Components and Requirements

Program Components

Training - Two weekend workshops in Washington, DC (02/2010 and 09/2010) and monthly skills, team building, and peer and individual mentorship calls. All calls are conducted via conference call or webinar;

Project Based Work – Three 360 Review assessments of personal leadership growth and a personal leadership (strategic) plan;

Coaching – Each Fellow will receive regular coaching from a peer or “buddy” within the Fellowship team and from the Fellowship Coordinator;

Strategic Advocacy Engagement and Campaign Participation – Regular efforts to build strategic relationships with Congressional offices and participation in Genocide Intervention Network (GI-NET) campaigns that leverage our broader citizen network;

Fundraising – Each Fellow will engage in fundraising initiatives and campaigns for Genocide Intervention Network;

Networking – Each Fellow will have regular opportunities for networking within the anti-genocide and human rights fields at-large, including with alumni of the inaugural class of Carl Wilkens Fellows, and access to GI-NET and partner organization staff, notable academics, and thought leaders.

Program Curriculum

  • Vision development and strategic planning
  • Messaging
  • Volunteer recruitment, mobilization, and retention
  • Media engagement
  • Advocacy strategy
  • Fundraising

Program Outcomes

Carl Wilkens Fellows will be able to:

  • Develop and enhance skills in strategic planning, messaging and communications, volunteer and media engagement, advocacy, and fundraising;
  • Articulate personal values and link those values to a personal vision for the anti-genocide movement;
  • Build new self-confidence as a voice for the anti-genocide movement before a variety of community audiences; and
  • Foster working partnerships within the Carl Wilkens Fellowship team and inspire new generations of Carl Wilkens Fellows.

Participation Requirements: Overview

The Carl Wilkens Fellowship is a part-time program designed to fit the schedules of emerging citizen leaders with full-time jobs and family obligations.

  • Attendance at two weekend workshops in Washington, DC;
  • Participation in 1+ monthly skills development training call;
  • Participation in 1 team building call;
  • Participation in 1 peer coaching call;
  • Participation in 1 individual mentorship call; and
  • Completion of 360 Review assessments, personal leadership plan and monthly report forms.

Participation Requirements: Detail

Carl Wilkens Fellows are charged with building political will in their communities for the anti-genocide movement. Over the year-long Fellowship, an individual’s progress is assessed by the number of opportunities he/she has taken advantage of in each of four core work areas.

  • Community Outreach – 2-3 opportunity achievements/month
  • Legislative Action – 1-2 opportunity achievements/month
  • Media – 1 opportunity achievement/every 2 months
  • Fundraising – $2K raised/year

Cost

The Carl Wilkens Fellowship does not cost our participants anything. Instead, Carl Wilkens Fellows receive:

  • Access to funds to use towards organizing events in their communities; and
  • Transportation to and accommodation at Fellowship program retreats 

Who Should Apply

Carl Wilkens Fellows come from a rich diversity of professional backgrounds and skills sets. They are filmmakers; retired corporate lawyers; high school teachers and university professors; IT specialists and website developers; practicing nurses; graduate students of public policy, religion, and the law; public relations professionals; organizers around prominent social justice issues; fine artists; actors; and therapists.
 
A candidate for the Carl Wilkens Fellowship must be/have the following:

  • Above college – age;
  • Secure residence in an urban or rural community in the domestic United States;
  • 10 hours/week available for Fellowship – related activities and opportunities;
  • Strong public speaking skills;
  • Documented experiences mobilizing groups of people to action in community settings – in lead and in support roles;
  • Commitment to expanding upon his/her skills and strategy as a community leader;
  • Documented experience with issues-based lobbying; and
  • Belief in the mission of Genocide Intervention Network and to the objectives of the Carl Wilkens Fellowship and an interest in long-term engagement in the anti-genocide movement.