Global Solvers Accelerator for Social Ventures

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/

• Aged 20 to 35. The Foundation does not say on which date your age is measured.
• Actively involved in a social impact project, enterprise, research effort, movement or community initiative that is happening now, with the ability to influence decisions within it
• Your project can be at any stage, from early planning to advanced implementation, but it must already exist, be concrete and tied to a particular territory or community on the ground, and continue at least for the length of the programme. You cannot apply without a project.
• Open to applicants of any nationality, living anywhere in the world
• Individual applications only. A team working on one project should choose one member to apply as its representative.
• Sufficient English to take part in every part of the programme. All answers must be in English and within the stated word limits.
• Able to commit about 4 hours a week between March and November 2027, and to attend the in-person Co-Lab in Germany, tentatively 3 to 10 July 2027. The form asks whether you hold a valid passport.
• Able to pay the 900 USD programme fee within a month of being accepted, or to request a 20, 50 or 80 percent scholarship in the application itself with a personal statement of need. The FAQ also asks for an endorsement letter from a trusted reference. Full scholarships are not available, and requests made after you submit are not considered.
• Two references who can speak concretely to your work. If you reach the vetting stage they are contacted in early December 2026, and their letters must arrive by 20 December 2026 or your application goes no further.
• A 2-minute video about a tension you face in your project, shared as a link that stays open to anyone until 1 March 2027
• A computer with a stable internet connection, a camera and a microphone is strongly recommended for the online sessions
• Previous involvement with the Melton Foundation is not required
• Applications written wholly by AI tools are likely to be eliminated. AI may be used only to polish a final draft.