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Fellowship for BIPOC Storytellers
By Raviya Ismail
Anupama Joshi is the executive director of Blue Sky Funders Forum, a funders collaborative that aims to increase philanthropic investments and the community of funders supporting equitable access to meaningful outdoor experiences and connections to nature. She spoke with Green 2.0 about the organization’s Rethink Outside™ Fellowship, which is currently accepting applications for its inaugural cohort.
Q: What is the Rethink Outside™ Fellowship and who is it for?
The Rethink Outside™ Fellowship is for leaders and storytellers who work to connect people with nature and the outdoors, and identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color. The six-month fellowship will focus on strengthening communication and leadership skills through custom opportunities led by content experts and trainers. The topics covered will be developed with fellows, but will likely cover strategic storytelling, branding, marketing, social media, accessing funding, public speaking, and finding your voice as a leader.
Q: Why did you launch the Rethink Outside™ Fellowship?
This initiative aligns with Blue Sky’s 2021-2024 strategic goals and priorities to dismantle systemic racism that limits access to funding in the environmental sector and strengthen the movement by facilitating connections, building capacity, and sharing best practices. Also, we have heard from many funders who are interested in supporting BIPOC leaders and organizations – this is an effective way for funders to align and easily plug into an existing infrastructure toward that goal.
Q: How will fellows benefit from participating?
In addition to peer networking and skill-building trainings on storytelling, branding, and leadership, fellows can dialogue with leaders in the field, connect to additional resources and opportunities, have access to a mini-grant of up to $1,000 during the course of the fellowship, and interact with funders and influencers in the sector. All qualified applicants will be invited to select Rethink Outside™ events and offerings to build community.
Q: What else should people know about this initiative?
Though a focus and resources for this movement have increased in the last several years, we find that leaders of color and their important work remain largely mis- or underrepresented. We are hopeful that this initiative will spur many other organizations to establish their own channels for supporting BIPOC leaders. The inaugural cohort will be facilitated by José González, founder and director emeritus of Latino Outdoors. Learn more about José and the community leaders providing guidance and expertise to the fellowship. For anyone interested in learning more about the Rethink Outside™ Fellowship, we will be hosting an informational webinar on Tuesday, August 10. Register here.
Q: What is the deadline for applying and when does the fellowship start?
Applications are due on Sunday, August 22 by 11:59 p.m. EDT. Finalists will be notified by mid-September. The fellowship is from October 2021 through March 2022.
To learn more about Blue Sky Funders Forum, visit blueskyfundersforum.org and follow on Twitter @BlueSkyFunders.
To learn more about the Rethink Outside™ Fellowship, visit rethinkoutside.org/rethink-outside-fellowship and follow #RethinkOutside on social media.