Echoing Green

08/25/2026

The Echoing Green Fellowship is about more than funding. It’s about investing in bold leaders with the confidence, connections, and community they need to turn transformative ideas into lasting change.

We can’t wait to introduce our newest cohort of . They’re joining a 40-year legacy of social entrepreneurs working across communities and around the world to build a more just and equitable future.

Stay tuned. 👀

08/20/2026

In our latest Leader Lens, 2025 Echoing Green Fellow Dr. Avriel Epps—a computational social scientist, founder of AI4Abolition, and assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside—spoke about the rise of artificial intelligence and how our anxieties related to it are often misdirected.

It's not new technology itself we should be most skeptical of, but the "human people, the oligarchs who are the heads of these companies, and the people, most importantly, who are financing them that are doing the harm," she says. "The AI, the actual technology, is just their vehicle for sucking up all the resources and gaining more power and more control over our lives. . ."

Read the latest Leader Lens ⤵️

2025 Fellow and AI4Abolition founder Avriel Epps speaks about the misguided approach several nations and institutions have taken to protect minors from social media, the internet, and technology. Avriel also explains why many people’s fears amid the growth of artificial technology (AI) are misplac...

06/25/2026

📣 We just launched our NEW Leader Lens blog series! 📣

Like the webinar series of the same name, Leader Lens offers a firsthand look at the Fellows who make up Echoing Green’s community of bold social innovators—exploring both their work and the experiences that shape their leadership.

Our first feature spotlights Brittney Shelby Sessoms ('25), founder of Charlotte & Pickens. Through her work preserving and revitalizing African American agricultural traditions and advancing community food sovereignty, Brittney is helping communities build greater connection, resilience, and self-determination.

As she shares in the interview:

“[My ultimate vision] looks like us having gardens back in our homes and sharing food amongst one another, sharing meals, being deeply involved in our civic processes, because that's what our ancestors have died for, and we know they're trying to take that now.”

🔗 Read the first edition of Leader Lens and hear from Brittney about the enduring importance of this work ⤵️

A proud daughter of the Deep South, Brittney founded Charlotte & Pickens with the mission of preserving and revitalizing African American agricultural traditions and building community food sovereignty.

05/28/2026

“‘Once a fellow, always a fellow’ truly feels real in moments like this.” — Jigyasa Labroo ‘23, founder of Slam Out Loud 💚

One of 11 total recipients in our latest follow-on funding cycle, Jigyasa is among the very first to be awarded Echoing Green’s new Sustainability and Scale grant.

This new grant will specifically support Fellows preparing to grow equity-centered solutions, while Catalytic Grants continue to back leaders testing novel ideas and solutions. Both recognize exceptional impact and, critically, provide unrestricted capital as Fellows’ organizations evolve beyond the seed funding stage.

Meet all the Fellows awarded this cycle’s follow-on funding grants below 👇

Echoing Green has invested $475,000 across 11 organizations led by alumni of our Fellowship program, marking the ninth cycle of follow-on funding. This latest investment provides Fellows unrestricted capital as they further develop, scale, and break new ground in their work, which ranges from rollin...

04/30/2026

Building something new in the face of complexity, uncertainty, and real-world constraints can be deeply isolating. Our All Fellows Convening is designed to interrupt that.

For a few days in Mexico City, Fellows stepped away from their day-to-day to connect, reflect, and learn alongside peers who understand both the weight and the possibility of this work. While their focus areas and geographies differ, they’re united by a shared commitment to driving meaningful change.

“I came back energized and braver, knowing that there is a global community building alongside us.”

That’s the heart of the Fellowship experience—not just funding or resources, but a community that shows up for the work and for one another, during the program and long after.

Read more reflections from the Convening ⤵️

“But this week, I was not alone,” is how Fellow Dr. Maria Uloko ‘25, founder of VULVAi, described feeling at Echoing Green’s 2026 All Fellows Convening (AFC), held February 9–12 in Mexico City. With past iterations hosted in cities like Accra, Ghana and Medellín, Colombia, AFC brings toge...

04/10/2026

4,100 applications ➡️ 40 Finalists

Despite accelerating challenges facing the social innovation sector, and the world, talent remains abundant. In fact, it’s in times like these that transformative leaders, such as Echoing Green Fellows, are equipped to drive meaningful impact.

In our 2026 Social Impact Talent Report, meet the remarkable Fellowship finalists selected from a pool of 139 countries and read about the trends and developments we saw in this year’s application cycle.

🔗 Meet the finalists and read the insights: https://bit.ly/4ciCDgk

04/01/2026

The future of social innovation is happening now—and these leaders are leading the way!

Over 4,100 applicants from 139 countries applied to the 2026 Echoing Green Fellowship, bringing bold ideas, lived experience, and a commitment to tackling the world’s biggest challenges. From this extraordinary group, 40 finalists are featured in the Social Impact Talent Report.

The report shares trends shaping the field today, including where talent is emerging, the challenges leaders are tackling, and the innovative ways they are building impact, even at the earliest stages of their ideas.

Celebrate these finalists and explore the full report ⬇️ ✨

Echoing Green’s Social Impact Talent Report highlights best-in-class social change leaders with bold ideas for solving the world’s most pressing challenges.