2012–2013 Women’s Policy Institute - How to Apply
About the Women’s Policy Institute Fellowship
About the Women's Policy Institute
We are pleased to announce the 10th year of the Women’s Policy Institute, a program of the Women’s Foundation of California. We are now accepting applications for the 2012–2013 year.
The primary goal of the Women’s Policy Institute is to increase the number of women leaders who are actively involved in shaping public policy— especially women who represent historically marginalized communities. The Institute provides intensive training in California’s public policy process and on topics that are integral to the process such as conducting research, developing effective messages, mobilizing constituents and understanding the budget process. Each year, approximately 35 California women are selected from multiple sectors. They understand how women are impacted by public policy and what needs to change and they have deep connections to the grassroots community.
Fellows are therefore poised to play a greater role in advocating for public policy that advances an agenda that enables women and girls to thrive. We accept applications from individuals working in nonprofit community-based organizations, academia, philanthropy, labor unions and media. The success of the program has been phenomenal—in the first nine years, Institute fellows helped pass 14 new laws and one resolution that positively impact the lives of all Californians.
The Women’s Policy Institute prioritizes building the policy leadership of women representing historically marginalized communities. We also welcome gender queer and transgender applicants.
The financial costs to participate in the Institute are fully subsidized by the Women’s Foundation of California through the generous support of our many funders. This represents an investment of approximately $14,000 in each participant and the organizations and communities they represent.
If you are selected to participate in the Women’s Policy Institute, you will attend four multi-day training retreats in Sacramento, take part in regular teleconferences and engage in various other “learning-while-doing” activities—all over the course of one year. Each fellow works collaboratively in a small team to develop and implement a policy advocacy project. When fellows graduate from the Institute they are able to navigate the public policy process with ingenuity and confidence and take what they’ve learned back to their communities where they continue to engage in policy advocacy work. The broad areas of focus for the Institute are women’s health, safety and economic security.
To learn more about the Women’s Policy Institute program please RSVP to attend an informational conference call. Foundation staff will provide an overview of the Institute and walk you through the application process. The final informational conference call will take place on:
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 from 12:00 to 1:30 PM
Please follow the following instructions on the day of the June 26 meeting:
Step 1: Call 866.740.1260 and enter access code 5873841
Step 2: Go to this webpage online: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/qmuqyurq0t7i
There are several requirements for a successful application to the Women’s Policy Institute. As a successful applicant, you:
- Possess deep content knowledge in one of the overarching focus areas of women’s health, safety or economic security or in the specific areas of five fields: economic justice, domestic violence, criminal justice, environmental justice or reproductive justice. Please be aware that the selection of teams is based on the availability of funding for each issue area. (Download this PDF for a description of each field);
- Have a strong and demonstrable connection to the grassroots community;
- Demonstrate how your participation in the Women’s Policy Institute will increase the policy advocacy work at your organization. If you do not represent an organization, be able to demonstrate how your participation will help a specific community or community groups;
- Have the full support of your employer to participate in the Institute and to spend staff time working on a policy project that includes lobbying. The Institute will provide information regarding the legal requirements for nonprofit lobbying. For information about the legal limits of non-profit lobbying, please download this PDF.
- Will be committed and available to attend all four training retreats for the full time of each retreat. Training retreats are held in Sacramento, California. Trainings, travel, meals and lodging are fully paid by the Women’s Foundation of California, an investment of approximately $14,000 per fellow. Retreats are scheduled for:
Retreat 1: Monday, Oct. 22, 8:30 AM through Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012, 3 PM
Retreat 2: Tuesday, Dec. 11, 1:00 PM through Friday, Dec. 14, 2012, 3 PM
Retreat 3: Monday, March 11, 1:00 PM through Thursday, March 14, 2013, 3 PM
Retreat 4: Tuesday, May 14, 8:30 AM through Thursday, May 16, 2013, 3 PM
- Are willing to work on a team with others who have similar interests, collectively develop a policy project and actively work on the project even if it is not your organization’s or your community’s top priority. Team members must be willing to work to bridge differences in personalities and work styles to collaborate successfully as a team. It is, at times, possible to accept a joint application from up to five members of an existing coalition to work as a team. Before applying as a team, please contact Alba Mercado at albam@womensfoundca.org, to discuss the possibility;
- Will be able to dedicate an average of two to four hours of your workweek to Institute-related activities and dedicate more time during certain busy periods, such as before legislative hearings. At times, you must be able to spend one to three full days per week working on your policy project;
- Are willing and prepared to bring what you have learned in the Institute back to your organization or community and train colleagues and members in policy advocacy strategies;
- Are willing and prepared to engage after your year of training in the network of Institute fellows and graduates to continue advancing public policy agendas that benefit California’s women and girls; and
- Have daily access to reliable communications technology including the ability to participate in webinars and commit to checking and responding to all Institute-related emails on a daily basis.
All Women’s Policy Institute applications must be submitted online. The entire application, including the required attachments (see the Application and Attachments section for detailed instructions), must be completed and submitted by Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 5:00PM PST.
If you need assistance at any point, please contact Program Associate Alba Mercado at albam@womensfoundca.org or (415) 321-2047.
Fellows will be selected through a competitive application process. The selection committee will review all completed applications and may interview some applicants. All applicants will be contacted by email in August with information about the committee’s decision.
Release of Application: Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Online Application Due Date: Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Notification of Selection: August 2012
The Women’s Policy Institute uses an online application system. Please follow these instructions to 1) create an application form, 2) log in to your user account to access your application in-process and 3) acquire the required documents that you will need to upload through the online application system.
Step One: Create a user account and an online application form
Use this link to create a user account in our system and begin the application form: https://www.GrantRequest.com/SID_1157?SA=SNA&FID=35042
If you already have an online application user account with the Women’s Foundation of California from a prior application cycle, you still must use the link above to sign in to your existing account and begin the application form. (If you don’t use this link first your application form will not be created.)
If you need to create a new user account, use the “New Applicant?” link below the eMail field to get started. Confirmation of your account set-up will be delivered to you electronically. Please save the confirmation eMail; it contains the login information for your account, which you will need in the future.
NOTE: Be sure to save your application form by using the “Save & Finish Later” button before exiting or closing your web browser each time. If you don’t save your application each time, any information you input into the online form will be lost and is not retrievable.
Step Two: Log in to your user account to access a saved, in progress application form
If you have already completed Step One, from this point on please use the link below to log in to your existing user account and access your saved, in progress application form: https://www.grantrequest.com/SID_1157?SA=AM
At any point you may save drafts of your application online by using the “Save & Finish Later” button. You may also eMail a draft of your application to yourself or colleagues or print a copy using the buttons at the top right of the online form.
The online application form will direct you through a brief set of questions to capture your contact information and organizational affiliation. At the end of the form you will be prompted to upload the required attachments to complete your application. Please see the list below for details on attachments.
Step Three: Download the required attachment templates, fill them in, and save to your computer. During the online application process, you will be asked to upload the following completed documents.
To comple your application, you must fill out the Online Application Form and upload these four required documents:
- Applicant Identification and Content Knowledge Form (download as Word file)
- Applicant Short Responses Form (download as Word file)
- Letter of Recommendation and Involvement Form (download as Word file)
- Applicant Resume
The entire application (including the required attachments) must be completed and submitted via the online application system by 5:00 PM PST on Tuesday, July 3, 2012. Once you complete and submit the application you will receive an electronic confirmation of receipt.