must also include a confirmation that the
proposed project will not duplicate the host organization's existing efforts and that
fellowship funding will not be used to replace, supplant or supplement funding for
activities or projects already being, or reasonably expected to be, carried out by the
host organization.
2.2 Application and Selection Timeline
Application Deadline: March 2, 2022 (11:59 pm PST)
Finalists Notified: April – May 2022*
(all applicants will be notified via email whether they have
been selected as a finalist)
Supplementary May – June 2022*
Materials Due: (those selected as finalists asked to submit letters of
recommendation, host commitment letters, advisory board
details, and detailed project timeline, as well as any project
updates)
Finalist Interviews: June 2022*
(all finalist interviews will be held via videoconference)
Selected Fellows July 2022*
Notified:
Projects Begin: Fall 2022
*Dates subject to change
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