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Seeding Power 2025 Fellow

New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut

Deadline: April 30, 2025

This application takes an average of 5-10 hours to complete. Please plan accordingly.

The Seeding Power Fellowship is a program of Community Food Funders (CFF) and North Star Fund.

The Seeding Power Fellowship is a nine-month cohort-based food justice fellowship program for experienced leaders working across sectors to build equitable food systems. The program is designed for movement leaders and philanthropic partners in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Please review all details at the Seeding Power website and the FAQs to confirm your interest and eligibility.

To be eligible, you should have significant experience working on food system change. This work can be done as part of a nonprofit organization or philanthropic institution, but that is not a requirement. Other positions such as unaffiliated organizers, private sector actors such as farmers, and government employees are also among those eligible.

CFF has made an unwavering commitment to racial and gender justice, and to uplift and support BIPOC leadership in food systems work. Those who identify as BIPOC, women, and/or LGBTQIA+ are strongly encouraged to apply. The Seeding Power cohort will be diverse across gender, class, race, age, and geographic region, with a majority of spots intended for individuals from historically marginalized groups.

Instructions:

  • You can preview this entire application here. To work on your answers in advance, download or make a copy of the document and save it to your Google drive or computer. You can then copy and paste your answers here when you are ready. 
  • It is not possible to save your work in this application. Please only submit an application when you are ready to answer and upload everything at once.
  • You do NOT need to upload a resume. Please skip that question (we are unable to remove it from the application)
  • Complete the application below. Do not answer the [funder] questions unless you are applying as a funder. 
  • Attach all required materials. You will be asked to upload several separate documents as part of your application. You must work on them separately and return to this page when you have everything complete and ready to submit. 
  • Indicate your agreement to the commitments necessary for participation in the Seeding Power Fellowship.
  • Select your preferred dates and times for a potential second round interview. Please hold your preferred dates and times on your calendar.

Once your application is submitted, you will receive an automated receipt. If you do not receive confirmation, your application was not submitted.

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Resume/CV

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Please enter your info in the questions below

Your home address

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Racial Identity *

If you answer "other" please explain in the space below

Gender Identity *

If you answer "other" please explain in the space below

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“Funder” means anyone that works in philanthropy (grantmaking) or as an investor who moves significant financial resources towards food and farming. If yes, answer the next question below

If you answered yes to the funder question above, please provide your brief professional bio

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If yes, answer the next question below

Ex: urban or rooftop farming, backyard garden, hydroponic, rural/field farming, etc

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“Recently applied” means the past year

If recently applied, indicate whether or not you have heard back yet

ex: I sing opera, I can lead yoga, I pole dance, etc

If you are affiliated with an organization, please enter that organization’s information below.
If not, answer these questions for yourself and write N/A where needed.

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What is the primary geography your organization operates in?
If you answer "other" please explain in the space below

Your role at the organization

Number of years you’ve been with your organization (ex: 5)

Please provide your budget for work in the NY-NJ-CT region. If you are part of either a national organization or a larger host organization, please include the total budget for your organization as well. If you are a funder, list your grantmaking budget. If you like, you can list your program or food grantmaking budget, and then the overall grantmaking budget of your foundation.
Example:
NYC Budget: $350,000
Total Organization Budget: $1,257,000

SECTION C - GENERAL BACKGROUND*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Please upload a separate document answering the following questions. Feel free to collapse your responses however you want OR answer them individually. Just make sure you fully address all the questions. We all process differently! (600 words total, please do not feel obligated to use the full word count).

1) What is your food story and how does it connect with your place in the world and/or your commitment to your work? 

2) Can you share a memorable anecdote that relates to a growth point or  a time you learned from a challenge in your work or career?

SECTION D - ANALYSIS*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Please upload a separate document answering the following questions. Feel free to collapse your responses however you want OR answer them individually. Just make sure you fully address all the questions. We all process differently! (750 words total, please do not feel obligated to use the full word count).

1) Describe one or two historical policies that inform your work and have contributed to contemporary inequities in food systems. 

2) How, if at all, are you actively disrupting and/or complicit in current conditions that contribute to these inequities? 

3) How do you think about or define liberation? How do the behaviors of people create barriers to your individual liberation or the collective liberation you seek to build?

[funder] SECTION E - ADDITIONAL FUNDER QUESTIONS

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

FOR FUNDERS ONLY
Please upload a separate document answering the following questions. Feel free to collapse your responses however you want OR answer them individually. Just make sure you fully address all the questions. We all process differently! (750 words total, please do not feel obligated to use the full word count).

1) Seeding Power includes funders in acknowledgement of the influence funders exert in the food movement, and to allow for more meaningful examination and dialog for the potential of this influence. Briefly describe what is your current work and interest to disrupt and transform the future of philanthropy and how we relate to our grantees.

2) We see funding community power building as central to achieving food justice and equity. How has (or has not) your individual and grantmaking work contributed to this?

3) How would you describe your personal approach and philosophy to power sharing and relationship building ?

SECTION F - GOALS*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Please upload a separate document answering the following questions. Feel free to collapse your responses however you want OR answer them individually. Just make sure you fully address all the questions. We all process differently! (750 words total, please do not feel obligated to use the full word count).

1) What do you want to get out of this fellowship?

2) What supports do you need to fully show up and participate in this process?

3) What can you offer to the group? If you were part of a group or team, please specify your individual role/contribution to a team project.

4) This will be a space of growth and tension where many aspects of race, class and systemic oppression will be explored. How comfortable are you exploring these issues with others in a diverse group?

5) How would you manage conflict if it arises? 

The nine-month Seeding Power Fellowship will run from September 2025 to June 2026.
Please indicate that you are able to satisfy all of the requirements during this time period.

If selected as a fellow, will you be able to fully participate in all mandatory activities? *

Check all that you are able to commit to.
Specific dates of retreats will be posted at www.seedingpower.org as they are confirmed.

Use this space to make clarifying statements or ask questions

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The MOU will specify an agreement on your time commitment, as well as confirm a financial contribution between $10-20K based on your grantmaking size.

Let's plan ahead for a potential second round phone/video interview.

In this section, please indicate THREE preferred dates and time blocks, and select times on at least two different days. You may select multiple time blocks per day. Please hold your preferred dates and times on your calendar. If you are selected for a second round interview, we will do our best to accommodate your preference. We will contact all finalists to confirm dates.

Select a time block on Monday, June 2
Select a time block on Tuesday, June 3
Select a time block on Wednesday, June 4
Select a time block on Thursday, June 5
Select a time block on Friday, June 6

Describe any conflicts, specific time restraints, requests, or technical issues here

The following questions are for our own evaluation purposes, so we can grow and do better in the future. Please be completely honest, there are no right/wrong answers.

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