FERRIS FAMILY FELLOWSHIPS

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Harvard Club of Australia - Ferris Family Fellowship Program 2024

The Harvard Club of Australia (HCA), in partnership with the Australian Scholarships Foundation, is pleased to once again support not-for-profit leaders with an opportunity to study at Harvard Business School in the United States.

The Ferris Family Fellowships

In recognition of the strong social and economic significance of the non-profit sector to the Australian community, The Harvard Club of Australia is offering two Fellowships to attend the highly regarded six-day course Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management in July 2023 at the Harvard Business School.

The Harvard Club of Australia Non-Profit Fellowships help fulfill the increasing demand for managerial skills and strategic decision-making within the not-for-profit sector. The course will assist participants to examine their missions, develop new strategies and improve the effectiveness of their organisations.

About the course:

Today's nonprofit organizations are faced with shifting demands for services, resource constraints, and diverse operational challenges. They must also learn to navigate the advent of new technology and new sources of funding. To fulfill their missions, nonprofit leaders must step up their game and create organizations that can thrive in the midst of change. Exploring crucial concepts and skills for nonprofit leadership, this program will prepare you to strengthen management and accountability while leading the evolution needed to create an effective, high-performing organization.

This program delivers the strategic perspectives, practical frameworks, and leadership skills you need to drive high performance across the organization. You will leave prepared to take decisive action and create a more responsive, successful, and sustainable nonprofit organization.

What you will learn:

Through a rich learning experience that includes faculty presentations, case studies on nonprofit organizations, group exercises, and structured and informal group discussions, you will explore how today's nonprofit leaders are tackling a broad range of challenges. As you enhance core skills crucial to leading nonprofit organizations, you will prepare to implement new strategies and drive change across your organization.

Who should attend?

Not-for-profit executive directors and chief executive officers who are responsible for shaping the direction, mission, policies, and major programs of their organisations - and who have been in their current role for at least one year by the program start date. Participating organisations must be public-serving nonprofits, fully operational, and out of the startup phase; they typically have operating budgets in excess of US$1 million and deductible Gift Recipient Item 1 status. 

Course Details:

Recipients of the 2024 Ferris Family Fellowships will attend the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management course in July 2024 over 7 days.

Course location: Harvard Business School campus, Boston, United States

Course dates: Sunday 9 - Saturday 15 July, 2024

Important Dates:

Scholarship inclusions

There are two Non-Profit Fellowships available for 2023.

The award of $A15,000 each covers the course fees, accommodation, meals and travel to/from Boston. HCA also encourage Fellows to visit kindred organisations while in North America.

Eligibility Requirements:

Applicants for the 2024 Fellowships must:

• Be an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident
• Be the full-time head of their organisation (General Manager, Chief Executive or Executive Director)
• Have been in that organisation in that role or directly reporting to it for at least 12 months
• Be committed to full-time attendance at the 2023 SPNM course, to live on campus and to arrive no later than 27 July 2023 (course dates are 28 July - 3 August 2024)
• Have not previously attended this or any similar course
• Commit to attend the Harvard Club’s Awards event to be held in Sydney in May 2024 (date TBA), at noon

The applicant must lead a not-for-profit organisation that:

• Has at least 5 full-time employees and an operating budget greater than A$1.5  million 
• Directly serves the Australian community and is not principally a fundraising, advocacy or coordinating entity 
• Has a functioning Board of Directors; is audited and produces an Annual Report
• Meets the Australian definition of a Nonprofit, with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) Item 1 status

Selection of Fellows will be based on the same basis as Harvard uses to select course participants. Particular emphasis will be placed on:

• The specific challenge/opportunity the applicant wishes to address at the SPNM course
• The applicant’s overall goals and vision in attending the course
• The organisation’s and the applicant’s ability to have impact in the community
• The applicant’s ability to improve nonprofit leadership skills within Australia

Application process:

Australian Scholarships Foundation is proud to support the Harvard Club of Australia by facilitating and managing the application process on its behalf. To apply for a Harvard Club of Australia Non-Profit Fellowship, please complete the online application process via the Australian Scholarships Foundation application portal. Follow these five simple steps:

1. Click the 'APPLY NOW' button at the top of the page
2. Follow the prompts to sign in or create a profile (this will be a hub from which you can apply for any scholarships in future)
3. Complete the online application form
4. Follow the prompts to upload an endorsement letter* and your organisations structure chart
5. You will receive an automated confirmation email once you've submitted your application successfully

*Endorsement letters should be written by the chair of your organisation. Please see #12 of our FAQ's page for some tips on what to include.

If you need assistance with the application process, please contact Australian Scholarships Foundation before the application deadline. Late applications will not be accepted. 

Assessment process:

The Harvard Club of Australia will be managing the assessment, interview and selection process for this scholarship. If you have any questions about this process, please contact HCA directly.

More information:

For more information about the program, please click here. For fellowship queries and assistance with the application process, please contact the team at Australian Scholarships Foundation before the application deadline.

If you are a Victorian resident, you may also wish to apply for the Harvard Club Victoria scholarship, more information on this scholarship can be found here. 

Applications for the Harvard Club of Australia Non-Profit Fellowships will close Sunday 4 February 2024 at 11.59pm AEDT.

History
In recognition of the strong social and economic significance of the non-profit sector to the Australian community, The Harvard Club of Australia offers two Fellowships to attend the highly regarded six-day course Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management (SPNM) in July each year at the Harvard Business School.

Established in the year 2000, the Harvard Club of Australia the Ferris Family Fellowships help fulfil the increasing demand for managerial skills and strategic decision-making within the not-for-profit sector. The course will assist participants to examine their missions, develop new strategies and improve the effectiveness of their organisations.

Today's NFP organisations are faced with shifting demands for services, mounting financial pressures, and diverse operational challenges. To fulfil their missions, nonprofit leaders must step up their game and create organizations that can thrive in the midst of change. Exploring crucial concepts and skills for nonprofit leadership in uncertain times, this program will prepare you to strengthen fiscal management and accountability while leading the evolution needed to create an effective, high-performing organization.

The Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program delivers the strategic perspectives, leadership skills, and practical tools you need to drive change across the organisation. You will leave fully prepared to take decisive action and create a more responsive, successful, and sustainable not-for-profit organisation.

Eligibility
Nonprofit executive directors and chief executive officers who are responsible for shaping the direction, mission, policies, and major programs of their organisations - and who have been in their current role for at least one year by the program start date. Participating organisations must be public-serving nonprofits, fully operational, and out of the start-up phase; they typically have operating budgets in excess of A$1 million.

Applicants for the Fellowships must:

• Be an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident
• Be the full-time CEO of their organisation
• Have been in the CEO role for at least 12 months before applying
• Be committed to full-time attendance at the SPNM course, and to live on campus.
• Have not previously attended this or any similar course at Harvard
• Attend the Harvard Club’s Awards event

The applicant must lead a not-for-profit organisation that:

• Has at least 5 full-time employees and an operating budget greater than A$1.5 million
• Directly serves the Australian community and is not principally a fundraising, advocacy or coordinating entity
• Has a functioning Board of Directors; is audited and produces an Annual Report
• Meets the Australian definition of a Nonprofit, with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status

Scholarship Value
Recipients of the Ferris Family Fellowships will attend the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management course in July over 6 days at Harvard Business School campus, Boston, United States.  The Fellowships provide for the cost of travel, accommodation and tuition fees and is valued at $A12,500 each.

Selection Process
The Selection panel consists of a group of volunteers from the HCA. The current chairperson of the scholarship is Lisa George, MPP ‘06 and Global Head of Macquarie Group Foundation.

Selection of Fellows will be based on the same criteria Harvard uses to select course participants. Particular emphasis will be placed on:

• The specific challenge/opportunity the applicant wishes to address at the SPNM course
• The applicant’s overall goals and vision in attending the course
• The organisation’s and the applicant’s ability to have impact in the community
• The applicant’s ability to improve nonprofit leadership skills within Australia

Through a rich learning experience that includes faculty presentations, case studies on not-for-profit organisations, group exercises, and structured and informal group discussions, you will explore how today's not-for-profit leaders are tackling a broad range of challenges. As you enhance core skills crucial to managing not-for-profit organisations, you will prepare to implement new strategies and drive change across your organisation.

Timetable
Applications open in February each year. The selectors meet in April each year and the successful applicants are invited to an interview in April and the winners are announced at HCA event in May. The winners travel to Harvard in July typically.

Partnership Organisation/s
The HCA partners with ASF to promote the scholarship and to manage the application process.

Funding Source
These fellowships are funded by the founding Patrons: Mr William D Ferris AC and Mrs Lea Ferris

More Information
Ferris Family  Fellowship Call for 2023 Applications - please see above 
Ferris Family Application Form - APPLICATION
Honour Roll of Ferris Family Fellows- HONOUR ROLL
Latest Ferris Family Fellowship news - LATEST NEWS
Support the Scholarship with a Donation - DONATE NOW