FAQs
Applications for the 2023 Tribe 12 Fellowship are now open! Visit tribe12.org/fellowship to apply. The Fellowship begins in January of each year and concludes at a closing event in May. The program is designed to run concurrently with school or work obligations and is based in Philadelphia.
Entering its thirteenth year in Philadelphia, the Tribe 12 Fellowship is a leadership and entrepreneurial program which takes place from January through May 2023 and is designed to run concurrently with school or work commitments. Each Fellow is paired with a personal mentor and has access to a pool of subject matter experts, mentors, trainers, and Tribe 12 staff to guide them through the program. Through a curriculum built on the themes of self-discovery, emotional intelligence, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship, Fellows will apply the tangible skills they learn to create a capstone project of their own design and launch their idea, small business, or nonprofit to the next level.
Anyone in their 20s and 30s who is in the Greater Philadelphia area and considers themselves part of the Jewish community is invited to apply. We are proud that our 120+ alumni represent a range of ethnicities, sexual identities, gender identities, nationalities, races, and religions.
The Fellowship takes place over the course of five months (January-May 2021) and is designed to run concurrently with work or school obligations. The program takes Fellows through a rich curriculum with a particular emphasis on entrepreneurial skills like prototyping, public speaking, financial management, goal setting, and environmental scanning. Throughout the program, each Fellow will work extensively with a personal coach to design a capstone project to execute and present at a closing event.
The commitment for the Fellowship is about 12 “classroom” hours a month (every Tuesday evening January - May), plus additional hours spent meeting with your personal coach and working towards project milestones. Fellows are expected to attend our March retreat and attend the vast majority scheduled workshops to ensure they are an active member of the cohort.
From 2011 to 2016, the Tribe 12 Fellowship was primarily for entrepreneurs seeking to start a socially responsible business or non-profit. In 2016, Tribe 12 piloted a separate leadership program built on the best aspects of the Tribe 12 Fellowship. Through extensive surveying and interviewing, we determined that our community would benefit most from a comprehensive leadership program which focuses on the individual, not just their business, and uses entrepreneurship as a tool to learn lifelong skills. The current Fellowship curriculum is the result!
Absolutely! Each Fellow executes a capstone project, and Fellows may choose to start a business or non-profit as their project. The Fellowship continues to teach all of the business skills that were taught in previous years — in fact, we’ve added more! Fellows will continue to be paired with a personal coach, many of whom are respected business people and educators, and will have access to a network of subject matter experts with expertise in law, finance, marketing, and beyond.
A capstone project is the end result of the Fellowship — a self-led event, business, program, non-profit or other project that each Fellow creates and executes. Since the Fellowship has transitioned from purely a business accelerator to a comprehensive leadership program, the sky is truly the limit as to what our next cohort of Fellows will create! What the capstone projects will have in common is that they will honor a shared civic duty to promote social change, give back, or positively impact a community. Our curriculum, based on the principles of design thinking, is designed to help Fellows flesh out their ideas and pursue one to see where it will go. You can see what all our past fellows have created here.
Design thinking, developed by Rolf Faste and David Kelley from Stanford University, uses the human-centered approach of designers to solve problems in the business, social, and educational sectors. You can watch a quick video about it here. At the heart of it, design thinking is a mindset — the confidence that everyone can be part of creating a more desirable future — as well as a process to take action in the face of difficult challenges. We have developed a robust curriculum infusing design thinking, Jewish sensibilities, and personal reflection.
The Fellowship is entering its thirteenth year, with 140+ graduates from our twelve previous classes.
Alumni are not eligible to go through the Tribe 12 Fellowship again. They are encouraged to be a part of our alumni-specific programming, attend public events, and volunteer their time to help the new class.
Yes. The program fee is $180, which covers a small part of Tribe 12’s expenses for workshops, speakers, meals, and a weekend-long leadership retreat.
The application process is competitive and typically a third of applicants are chosen for each cohort. A selection committee, composed of community stakeholders interested in furthering innovation in Philadelphia, selects the Fellows. If you are interested in volunteering to help us with the exciting process of recruiting, vetting, and selecting Fellows, contact our Fellowship Coordinator at polly@tribe12.org.
We are actively seeking entrepreneurial minded folks who identify as Jewish, are exploring Judaism, or are in a committed partnership with someone who identifies as Jewish.
Yes (kind of)! Since the program is designed to focus on fellows’ individual development, all applications are evaluated based on the individual, and not solely on the project or business. If you share an idea with another person, you can both apply to be Fellows and will be evaluated separately in the selection process. You should both fill out separate applications.
Yes! The Tribe 12 Fellowship is always looking for volunteers who are committed to growing a stronger Jewish community and who believe in a vision of Philadelphia as a center of innovation and engagement. Please contact us if you are interested or would like to recommend volunteering to someone else.
No problem! Our Program Director Polly is happy to meet virtually or in person to go over any questions. Feel free to reach out to Polly!
Applications open Tuesday, October 25th, 2022 and will close Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 11:59pm.
Thursday, November 17th, 2022: November recruitment event - come learn about the Fellowship!
Monday, December 5th, 2022: Interviews for the Tribe 12 Fellowship (note: chosen Fellows will be notified by December 12th, 2022)
Thursday, December 15th, 2022: Welcome The Fellows Happy Hour