Fall 2019 Grassroots Organizing Fellowship

Overview

Are you an activist that wants to learn or hone your organizing skills and gain on the ground experience? Do you want to join a team focused on activating a base of people to stop Trump’s attacks on environmental and social policies?

Do you want to organize people to hold the Trump administration accountable for  working to dismantle our bedrock environmental policies? Do you want to work at the nexus of environmental protection, economic justice and social justice? Do you want to help one of the oldest environmental groups recruit new people at the very moment we need as many people taking action as possible?

Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and develop your leadership skills? We are looking for people that want to be the best of the best. You will get a stipend, training and support, but this will be tough.

Who We Are

Friends of the Earth U.S., founded by David Brower in 1969, is the U.S. voice of the world’s largest federation of grassroots environmental groups, with a presence in 75 countries. Friends of the Earth’s mission is to defend the environment and champion a more healthy and just world. We are a hard-hitting, progressive, environmental organization that pulls no punches and speaks sometimes uncomfortable truth to power.

To accomplish our mission, Friends of the Earth is working at the nexus of environmental protection, economic justice and social justice to fundamentally transform the way our country and the world value people and the environment. Our current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, ensuring the food we eat and products we use are sustainable and safe for our health and the environment, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.

Why We See This Moment As Important:

The Trump Administration and its allies on Capitol Hill are a disruptive force who pose a serious threat to our society and environment. We’ve seen the dismantling of critical environmental protections through the gutting of the EPA, and blatant attacks on our public lands for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry. And, they are just getting started. Coupled together, these attacks leave the environment more vulnerable than it has been in over two decades and threaten decades of hard-fought victories for people and the planet.

As a result of the 2018 elections, we see an opportunity to hold the Trump administration and Congress accountable for their harmful agenda. Congress will set their policy agenda priorities for the next two years in the first 100 days they’re in session so we need to act quickly to make sure that bold climate action is a top priority. We need to hold the 116th Congress accountable to taking the bold action on climate change and other environmental and social justice issues that they committed to when we elected them!

We must stop expanding our oil and gas infrastructure, cease new fossil fuel leasing, phase out current fossil fuel extraction, end fossil fuel subsidies, and invest in a transition to 100% renewable energy that doesn’t include nuclear. And we must do this in a way that is just by prioritizing workers and frontline communities so we do not reproduce or worsen inequities.

Friends of the Earth was made for this fight. We are tough, scrappy, and aren’t afraid to stand up and speak truth to power. We pull no punches, and neither do our members. We are organizing at the grassroots to expand FOE’s political power and stop many of the Trump administration’s environmental attacks by developing a diverse base of activists and grassroots leaders who are taking action at a local level to influence key national decision-makers in their districts. Last year, we won our two flagship campaigns! We succeeded in forcing the resignation of two corrupt members of the Trump administration: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Sec. of the Interior, Ryan Zinke.

What Is The Grassroots Fellowship Program?

• We are hiring our third class of grassroots fellows. The fellowship program was first launched in 2018 and we’ve been organizing on the ground to stand up to Trump and his administration by pressuring Congress to take action.
• Fellows will be focused on FOE’s high profile flagship campaigns to fight the Trump administration’s attacks on people and the environment and futermore put pressure on elected officials in Congress and hold them accountable.
• This fellowshiop aims to create a pathway for people in underrepresented communities to gain further opportunties in environmental organizing. Therefore, we are prioritizing members of communicites that are underrepresented in the mainstream environmental movement. Women, people of color, and youth are highly encouraged to apply. 

Benefits Of Program

• Receive training and coaching in key grassroots organizing skills
• Receive one-on-one support and mentoring
• Gain experience as a grassroots organizer including experience in recruitment, leadership development, team formation, and implementing campaign tactics
• Build relationships with other fellows in the program
• Receive a $2,000 monthly stipend
• Opportunity for professional development and strengthening your resume

What Qualities Should Fellows Possess?

For this program, we are specifically interested in people who want to take the step from activist to organizer and we are looking for folks who understand the difference, and want to learn and use core organizing skills. We are seeking people who are committed to and interested in building people power and holding elected officials accountable. Specific qualities we are looking for include:

• Identify with FOE’s values and our theory of change
• Care about working at the intersection of environmental and social justice issues
• Value diversity, equity, inclusion and justice
• Have a desire and passion to take action and help develop scalable nationwide actions to resist Trump
• Have experience as an activist (through attending or planning an action)
• Be ready to dive in and take on more responsibility
• Be excited to do local recruitment and leadership development

We value diversity, equity, inclusion and justice. To achieve our mission of a healthy and just planet we must have a diverse base of people and diverse grassroots leadership.

If you do not identify as part of an underrepresented community, that is not a disqualification, and we still encourage you to apply. We welcome applicants that have experience as an activist with other social causes such as LGBTQ, Black Lives, Immigrant Rights, Mass Incarceration/Restorative Justice, Housing/Homelessness, Labor and more.

Who Is Eligible?

• Age: There is no maximum age limit for fellows. Minimum age of applicants is 18. If you are currently under 18, your application will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
• Education: No specific previous educational experience is required for this program.
• Geographical location: We are looking to hire in each of the following places: Philadelphia or Pittsburgh (PA), Miami or Ft. Lauderdale (FL), Ann Arbor (MI), Boston (MA), Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill (NC) 

Expectations Of Fellows:

• Commitment to a 6 month fellowship program
• Participate in weekly virtual check-ins with a regional organizer
• Able to devote 25 hours a week to this role
• Have access to a computer/laptop, high-speed internet connection, and mobile phone

Timeline

• Fellows will be hired on a rolling basis in Fall 2019.
• Fellowship will end in Spring 2020.

What Do Fellows Do?

Fellows will be focused on recruitment, leadership, team formation, and campaign tactics in their respective states. Activities will include:

• Direct recruitment (including gathering petitions or post card signatures, staffing an interest table at an event, making announcements to groups, calling and texting volunteers over the phone)
• Leadership development including one-on-one meetings with new volunteers and existing activists engaged in their local work.  
• Team formation such as facilitating group meetings
• Implement campaign tactics to pressure decision makers

Fellows will be supported and managed by Friends of the Earth’s Organizing team. Regional Organizers will focus on training and mentoring fellows, setting goals, helping them develop and implement plans, and holding weekly check ins with the fellows.

How To Apply

You can apply to the fellowship at foe.org/organizing-fellowship. Apply now! Applications are reviewed as they are received and positions are being filled on a rolling basis until all position are filled. For more information, go to: foe.org/fellowship-info

If you have questions about the grassroots fellowship, please contact [email protected]