• Invitation and comped registration to attend our flagship educational and networking conference Funding Forward
• In-person retreats featuring peer networking, skills development, and self-care*
• Ongoing job coaching and career counseling
• Monthly group professional development and community-building activities
• Help to develop a personalized professional development plan, with realistic goals and support
• Linkage to a mentor who can provide advice and support related to fellows’ specific career interests and aspirations
• Peer networking with the fellowship cohort, as well as with more experienced trans and cis allies in the field
• $2,000 in supplemental professional development funds

* In-person retreats will resume when COVID-19 and public health restrictions allow

While there is no fee to participate, Fellows with professional development funds provided through their employer should plan to use those funds to support their participation in the above fellowship activities. If there are no such funds available, or if the funds are insufficient, Funders for LGBTQ Issues will cover the balance to ensure full participation.

Employers with fellows in the program are expected to allow their fellow to use their normal working hours to participate in the fellowship program’s activities.

Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Project Director Luna Moreta Avila to discuss any questions they have related to the application, and the cost of participation, as well as for assistance in communicating with employers about the importance and value of participating in the fellowship.

The GUTC Leaders Fellowship is open to all binary and nonbinary trans-identified and gender non-conforming persons who are currently employed full- or part-time with a philanthropic entity based in the United States. For the purposes of this program, “Philanthropic entity” is defined as any grantmaking foundation (private, public, corporate, family, etc.), donor-advised fund, or philanthropic-supporting organizations (affinity groups, regional associations, etc.). Fellows may be employed in a variety of roles within the sector, including but not limited to programs, communications, finance, human resources, or organizational administration. Fellows can be based anywhere in the United States.

Priority consideration will be given to binary and nonbinary trans-identified and gender non-conforming persons of color, trans women of color, and those with less than five years of work experience in an office setting.

A maximum of one applicant per philanthropic entity may be selected in each cohort.

Applicants need not be employed by or affiliated with Funders for LGBTQ Issues members, or foundation supporters of the GUTC initiative.

Staff at organizations that do not award grants are not eligible for this program.

• How will the GUTC Learders Fellowship help advance my professional and leadership development?
  The fellowship offers 50+ hours of personalized coaching, training, and mentorship customized to fellows’ individual professional and leadership development goals. Coaches and mentors assist fellows in identifying their own goals, and offer support and accountability to meet them. The fellowship also provides connections to a network of trans-identified and allied cisgender professionals in philanthropy who can offer additional advice, referrals, and opportunities for leadership development and visibility in the sector. Past fellows have been promoted to more senior positions (often during the fellowship), or have used the fellowship to further clarify and solidify their professional identity and career path in philanthropy.
• What kinds of skills development trainings are offered?
  Skills trainings are developed with the specific needs of each cohort in mind. Past cohorts have received trainings on developing management skills, self-care practices, improving in giving and receiving feedback, tips on working with search firms or job recruiters to secure more senior positions, developing personal elevator pitches, and more.
• What makes this fellowship unique?
  The GUTC Leaders Fellowship is the first (and to-date, only) leadership development program for trans-identified people working in philanthropy. Led by a trans-identified Project Director, great care is taken to create safer learning and community-building spaces where the rich and varied lived experiences of diverse trans people and the challenges we face in this field are centralized. Our trainings and coaching sessions help fellows strategize for career exploration and advancement while taking into account the real discrimination and bias our community faces, while connecting fellows to a community of peers to create lifelong relationships.

   

• What are you looking for in GUTC Fellows?
  We seek to build a diverse cohort each year, with an emphasis on supporting transgender people of color and trans-feminine people who are early in their careers working in philanthropy. Racial diversity for us means attention to racial equity and justice, and we are particularly interested in supporting Black, Native, and Indigenous transgender foundation staff. We also seek to create a cohort of fellows from different types of philanthropic employers, ranging from private foundations with little to no track record of funding transgender communities to public intermediaries that have supported trans communities for decades. We also seek to have geographic and funding priority diversity among our fellows, with attention to regions and issues where philanthropy has underserved trans communities, such as the U.S. Southeast and Midwest.
• How are fellows selected?
  Each year, a selection committee made up of GUTC Working Group members and GUTC Fellow Alumni reviews and rates applications in accordance with the program’s goals and priorities. Semi-finalists are selected for phone or videoconference interviews with selection committee members, and the committee selects the final cohort of fellows shortly thereafter.

  To avoid potential conflicts of interest, selection committee members who are employed at the same entity as any specific candidate, or who otherwise have a close relationship with the candidate, are recused from reviewing that candidate’s application. Each application is weighed on its own merits; no special consideration is given to applicants from foundations represented on the GUTC Working Group, or among Funders for LGBTQ Issues’ membership or foundation funders.