Find a Coach

The ideal application coach is someone whom you trust to give you honest feedback. They don’t have to be an expert in your field or a social entrepreneur themselves, but they must be able to give you constructive criticism, even when it’s tough to give. Many Echoing Green fellows attribute their success in the application process to having a critical coach who pushed them to do their best thinking.

Ideally, your coach should be able to commit at least 10 hours to the process (spending a few hours each on familiarizing themselves with the Echoing Green coaching guide and funding criteria, reviewing your application, giving you feedback, and providing additional criticism on a second draft). Be clear about these expectations up-front so that you don’t have to worry about time constraints later on.

Examples of possible application coaches include mentors, professors, friends, family members, athletic coaches, colleagues, managers, and members of the clergy. Keep in mind that your coach should be a sounding board who helps you reflect upon your ideas, not someone who generates those ideas or writes your application for you.

Once you’ve identified a potential coaching candidate, send them the Guide for Coaches (which outlines the duties of an application coach) and give them some time to read it over to be sure they can commit to the responsibilities described in the guide.

2) Complete the Tools