The Roddenberry Foundation Launches $1 Million Fellowship Fund for US-Based Activists

Inaugural Fellowship Accepting Applications for Projects in Civil Rights, Climate Change and Environmental Justice, Immigration and Refugee Rights, and LGBTQIA and Women's Rights

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The Roddenberry Foundation

Jul 25, 2017, 14:15 ET

LOS ANGELES, July 25, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Roddenberry Foundation is pledging $1 million towards activism through its inaugural Roddenberry Fellowship—a year-long program for 20 individuals from across the United States —who will each receive $50,000 to pursue a project or initiative in one of four fields:

Civil Rights
Climate Change and Environmental Justice
Immigration and Refugee Rights
LGBTQIA and Women's Rights

What are YOU doing? To fight racism, protect the environment, stand up to intolerance, defend human rights... what are you doing to be on the right side of history?

More information: www.roddenberryfellowship.org

The Fellowship includes tailored support for each activist as they launch a new initiative or amplify an existing early-stage project. "It became clear to us that we wanted to support the increase in civic engagement and activism we've been seeing across the country," says Lior Ipp, CEO of the Roddenberry Foundation. "In an era in which more and more people are fighting for what they believe in, we don't have the luxury to be bystanders. In fact, we have an obligation to help." Five fellows will be selected in each of the issue areas, and together they will form a year-long cohort who will receive tailored support to build and scale their initiatives.

"My father, Gene Roddenberry, believed deeply in the principles of inclusivity and equality," says Rod Roddenberry, Foundation board member. "He would have been appalled by the current rhetoric and ugliness in which we are attacking each other for the differences in our faith, race, place of birth, or choice in life partner."

The Foundation has recruited extraordinary judges—writers, academics, journalists, activists, and community leaders—to select this year's Fellows, including Michael Eric Dyson, Susan Herman, Bill McKibben, Soledad O'Brien, Melissa Harris-Perry, Tricia Rose, Rhea Suh, and Neera Tanden. A list of all our judges can be found at www.roddenberryfellowship.org

"While the issues we're facing today aren't new, they are indeed urgent and I'm thrilled to be playing a role in helping identify those activists who are addressing them on a daily basis," says judge Melissa Harris-Perry.

Applications are due by August 22, 2017. First-round applicants who are successful will be invited to submit second-round applications in September. Fellows will be announced in December 2017, and the one-year program will begin in January 2018.

More information: www.roddenberryfellowship.org.

About The Roddenberry Foundation

Launched in 2010, The Roddenberry Foundation is committed to finding and supporting remarkable people and organizations that can disrupt existing dynamics, challenge old patterns of thought, and discover new ways to help us move towards a better future.

We provide grants to accelerate the development of great, untested ideas and invest in models that are challenging the status quo and improving the human condition. Together, our interconnected initiatives offer opportunities for original thinkers and innovators from all walks of life to pursue significant, lasting change.

www.roddenberryfoundation.org

If you would like more information about the Roddenberry Fellowship, please contact Sarah Peck at [email protected].

SOURCE The Roddenberry Foundation