2025 Sustainability Fellowship Project Proposal


ALERT
PLEASE READ - DO NOT SUBMIT

Our records indicate that there is no active Fellowship Event to apply for as Host. Please contact Alexis Dwyer (alexis.dwyer@unh.edu) for more information.
Thank you for your interest in hosting a UNH Sustainability Fellow for the upcoming summer. Need more information before you're ready to apply? Check out the Sustainability Fellowship website for more information including important dates and RFP submission deadline. 

If your project is selected, you’ll have phenomenal talent dedicated to your project throughout the summer. UNHSI will advertise the projects and recruit candidates from UNH and across the US. UNHSI will then vet all applicants and give you the top candidates to choose from. You'll be asked to participate in final candidate selection, planning, networking, and most importantly, to prioritize meaningful mentorship of your Fellow. Projects might involve research, outreach and education, or program implementation, and should focus on an aspect of sustainability. Ideal Fellowship projects include the following characteristics:

  • The project is likely to catalyze long-term, substantial change, and/or to establish a replicable model.
  • The work is challenging, in-depth, and the selected Fellow can assume significant ownership.
  • The work is challenging, in-depth, and the selected Fellow can assume significant ownership.
  • Mentors are invested in the outcome of the project as well as the Fellow’s experience.
  • The Fellow’s time and expertise are critical to completing the work.
  • Partner organizations have a demonstrated structure in place to support and supervise a Fellow.

Through the generous support of the program’s sponsors, UNHSI is able to fund the administration of the program, networking events and professional development opportunities, and travel for Fellows to participate in program events. Partner organizations are asked to contribute to the program to fund their Fellow’s summer compensation if they have a budget to do so; these contributions vary depending on the type of Fellow. UNH is able to offer a limited number of grants to offset a portion of this requested contribution for organizations, especially nonprofits and municipalities, that may not have funds available.

Fellows are employees of the UNH Sustainability Institute (UNHSI), hired and paid through the university. While dedicated primarily to their assigned project throughout the summer, Fellows also participate in a variety of networking and professional development activities through UNHSI and present their work at multiple stages. We also ask our host organizations to make specific commitments to UNHSI and to the Fellows.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send them to Alexis Dwyer.
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Mentor Information








PARTNER ORGANIZATION AGREEMENT

UNH SUSTAINABILITY FELLOWS PROGRAM ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
UNH Sustainability Institute (UNHSI) administers the Fellows program. Specifically, UNHSI commits to:

· Market Fellowships to top undergraduate students at UNH (for undergrad cohort) and at UNH and across the US (for post-baccalaureate cohort); assemble a pool of talented applicants with skills and experience tailored to each project; screen applications; present each Partner with recommended candidates; and coordinate interviews of top candidates with Host Organization project Mentors’ participation.

· Work with Host Organization project Mentors to craft detailed 10-week work plans for each project.

· Develop and coordinate project advisory groups, organized around project themes and led by advisors with relevant professional expertise, to support Host Organizations and Fellows before and during the summer.

· Host program events including a multi-day orientation, weekly professional development events for Fellows, a Launch event towards the end of June, and a final presentation event.

· Provide access to UNHSI staff and UNH faculty in both formal and informal settings, and coordinate peer advising with our alumni network.

· Conduct all necessary administrative processes to hire and compensate Fellows.

Fellows make commitment to both UNHSI and their host organizations. Specifically, Fellows are expected to:

· Commit to a total of 400 hours of program participation within the Fellowship term (term dates on website).

· Attend the entirety of a 2-day orientation at UNH at the start of the Fellowship project term.

· Work full-time on-site (or remotely as agreed) at the Partner organization, adhering to the professional standards and practices at the Host Organization.

· Complete fellowship project deliverables according to the work plan (with adjustments as necessary and mutually agreed upon with Host Organization and UNHSI).

· Participate actively in their advisory groups and in weekly summer professional development opportunities organized by UNHSI.

· Present work at a Launch event poster session and final presentation event.

Host Organization Partners make commitments to their Fellows and to UNHSI. Specifically, Partner organizations commit to:

· Participate in the interview and selection process.

· Work together with UNHSI to ensure that the work plan and products will be both beneficial to the Partner organization and intellectually stimulating for the Fellow, and participate in one virtual meeting with the other members of their advisory group before the beginning of the Fellowship term (I.e., between January and May).

· Designate one staff member to serve as the primary Fellowship Mentor, to provide project guidance, to be accessible on a day-to-day basis as needed, to reserve one hour per week at a minimum for a regularly scheduled dedicated check-in with the Fellow.

· Encourage the Fellow’s participation in training and networking opportunities provided by UNHSI, Launch event, and final presentations, and additional activities relevant to the Fellow’s project and/or career.

· Ensure that the Mentor, or an involved proxy, participates in orientation, as well as day two of the Launch event and the final presentation event. Review specific dates on Fellowship website.

· Have the Mentor available for one advisory group virtual meeting between June-August, and provide one brief written update on the Fellow’s progress over the course of the summer.

· Provide the Fellow with an adequate workspace, computer, phone, travel funds, and other necessary resources and contacts required for successful completion of the

project. If the Fellow has a disability, the partner organization will make reasonable accommodations.

· Provide “matching contributions” as indicated in the accepted application/agreement in a timely fashion.





*$1,500 of your Sustainability Fellows funding will be considered a charitable gift, unless you are a government organization or municipality and governed by laws around use of public funds. The remaining portion, which will support your Fellow’s work in your organization, may still be deductible for you as a business expense. You will be able to make a single payment that covers both of these aspects. If your organization is seeking a larger philanthropic investment, we would love to speak with you about support for this program beyond the cost of Fellowship placement. All additional funds go directly toward placing students within small businesses, nonprofits and municipalities who may not otherwise have the budget to support a Fellow.







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