The John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows Program Grant

The John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows Program Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Weingart Foundation
Amount: Up to US $25,000
Last Updated: September 02, 2025

Summary

The John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows Program, named after a civil rights leader, supports emerging movement leaders in Southern California. Since 2019, it has empowered 26 fellows with essential skills in leadership, community organizing, and wellness practices. The program emphasizes equity, peer learning, and professional coaching, providing each fellow with a grant of $25,000 to enhance their leadership journey and foster social and racial justice across diverse communities.

Overview

The John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows Program Named after the late civil rights leader and former Weingart Foundation Board Member, the John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows program aims to strengthen and develop current and emerging movement leaders to lead social and racial justice work that results in a more just and equitable Southern California region. Overview Since 2019, 26 movement leaders in Southern California have been named John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows. All have roots in community organizing in marginalized communities and have recently (within the past three years) taken on new senior management and leadership responsibilities. During their 18-month Fellowship, they gained tools such as: decision-making during complexity; continuous learning through experimentation and reflection; liberatory leadership practices; how to develop their own unique leadership stance; peer coaching techniques; and wellness and sustainability practices that promote self- and collective care. FELLOWSHIP COMPONENTS The John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows program is designed to help movement leaders: Transform their leadership skills to more effectively respond and adapt to ever-changing conditions; Build upon their existing networks through a dynamic shared peer cohort experience; Contribute to more equitable and just working environments and movement spaces; Deepen the alignment between their personal and shared values and their movement work; and Better articulate their own, unique personal leadership stance. The program is facilitated by Change Elemental, a nonprofit organization that supports individuals, organizations and networks working to disrupt and transform systems of inequity and create powerful vehicles for justice. Fellows will engage in a learning process focused on the five elements of deep change and a thriving social justice ecosystem: Advancing Deep Equity Cultivating Leaderful Ecosystems Embedding Multiple Ways of Knowing Influencing Complex Systems Change Centering Inner Work Through an exploration of Self, Organization and Movement Networks, the Fellows will also develop tools for leading through complexity and chaos, breaking the habits of white dominant organizational culture, learning through experimentation and reflection, aligning their values through their work and actions, and the importance of self- and collective care. Since 2019, 26 individuals from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties have been selected for the John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows program. The components of the fellowship are: Each Fellow engages in leadership development training, peer learning and coaching support through a series of three overnight retreats, four Learning Days and individualized coaching sessions scheduled over an 18-month period; The program is facilitated by experienced movement builders and Fellows will have the opportunity to co-design portions of the curriculum; Each Fellow has access to up to 20 hours of professional coaching (valued at more than $4,000) during the program; and A grant of $25,000 is awarded for each Fellow. About half will be granted to the Fellow’s organization to help compensate for the Fellow’s time away from the office during program activities and support the Fellow’s ability to fully engage in the program activities. The remainder will made available to the Fellows via an established Equity Pool to further support their leadership development and self-/collective-care.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Candidates for the John W. Mack Movement Building Fellows program must have the following experience: Five years of community organizing experience in social justice and racial equity issues; Employed at a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino or Ventura County and engaged in movement building networks working toward racial and social justice and equity;Placed into a leadership role with supervisory/management responsibilities in their organization/movement network within the past three years. During this review and selection process, candidates will be screened on these additional qualities: Deep commitment to social justice and racial equity; Readiness to commit time to participate in the Fellows program activities and engage in professional/personal/organizational transformation and development; Exhibit a spark to connect with others outside their current issue area(s) and participate in a cohort-based, peer learning opportunity; Curiosity and desire to constantly learn, innovate, and challenge traditional/current thinking; Ability to apply theory to practice; Appreciate space and time to reflect on lessons learned and think proactively about solutions, individually and collectively.