Global Solvers Accelerator for Social Ventures
- Organization: Melton Foundation
- Type: Fellowship
- Location: Global
- Deadline: November 15, 2026
- Funding: Partially Funded
The Melton Foundation, a US registered non-profit founded in 1991, runs this ten-month peer-learning and leadership programme for social impact practitioners aged 20 to 35 who already lead or co-lead a project in their community. A cohort of 15 to 20 people from around the world works together online from March to December 2027, with a fully funded in-person Co-Lab week planned for Gotha, Germany, in July. Applying is free, but selected participants pay a 900 USD programme fee, and needs-based scholarships can cover 20, 50 or 80 percent of it. **What you get:** - A place in a cohort of 15 to 20 social impact practitioners from around the world, who learn mainly from and with each other rather than being taught - Eight thematic modules, each with curated resources, bi-weekly online sessions, and subject matter advice and mentoring - Topics including project effectiveness, team dynamics, collective leadership, intersectionality, systemic approaches, social innovation, regenerative practices, impact modelling, audience engagement, and monitoring and evaluation - A fully funded, week-long in-person Global Solvers Co-Lab in Gotha, Germany, tentatively 3 to 10 July 2027, for actively engaged participants. The Foundation handles bookings and travel arrangements and provides a personalised invitation letter for your visa application - Over half of all programme fees go into a collective Global Solvers Fund, paid out as awards to participants' projects toward the end of the programme - Lifelong membership of the Melton Fellowship on successful completion, a global network of more than 600 Fellows offering mentoring, collaboration and funding opportunities such as the Foundation's Action Grants **What you'll do:** - Bring a real, unresolved question or tension from your project and work through it with peers, trainers and mentors - Join bi-weekly Zoom sessions and complete asynchronous assignments, about 4 hours a week on average - Map your project against the Sustainable Development Goals at the start, then strengthen it through peer exchange, feedback and experimentation - Take part in at least 75 percent of all programme activities, the minimum needed to complete - Spend a week with your cohort at the Co-Lab in Germany, which the Foundation describes as a working week rather than a retreat - Be inducted into the Melton Fellowship at an orientation planned for December 2027 **Key dates:** - Applications opened 15 August 2026 - Applications close 15 November 2026 at 23:59 US Eastern time (New York) - Early December 2026: if your application reaches the vetting stage, your two references are asked for letters, which must arrive by 20 December 2026 - Mid-January 2027: expect an update on your application - 30 January 2027: 120-minute virtual assessment centre for shortlisted candidates - March 2027: selected participants begin onboarding, and the programme fee is due within a month of acceptance - 1 April to 30 November 2027: online programme - 3 to 10 July 2027: in-person Co-Lab in Gotha, Germany (tentative dates) - December 2027: Fellowship orientation (tentative) **More information:** - Programme FAQ, covering eligibility, the fee, scholarships and selection: https://meltonfoundation.org/global-solvers-accelerator/frequently-asked-questions-gsa/ - 2027 Application Guide, a 16-page copy of every question on the form so you can draft offline: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h8tmXjvrD6Wzasq_RrmAyLJticAqBFwv/view - About the Global Solvers Co-Lab: https://meltonfoundation.org/global-solvers-co-lab/ - The brochure linked from the FAQ is last year's and shows last year's fee and dates, so rely on the programme page and the 2027 Application Guide - University students aged 18 to 25 at one of the Foundation's five partner universities can apply to its free Global Citizenship Learning Program instead: https://meltonfoundation.org/global-citizenship-learning-program/
