Encore Connecticut Fellows are seasoned professionals, and their work will be at a professional management level. While Fellows should not need day-to-day direction, please do not simply give them the project assignment, and let them go off on their own. A senior member of the nonprofit’s staff must be directly accountable for a successful Fellowship by providing the guidance and resources the Fellow requires.

An important goal for the Encore Fellow is to experience being part of the nonprofit
organization’s team. We expect your organization to provide them with the necessary tools to work effectively (desk, computer, access to relevant data, and access to staff) to meet the deliverable you both have mutually agreed upon.

Although the work by the Fellow can often be conducted in a virtual work environment. It is required that the Fellow be physically at your organization at least once a week engaging with board and staff as needed to successfully complete the project.

Supervisors are mentors as well as supervisors. You and your staff must be able to provide the time over this two-month period to support your Encore Fellow with guidance and feedback regarding the project. We also encourage you to include your Fellow in meetings and events that may fall outside the scope of their project but that will expose them to the broader organization and sector (examples: board meetings and staff meetings as appropriate).

Wednesday, September 3 at 1 p.m.

Prior to interviews, you, or your designee, will be required to attend a group Supervisor Questions Zoom meeting with Encore Connecticut Director, Dr. David Garvey. It should be around 30 minutes to answer any of your questions and to make sure you have the proper supports in place for your potential Encore Connecticut Fellow. Join the Zoom meeting room.

Fellowship Fee

* The Host Fee is an administrative fee to the UConn School of Public Policy. In certain instances the Host Fee can be waived. Discuss with Dr. David Garvey at 860-933- 1336.

We are accepting Fellowship Host Applications now through August 30, 2025.

On September 1, a packet with all the Nonprofit Host Opportunities will be created and forwarded to the Encore Connecticut 2025 Fellows. You may submit multiple projects for multiple Fellows if you so choose. It happens often. The Fellows will select their top three Fellowships Opportunities they would like to interview for.

On September 8, the Encore Connecticut Fellows will begin to contact you by email or phone for an interview. You may choose as many Fellows as you would like to interview for a project. You and the Fellows decide and arrange together the interview times. The interview can be done in-person or online.

Do not feel bound by the project as it is described in your application. As you get to know the Fellows, you may see ways that the project can evolve to draw on the experience and expertise of a Fellow. Similarly, the Fellow may make suggestions to you for the evolution/modification of the Fellowship. Interviews will be conducted from September 8 through October 3, 2025.

On October 3, you may begin contacting your top choice for your organization Fellowship(s). You are picking your top candidates. They are picking their top organizations. For two days it is a mini hiring market. A Fellow you have as your top choice may choose another nonprofit. In which case you will need to contact your second choice. We will have a real-time Google hiring board for both you and the Fellows to keep track of organization acceptances and the Fellows availability.

Based on the Encore Connecticut Fellows’s availability and your needs, you both mutually agree on the scope of the deliverable to be completed by December 5, 2025.

Unless prior arranged, Fellowships will begin on Monday, October 6 with a project completion date of December 5, 2025.