Global Engagement Lab

IMG_7582Global Engagement Lab – Program Overview

The Global Engagement Lab (GEL) is a six-month international learning, organizing and community-building cohort for funders. Entering its fifth year, the Global Engagement Lab is a training program for progressive funders, which fosters personal transformation and relationship-building in order to deepen philanthropy’s understanding and practice of systemic change. The fifth 2024 cohort will meet twice in person (in April and in October) and in between will be working online.

What are the Goals of the GEL
  • Deepen knowledge of the contours of systemic crises and explore civil society and movement responses to these crises;
  • Foster personal transformation and co-create tailored strategies to leverage shifts in participants’ organizations;
  • Explore what it means to be a “funder organizer” and advance systemic change across the field

Applications are now closed – The fifth cohort will be announced soon.

What makes the Global Engagement Lab unique?

“I’ve gained confidence, camaraderie, frameworks, resources, and support, which have already shifted my approach to my work, and have helped me open up really important conversations within my institution.” – GEL Participant

  • GEL focuses both on theoretical frames and concrete examples of systemic alternatives from around the world, combining intellectual/academic, political/historical and cultural/personal education with practical skills building.
  • It facilitates “deep dives” into civil society work on the ground while experimenting with funding methods that meet the challenges of supporting systemic change.
  • The GEL’s curriculum places emphasis on three tiers of transformation: personal, organizational, and field-wide transformations that are needed to enact a philanthropy for systemic change.
What do I get out of participating in the Global Engagement Lab?

“I now have a new family — peers but also friends, who care about changing the system and understand how to support each other in doing it.” – GEL Participant

  •  A community! GEL graduates considently share that the community aspect of this program is what helps them to push their own edges as funder organizations both within their organizations and in the field.
  • Participation in three online retreats with a group of deeply engaged funders, social movement partners and facilitators from around the world.
  • Opportunities to shape the future of systemic change philanthropy as a whole by curating webinars and other resources that will be widely disseminated to the field of philanthropy.
  • An invaluable inside exploration of the most progressive concepts and strategies of our times, mentored by movement leaders and a community of like-minded colleagues to help you put your learnings into practice.
  • An opportunity to help inform EDGE’s strategies and programs, so we can better organize our wider philanthropic community from transactional to transformational responses that better address the root causes of the crises we face.
What exactly will I be committing to?

Two In-person Retreats

  • Opening Retreat – April 2024
  • Closing Retreat – October 2024

The exact dates for the retreats will be announced soon. One retreat will be in the Americas and the other will be in Europe.

Virtual gatherings

  • Monthly Check-ins
  • GEL Cohort-Curated Webinar Series (see past webinar series here)
  • Deep-dives with GEL advisors
  • Readings and resources
  • Peer-to-peer support

Proposed times for virtual meetings will be at 2pm UTC but we will confirm this later this year.

Outside of the retreats cohort participants can expect to spend between 2-4 hours a month engaging with GEL programming.

The GEL Family

Benefits of the GEL last much longer than 6 months! All graduates join the GEL Family, our version of an alumni network, but…more familial! GEL Family Reunion Retreats meet every year in conjunction with the EDGE Annual Conference, ensuring as many participants as possible from each GEL cohort can meet, collaborate and continue to build within our field. For 2021 we don’t yet know if we’ll be able to meet in person but regardless, we’re still planning some exciting GEL Family activities and engagements rolling out in the next year!

To learn more about who is in our GEL Family (our past cohorts) click here.

“I now have a new family — peers but also friends, who care about changing the system and understand how to support each other in doing it.” GEL Participant

Program Timeline
  • January – Applications Open
  • February– Applications Close
  • March – Applicants notified if they have been accepted into the GEL
  • April – Opening Retreat (Americas)
  • May-October- Webinar Series and Online Check-ins
  • October – Closing Retreat (Europe)
Program Costs

The cost of the GEL is $4900/€4500, comprehensive of two in-person retreats, one-to-one peer support, workshops, coaching and all elements of the program.

Sliding scale:

  • Because we want the GEL to be as accessible as possible we have introduced a sliding scale to support this.
  • While the actual cost per GEL participant is $4900/€4500 Euro our fee scale is from $3000 – $6500 USD / 2700 – 6000 Euro. For funders that can pay $6500 or more, you’ll be allowing those with smaller budgets to participate via our scholarship programme!

Scholarships:

  • We plan to support a limited number of participants, who would otherwise not be able to participate, with partial (or in exceptional cases) full scholarships.
Questions?

Do you have any questions about the Global Engagement Lab? Feel free to reach out to Martina Fin anytime with questions.