The Collective Impact Forum, a partnership between FSG and the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, is launching the Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity (CLARE) Program, January 2025 – October 2025.
This 10-month leadership accelerator is designed to invest in the capacity and wellbeing of 20 individuals leading collaborative work in place (e.g., “backbone leaders”).
Program Priorities:
This program will center and prioritize the participation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders in the U.S. South working in place-based collectives focused on health and racial equity and/or issue-specific health collaboratives such as birth justice and reproductive rights. While the primary focus of the accelerator is on BIPOC leaders, the program welcomes anyone leading collaborative place-based work who is committed to advancing racial equity.
For the purposes of this program, the U.S. South is inclusive of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, DC, and West Virginia.
Program Objectives:
- Focus on healing and wellness to sustain participants in their roles by reclaiming and honoring individual and social group traditions and spiritual, sacred and somatic practices that facilitate individual and community healing and addresses burnout and racial harm.
- Deepen participant analysis of how social identities influence their approach to collaborative leadership so that they are leading from a lens of systems thinking and transformation, and in a way that centers the intersectionality of equity.
- Build social networks and collective power as a group of BIPOC leaders that can be called upon to support each other’s work to advance systems change in their respective communities.
Participation in CLARE offers the following:
- Exploration of leadership in the context of leading a collaborative
- Tools and resources to support collaborative work and build selfcare/wellness practices
- In person convening(s)
- Six hours of 1:1 coaching with a certified Leadership Coach
- 48 hours of session time with subject matter experts and cohort peers across all in-person and virtual session
- Complimentary registration to the 2025 Collective Impact Action Summit
- A certificate of completion from the Collective Impact Forum
- A $1,500 stipend
Cost for Participants:
Participants are responsible for the cost of travel to the in-person convening(s) (flight, baggage fees, ground transportation, and any meals purchased outside of the meals provided). Participants will receive a $1,500 stipend at the end of the program to help offset these costs.
Program Application
- Before applying, you can review this PDF copy of the application questions.
- To apply, please fill out this online form as well as have your manager (or board member) submit a Manager Letter of Support. (Link to letter included in the application survey.)
- Applications and Manager Letters of Support are due by November 12, 2024
Program Contact:
If you are interested in participating in the CLARE program please submit an application using this link by Tuesday, November 12, 2024. You may contact Courtney W. Robertson at courtney.robertson@collectiveimpactforum.org, Director of Programs and Partnerships at the Collective Impact Forum, for questions.
Watch a Virtual Informational Webinar to Learn More!
If you would like to learn more about the CLARE program, the CI Forum hosted an optional virtual informational webinar on October 17. You can review the session recording below or access the the presentation PDF.
Key Application Dates
- October 7, 2024: Request for Applications Released
- October 17, 2024: Optional Informational Webinar. Register HERE.
- November 12, 2024: Applications and Manager Letter of Support Due by 11:59PM ET.
- December 16, 2024: Acceptance Status Notification
Eligibility and Selection Considerations
- Region: Priority will be given to participants leading place-based work in the Southern region of the United States, as described above.
- Issue and Population Focus: Priority will be given to participants from place-based collaboratives focused on health equity and whose work supports and benefits communities of color. This may include collectives focused on transforming health systems, health equity, and/or issue-specific collaboratives such as birth justice and reproductive rights.
- Collaborative Maturity: Participants must be from established collaboratives that have, at minimum, begun implementing their work at a county, city, or neighborhood level, ensuring proximity to the communities served.
- Backbone Role: Participants must have been in a full time backbone facilitation/ lead role for a collaborative. Participants can be the leader of the backbone team, or a rising leader who facilitates significant community-facing work for the collaborative.
- Time in Role: Participants must have been in their full time facilitation/lead role for a collaborative for at least one year, by program launch in January 2025.
- Equity Commitment: Participants must have a demonstrated commitment to racial equity, as demonstrated by current work and personal statements.
- Demographics: Additional considerations will be given toward creating a diverse cohort along the demographics of disability, geography (tribal, rural, and urban), gender, and sexual orientation.
- Organizational Commitment: Participant’s manager must sign a letter of support. If the applicant is in an Executive Director role, a signed letter from a current board member is acceptable.
Program Schedule
All virtual sessions are 1pm – 5pm ET with the exception of the orientation, which is 1pm – 3pm ET.
- January 17, 2025: Orientation (Virtual)
- February 24 – 26, 2025: Kick-Off Convening #1 (In-Person)
- March 26, 2025: Convening #2 (Virtual)
- April 29 – May 1, 2025: Collective Impact Action Summit (Virtual, optional)
- May 28, 2025: Convening #3 (Virtual)
- July 23, 2025: Convening #4 (Virtual)
- September 28 – 30, 2025: Convening #5 (Format TBD). Participants will be notified by June 30, 2025 regarding the format (in-person or virtual) of this convening.
- October 28, 2025: Closing Convening #6 (Virtual)
*Coaching sessions will be scheduled and agreed upon independently by the coach and each participant.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I apply to join the CLARE program?
Apply here to submit your application. You can review a copy of the questions as you prepare your application here. Applications, including a Manager Letter of Support, must be received by November 12, 2024.
What is the cost to participate in the CLARE program?
Participants are responsible for the cost of travel to the in person convening(s) (flight, baggage fees, ground transportation, and any meals purchased outside of the meals provided). Participants will receive a $1,500 stipend at the end of the program to help offset these costs.
How do I know if I am a good fit for the CLARE program?
You are a good fit for the program if:
- you have a clear commitment to advancing equity.
- you work at an organization or on a team (based in the U.S. South preferred) that supports the convening and facilitation of a local collaborative partnership / collaboration / coalition (focus on health equity/issues preferred).
- you serve as a lead project manager/facilitator of that local collaborative workgroup or partnership.
- the collaborative workgroup or partnership has a clear commitment to advancing equity.
What if I am unable to attend all CLARE program activities?
It is our hope that participants are able to attend all program engagements, as session content is connected throughout, but we do recognize that things happen and will make exceptions under extenuating circumstances.You may indicate any conflicts with program dates in your application
submission. Participants are required to attend at least 80% of programming to receive the $1,500 stipend at the end.
What timezone is used when listing the virtual session times for the CLARE program?
All virtual session times are listed in the Eastern Time Zone (US & Canada).
I am not the executive director of the collective impact initiative. Can I still apply?
This program is designed for people that hold a leadership role for the collective, and facilitate equity-focused systems change work to move forward in the community. We anticipate that some participants will be the organization or collective’s executive director, and that others will be rising leaders that already hold significant facilitation and leadership responsibility within the collective.
I am an independent consultant that facilitates place-based collaborative work. Can I
apply?
No, this program is designed for people that sit within larger organizations. The reason for this is that we seek to support leaders’ capacity to create change within their organizations and the collaboratives that they lead.
Can I apply on behalf of a colleague or can I transfer my application to a colleague?
No, each applicant must be applying for themselves and applications cannot be transferred to another colleague. If you are accepted and can no longer participate, your application cannot be transferred to a colleague.
Which states are considered the U.S. South?
For the purposes of this program, the U.S. South is inclusive of the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, DC, and West Virginia.
Should individuals outside of the U.S. South apply or wait for a future opportunity? Will the region change in the future?
Although there is an emphasis on the U.S. South, the program is open to anyone in the U.S. who is committed to advancing racial equity and is leading collaborative place-based work across any issue area. It is undetermined at this time if future iterations will have a regional focus.
Do I have to focus on health / health equity?
Although there is an emphasis on the health/health equity collaboratives, the program is open to anyone in the U.S. who is leading collaborative place-based work across any issue area.
How is the CLARE program funded?
Support for the 2025 Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity (CLARE) program is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.
How is the stipend provided?
Participants may decide if the stipend is paid to them as an individual or to their organization. Stipends will be paid via ACH after the program has ended, no later than November 26, 2025.
What is meant by place-based collaborative?
Place-based is a collaborative, long-term approach to building thriving communities in a specific geographic area. For the purposes of this program, place is defined by collaborative work happening at the neighborhood, city or county level.
What is a backbone team/organization?
The team that is dedicated to aligning, coordinating, and facilitating the work of the group.
Is there an interview?
No, the application process only includes submitting the online application and the manager letter of support.
What if I am a full-time employee that is not paid, can I still apply?
Yes, all full-time employees of the backbone team / organization that facilitates or leads the collaborative work are eligible to apply.
What is the location of the in-person session?
The in-person session will take place in Clinton, TN.
Is the program in-person, virtual, or hybrid?
The program is mostly virtual with one, 2-day in person convening and the possibility of a second in-person convening towards the end of the program.
What is the time commitment for participants?
In addition to the in-person convening(s), virtual sessions, and coaching sessions (please see the full schedule on the Call for Applications) participants will have approximately one hour of pre-work prior to each session. Pre-work may take more or less time depending on the individual.
What will engagement look like for participants beyond the 10-month program?
Engagement beyond the 10-months of the program has not yet been determined. Insights from program participants will be used to shape what post-program engagement looks like, both with CI Forum support and independent of it.
What type of programming and speakers will be included?
The curriculum is currently being finalized. We are partnering with individuals that hold deep expertise in collaborative leadership, equity and trauma-informed leadership, social change ecosystems, and systems change to develop the curriculum. The syllabus will be available to participants by the program orientation in January.
All sessions will include
- opportunities to engage in somatic practices and reflect on connection to leadership
- space to process current leadership challenges in small peer groups
- exploring content (frameworks, tools, etc.) with subject matter experts
- Identifying opportunities to incorporate learnings in your work
24.
Have Further Questions?
Attend our informational webinar on October 17 or reach out to Courtney W. Robertson, CIF Director of Programs and Partnerships at courtney.robertson@collectiveimpactforum.org if you have questions.
