(WE) Lead Fellowship Program

A 14-week community-focused leadership development program designed to address the Woodlawn Community's gap in access to leadership development opportunities.

Geographic Scope: Woodlawn community in Birmingham, Alabama

Focus Areas:

• Leadership development for community members
• Building skills in effective communication and team-building
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
• Economic Development
• Public/private partnerships and fund leveraging

Program Goals:

• Increased participation in formal and informal neighborhood leadership
• Understanding of complex systemic issues
• Increased resident participation in community-based organizations while serving in various leadership roles
• Connection to a vast network of community and civic leaders
• Understanding of public/private partnerships and how to leverage funds

Eligibility:

• Must demonstrate commitment to Woodlawn and neighboring communities
• Must have a desire to serve their community through positions of impact (e.g., volunteerism, advocacy, non-profit boards, etc.)
• Must be able to attend in-person at least 80% of sessions (12 of 14 sessions) to complete the fellowship and receive the program financial stipend

Program Structure:

• 14-week program with weekly training sessions
• Learn from political, business, and community leaders
• Participants engage in initiatives to address current issues impacting Woodlawn
• First half focuses on building skills; second half focuses on subject matter

Funding: Funded by the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham

Contact Information:

• Woodlawn United
• 5529 1st Avenue South
• Birmingham, AL 35212
• Phone: 205.599.6963
• Website: woodlawnunited.org

Application Process

Application Portal: https://woodlawnunited.formstack.com/forms/welead

Application Status: For 2025-2026 cohort: Dates and application details will be announced soon (as of May 2, 2025)

Participation Qualifications:

• Demonstrate commitment to Woodlawn and neighboring communities
• Desire to serve community through positions of impact (e.g., volunteerism, advocacy, non-profit boards)

Requirements:

• In-person attendance of at least 80% of sessions (12 of 14 sessions minimum)
• Must complete all sessions to receive program financial stipend
• Ideal applicants show demonstrated commitment to community improvement

Note: Historical deadline (2022-2023 cohort) was Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 5:00pm. Current application timeline not yet released.