A different way to back this work - a call for Pro Bono Fellows and the people who fund them
We are formalising something at Open Pathway Collective that has, in truth, been quietly running for years. We are calling them Pro Bono Fellowships.
The idea is simple. A Fellow is someone with the skills needed for projects undertaken by OPC, who is prepared to commit two years of pro bono time. A supporter, usually a foundation or a values aligned individual, underwrites the Fellow's cost of contributing. OPC names the supporter publicly, on this site and on the Fellow's profile. The Fellow gets to do real work, on a problem that matters, without wearing the financial hit themselves.
This is borrowed from the legal world, where firms run Pro Bono Fellowships that fund lawyers to spend years on public interest work. The model is well regarded in that profession because it solves a real problem. The people who would do the most good are usually the least able to take time out of their careers to do it. A Fellowship sidesteps that.
There is no reason this should stop at law. The Global Refugee Network needs talented people across technology, program design, partnerships and fundraising. The same model works just as well.
If you might be a Fellow
You probably already work on something like this in your spare time. You might be quietly considering a sabbatical or a pivot. You might have just sold a company, or just retired from one, or just decided that the next phase of your career should be something you actually believe in.
The OPC Fellowship is two years by design. That is long enough to do a real piece of work, and it matches our path to taking the GRN to sustainability. If that timeline is the one you have been waiting to be asked about, get in touch.
We can also help you find a supporter. Most of our current Fellows came in with their funder already arranged, but we are happy to introduce prospective Fellows to philanthropists in our network. We have done this for our own Fellowships and we are glad to do it again.
If you might be a supporter
A Fellowship is one of the most efficient pieces of philanthropy.
You are not buying overhead, or a program, or an evaluation cycle. You are funding a specific person to do specific work for two years. The leverage is in the person, not the line item.
The Cameron Foundation has been doing this for years, supporting John and Caroline through OPC and earlier projects. Andrew Walsh's contribution is supported through his own financial capacity. Each of those gifts has done more than a comparable grant of similar size, because the supporter is paying for the most important input we have, which is senior, capable, committed time.
If you would like to support a Fellow, we will work with you on the right structure. We will publicly acknowledge you, on the Fellowship page and on the Fellow's profile, in whatever form suits you.
Worth saying
People sometimes assume that those of us in senior roles in projects like OPC are paid by the project. We are not. The OPC board is pro bono. The people closest to this organisation are paying their own way to be here.
We mention it because it matters, and because Pro Bono Fellowships are how we make this sustainable for more people who want to join us. There are only so many of us who can carry our own costs indefinitely. A Fellowship lets a wider group of brilliant people contribute on the same terms.
If either of these descriptions sounds like you, please get in touch. There is no application form. Just an email to us at info@openpathwaycollective.org.