MOUNTAINTOP EMERGING LEADERS FELLOWSHIP
The Mountaintop Fellowship 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 the application, candidates propose a full-time project to address the challenge of their choice in their home community, and describe how the fellowship will help them stay rooted in their community.
This could be anything from leading a social enterprise, advocating for policy changes, or working for a high-impact government agency, NGO, or social venture. The project could be to continue developing an existing initiative such as an NGO or social venture, or starting something new. Mountaintop will select candidates serving a lower-income community in any country outside of the United States. Fellowships will not go to support individuals to run for political office or conduct research.
Note that candidates are still eligible even if they complete the fellowship while holding a separate full-time job if the fellowship would help them to refocus their work on an independent, high-impact project within that job. For example, a Fellow could be working at a health ministry in their home country, and the fellowship could support them to spend their time on a new public health community engagement initiative that they are leading as part of that job. Candidates applying under this scenario will be asked to show written proof of approval of their project proposal from their current supervisor if invited to a Finalist interview.
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WHAT WE LOOK FOR
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 (does not apply to Executive Fellows).
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Committed to at least 5 additional hours per month 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
Finalists will join a virtual interview with Mountaintop staff. References may be contacted afterward. Selection decisions will be shared by December 23, and offers must be accepted by December 31.
Leadership Institute
July 12, 2025 - July 23, 2025
The two-week Leadership Institute will be held in 2025 at Harvard’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics. Mountaintop covers all costs, including travel, lodging, meals, and visa fees.
Fellowship Service
August 1, 2025 - July 31, 2026
Fellows commit full-time (40 hours/week) to their project and receive monthly 1:1 mentorship, access to mentorship office hours, a speaker series, a virtual midpoint retreat, and a graduation retreat.
Alumni Programming
August 1, 2026 and Beyond
After the fellowship, alumni receive continued support to launch ventures, lead in government, nonprofits, and business, build movements, or run for public office.