Fellowship Opportunities
LAUNCH A MEANINGFUL CAREER AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES!
CivicSpark and Climate Action Corps offer unique opportunities for those passionate about environmental and community resilience to gain direct experience, build strong networks, and gain professional, technical, and leadership skills through service.
What does it mean to be a CivicSpark Fellow?
CivicSpark Fellows serve with State, local, and community-based organizations tackling the most pressing environmental and social equity issues through planning and policy support for community resilience.
What does it mean to be a Climate Action Corps Fellow?
Climate Action Corps is part of a larger state-level climate initiative to address the climate crisis. CAC Fellows focus on engaging Californians with direct climate action to help protect vulnerable communities against the most adverse impacts of a changing climate.
As AmeriCorps members, all CivicSpark and Climate Action Corps Fellows focus on getting things done through capacity building and direct action, professional development through training and service experiences, and strengthening communities through volunteer mobilization. While all projects are unique, Fellows’ service will follow the steps below:
Fellows gain experience serving with regional leaders and community members implementing community resilience projects. Fellows graduate with a strong understanding of local environmental and social equity needs and solutions. Fellows receive coaching and individualized professional development through:
- Project supervision and professionalism coaching.
- Training on sector-specific tools and techniques.
- Statewide networking with local, regional, and state leaders.
- An outcome-driven project management experience in critically important fields.
Project Types
Projects for the upcoming 2021-22 service year will be added in mid-March 2021. Past projects are available on Our Projects page.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Climate
Housing
Mobility
Water
CLIMATE ACTION MOBILIZATION
Urban Greening
Wildfire Mitigation and Recovery
Food Waste Recovery
Qualifications
AmeriCorps Requirements
- Be a citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident of the United States of America.
- Ability to pass FBI, CA Department of Justice, out-of-state, and National Sex Offender Public Registry background checks prior to service.
CivicSpark and Climate Action Corps Requirements
- Minimum of a 2-year AA degree from an accredited college or university
- Commitment to the full term of service (11 months, 1,700 hours)
- Ability to work in a professional office or virtual office setting
- Strong communication and teamwork skills
Strongly preferred
- A degree in a related field
- One year of relevant experience
- Past service experience (e.g., volunteering, community service, etc.)
- Experience with, or training in, outreach, facilitation and/or education
Desirable
- Experience with local government operations and structures
- Comfort with quantitative work, including data collection and analysis
This is an equal opportunity position and we prefer to place candidates who already live in the communities they will serve. *At this time, we are unfortunately unable to accept applicants with student visas (such as F1 or F2 student visas, J1 or J2 exchange visitor visas, G series visas, etc.), or those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status.
Benefits 
- $22,000 Living Allowance
- $6,345 Segal Education Award and $3,655 California For All Educational Award (A total of $10,000)
- SNAP (CalFresh)
- Student Loan Forebearance
- Health insurance
- Childcare assistance
- Professional development training
- Network development
- CivicSpark, CAC and AmeriCorps alumni support
CivicSpark and Climate Action Corps Side-by-Side
Program differences at a glance
| CIVICSPARK | CLIMATE ACTION CORPS | |
| FOCUS AREAS |
|
|
| TYPE OF SERVICE |
Capacity Building:
|
Direct Action:
|
| HOST PARTNERS |
*Must identify a local public beneficiary |
|
| HOURS BREAKDOWN | At least 80% Project Service Up to 20% Other Activities (Fellow Training, Volunteer Engagement, Service Days, etc.) | At least 80% Project Service (including Volunteer Engagement) Up to 20% Other Activities (Fellow Training, Service Days, etc.) |
| YEAR LAUNCHED | 2014 | 2020 |
| ESTIMATED NUMBER OF ALUMNI | Currently 300+, will increase to 380+ in July 2021 | 60+ in August 2021 |
2021-22 Fellow Application Calendar
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