Fulbright Seeks NFP Leaders for Exchange Opportunities in US
14 June 2016 at 10:10 am
The Australian-American Fulbright Commission is calling for applications from emerging leaders in the Not for Profit sector to undertake a program of research and/or professional development in the U.S. with an approved charitable organisation.
Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren following her keynote address at Netroots Nation 2014 in Detroit.
The Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Not for Profit Leadership enables exceptional individuals to collaborate with American colleagues for three to four months, developing enduring institutional links that contribute to Australian-U.S. binational relations.
Launched in 2011 by U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich, it is the first Fulbright Scholarship for the Not for Profit sector in Australia, and has seen four successful candidates travel overseas to work in NFP areas such as welfare, youth services and conservation.
The program is sponsored by the Origin Foundation and supported by the Australian Scholarships Foundation.
In 2013, Fulbright NFP Scholar Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine spent time in New York and Washington DC to research issues around how NFP organisations can strengthen and lead trust and confidence in the sector.
“The Fulbright experience has had immense personal and professional benefits for me,” Boyd-Caine said.
“Personally, it has provided me with an opportunity to experience the scale and the scope of America’s thriving Not for Profit world in a way I would never have been able if my interest were confined to paying attention professionally from Australia.
“A good example of this has been the capacity to engage with arts and cultural organisations. Understanding that ‘the Fulbright experience’ was an invitation to engage with American cultural life as deeply as I do my work, I made the most of each and every opportunity that came my way.”
Annette Stewart (fourth from left) volunteering with other Fulbrighters at SOME (So Others May Eat) in Washington DC.
Andrew Tyndale also travelled to the U.S. on a Fulbright Scholarship in 2013. Tyndale worked with California-based think-tank the Milken Institute to research mechanisms that attract investment into the infrastructure necessary to deliver social services such as affordable housing, aged care, disability accommodation, education and health.
“The Fulbright Scholarship has been a gift: a time to pursue learning in an exciting and relevant field, and a time to consider the way forward without the noise of daily life. Despite being active in international development for almost 20 years, this time has given me a much more global perspective,” Tyndale said.
“It has encouraged me to connect different streams in our lives to leverage them all. It has also given me a new appreciation for what a great nation the United States really is.”
Last year Annette Stewart used her Fulbright scholarship to work closely with the Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP), an active consortium of leading conservation organisations, agencies and funders in the U.S.
“I found the experience invigorating – for much of the time I was on the move around the US and into Canada and Spain, meeting many new people from many different organisations. Even when I was at my home base in Washington DC, I was regularly talking to people all around the world ‘via the wires’ and hearing about the exciting work they are all doing,” Stewart said.
Scholarship Benefits:
- living and travel allowance for a program of 3-4 months duration
- Dependent Allowance where applicable
- ASPE medical insurance of up to A$100,000 (for the Scholar only)
- National Orientation Program, Showcase Evening & Presentation Dinner
- Enrichment Seminars in the United States with international Fulbright Scholars
- access to a network of distinguished U.S. and Australian Fulbright Alumni
- a support agency in the U.S. that assists with visas, events, and networks
- media and publicity support.
Applications for the Fulbright Professional Scholarship in Not for Profit Leadership close on 1 August 2016. For more information, and to apply for this exceptional opportunity, see our website.
