Mountaintop International Full-Time Fellowship with Short Training at Harvard University

Overview
Mountaintop’s flagship program offers a paid, one-year, full-time fellowship for promising local leaders to stay in or return to their communities and drive systems change in lower-income areas worldwide.

Key Benefits
Fellows receive a $3,600 grant paid in 12 monthly installments of $300. They also benefit from:

• Leadership Institute: A fully funded two-week program at Harvard University’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics. All costs, including flights, lodging, meals, ground transportation, and visa fees, are covered. The Leadership Institute includes small group activities, custom coaching, excursions, and skill-building workshops, and boasts a satisfaction rate of 9.2/10.
• 1:1 Mentorship: Each Fellow receives monthly personalized advising from experts in their field and access to Mentorship Office Hours for additional guidance.
• Catalyst Fund: An opportunity to apply for up to $2,500 to implement community projects.
• Additional Support: Customized leadership coaching, two virtual retreats, a monthly speaker series, and a vibrant online community of alumni and shortlisted applicants.

Lifelong Community
Fellows often highlight the invaluable friendships and professional networks they cultivate, fostering mental resilience and providing a supportive space for sharing both successes and challenges.

Fellowship Details

Mountaintop Standard Fellowship
This fellowship includes all standard benefits and is designed for emerging leaders managing high-impact projects globally. Ideal candidates have a deep personal connection to the communities they serve.

Mountaintop Executive Fellowship
Targeted at mid and senior-level professionals, this program provides the same benefits as the standard fellowship, minus the grant and Catalyst Fund opportunity. The program cost is $6,000, payable through employer sponsorship or directly by the Fellow.

Mountaintop Anglican Fellowship
In partnership with Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, this fellowship track offers all standard benefits plus an additional year of facilitated online learning through the Faith Leadership Campus program. Candidates should have a strong connection to the Anglican or Episcopalian faith.

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates must demonstrate:

• Committed to serving their home country, community, or state/province throughout their career.
• 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).
• Committed to dedicating 40 hours per week to the fellowship project.
• Committed to 5 additional hours per week spent on virtual activities, including mentorship sessions, monthly speaker sessions, and peer troubleshooting meetings. 
• Proven track record of impactful leadership, public service, and/or social entrepreneurship.
• Innovative, systems-oriented, collaborative, and ambitious.
• 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.

Leadership Potential & Values Alignment

Mountaintop seeks individuals with a proven track record in leadership, public service, or social entrepreneurship, who are innovative and ambitious. The fellowship values:

• Universal Compassion: Empathizing with the suffering of others, regardless of who they are.
• Unconditional Love: Loving others unconditionally, even those we deeply disagree with.
• Visionary Wisdom: Making imaginative, effective, evidence-based, and historically informed decisions and striving to understand diverse perspectives.
• Long-Term Dedication: Committing over the course of a career or lifetime to a particular community or cause.
• Selfless Courage: Acting for the greater good even in the face of uncertainty, complacency, inconvenience, risk, or danger.

Application Timeline for 2025 Fellowship

• Applications: Open till November 8, 2024 (includes a resume, written responses, and project proposals).
• Finalist Interviews: Conducted virtually from December 9-17, 2024. Notifications of selections will be sent by December 23, with acceptance required by December 31.
• Leadership Institute: Held July 12-23, 2025, at Harvard. Mountaintop covers all associated costs.
• Fellowship Service: Runs from August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026, with ongoing support throughout the project.
• Alumni Programming: Begins August 1, 2026, providing continued support for alumni’s future endeavors in leadership and social impact.

Note that the steps are different for Anglican Fellows. See here for the Anglican Fellow timeline.

Apply Today!

For more information on the Mountaintop Fellowship, including details about each fellowship track and application procedures, visit Mountaintop Fellowship.