MOUNTAINTOP FELLOWSHIP OVERVIEW
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$3,600 grant. Paid in 12 $300 installments.
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The two week Leadership Institute. Hosted at Harvard University's Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics. Mountaintop covers all costs, including flights, lodging, meals, ground transportation, and visa fees. The Leadership Institute is intended to prepare rising leaders to deepen and scale their work through small group activities, custom coaching sessions, excursions to high-impact organizations, and skill-building workshops. Last year's Leadership Institute brought together 33 global experts across the domains of academia, social entrepreneurship, and activism, including Irini Albanti, the Executive Director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Arturo Condo, the President of EARTH University in Costa Rica, Shady ElGhazaly Harb, a leader of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, and five adaptive leadership coaches from the Harvard Kennedy School. The 2024 Leadership Institute had a 9.2/10 satisfaction rate and 77% believed the Leadership Institute had a "transformative impact" on their leadership trajectory (23% said it had a "significant impact"). This year, the Leadership Institute will start with a two day community building retreat in New Hampshire followed by ten days of structured training at Harvard.
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Mentorship. Includes 1:1 advising from an expert in your field each month, and access to Mentorship Office Hours, which allows you to schedule regular advising sessions with a slate of world renowned experts from across many domains of social impact.
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Catalyst Fund. The opportunity to apply for the Catalyst Fund, which funds up to $2,500 for Mountaintop Fellows to implement a project in their community.
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Other Benefits. Other benefits include a customized leadership coaching from Mountaintop staff and on-call support, two virtual multi-day leadership development retreats, a monthly speaker series, and a virtual community of practice of alumni and shortlisted applicants from past fellowship cycles.
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Lifelong community. Our Fellows have shared that the deep friendships they build is the most valuable part of the experience, as it provides a strong professional network, supports mental resilience, and creates a safe space to share joys and sorrows.
Mountaintop’s flagship program is a paid, one-year, full-time fellowship for the most promising local leaders to stay in or return to their home communities and contribute to systems change in lower-income places around the world. Mountaintop’s Fellows receive a $3,600 grant, fully paid two week leadership institute hosted at Harvard University's Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, 1:1 mentorship, additional grant opportunities, and a lifelong community of inspiring peers to accelerate their leadership journeys and prepare them for large-scale impact to transform their communities and countries.
In more detail, benefits of the fellowship include:
Mountaintop Standard Fellowship
The standard Mountaintop Fellowship provides all of the normal benefits of the fellowship, including the two week training at Harvard and a $3,600 grant. The fellowship is intended for emerging leaders overseeing high-impact, independent projects anywhere in the world outside of the United States. We look for Fellows who are serving communities where they have a deep personal connection.
Mountaintop Executive Fellowship
The Mountaintop Executive Fellowship provides all of the benefits of the standard fellowship, except for the $3,600 grant and opportunity to apply for the Catalyst Fund. This fellowship is intended for mid and senior-level professionals at high-impact organizations. This program focuses on strengthening practical leadership and management skills to enhance Fellows' ability to drive transformational change. For those selected, the program cost is $6,000, payable by employer sponsorship or directly by the Fellow.
Mountaintop Anglican Fellowship
Mountaintop, in partnership with Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, has launched the Mountaintop Anglican Fellowship, a new track designed for some of the world’s most inspiring emerging Anglican leaders.
This fellowship has all of the benefits of the standard fellowship, and also includes an additional one year of facilitated online learning through the Faith Leadership Campus program. We look for the same type of Fellows as the standard fellowship, as well as a strong connection to the Anglican or Episcopalian faith.
WHAT WE LOOK FOR
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Mountaintop is seeking individuals who we believe have the highest potential to be transformational systems-changing leaders in their home communities long term.
Eligibility
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Committed to serving their home country, community, or state/province throughout their career.
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Committed to attending a two-week, full-time, in-person training at Harvard’s campus in Cambridge, USA, July 12-23, 2025 (Mountaintop covers all costs, including flights, lodging, meals, ground transportation, and visa fees).
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Committed to dedicating 40 hours per week to the fellowship project.
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Committed to 5 additional hours per week spent on virtual activities, including mentorship sessions, monthly speaker sessions, and peer troubleshooting meetings.
Transformational Leadership Potential
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Proven track record of impactful leadership, public service, and/or social entrepreneurship.
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Innovative, systems-oriented, collaborative, and ambitious.
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Early in their professional career and able to show how the Mountaintop Fellowship can accelerate their growth as a transformational leader, helping them stay in or return to their home community or country.
Values Alignment
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Universal Compassion: Empathizing with the suffering of others, regardless of who they are.
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Unconditional Love: Loving others unconditionally, even those we deeply disagree with.
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Visionary Wisdom: Making imaginative, effective, evidence-based, and historically informed decisions and striving to understand diverse perspectives.
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Long-Term Dedication: Committing over the course of a career or lifetime to a particular community or cause.
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Selfless Courage: Acting for the greater good even in the face of uncertainty, complacency, inconvenience, risk, or danger.
2025 FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION TIMELINE
Note that the steps are different for Anglican Fellows. See here for the Anglican Fellow timeline.
Applications
September 24, 2024 - November 8, 2024
Includes a resume, written responses, and project proposals.
Finalist Interviews
December 9, 2024 - December 17, 2024
Virtual finalist interview with Mountaintop staff. Mountaintop may choose to contact references after the interview. Selection notifications will be made by December 23, and Fellows must accept offers by January 6.
Leadership Institute
July 12, 2025 - July 23, 2025
The Leadership Institute takes place for two weeks in person. In 2025, it will be held at Harvard University's Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mountaintop covers all costs, including flights, lodging, meals, ground transportation, and visa fees.
Fellowship Service
August 1, 2025 - July 31, 2026
Fellows work full-time (40 hours/week) on their fellowship project. Fellows also receive access to 1:1 monthly mentorship, ongoing mentorship office hours, a monthly speaker series, a virtual midpoint retreat, and a graduation retreat.
Alumni Programming
August 1, 2026 and Beyond
After their fellowships, alumni receive ongoing support to build socially minded ventures, advance into positions of leadership in governments, nonprofits, and business, launch movements, and run for elected office.