PROGRAM DETAILS
DURATION
6 months, online and in-person
5 - 7 hours a month
START DATE
2023 Fellows will be notified by September 23, 2022
Program starts September 27, 2022
OVERVIEW
The Micah Fellows Program is a six-month learning community devoted to nurturing moral leadership around anti-poverty work in Arkansas, where nearly 1 out of every two households struggles to make ends meet. The Program will build the capacity of a powerful group of faith practitioners to catalyze economic justice and anti-poverty efforts in their communities.
Over the next year, ~ 15 faith leaders from across the state will:
Participate in a peer learning journey that will contribute to research and resources for faith-based advocates
Engage in advocacy, media, and narrative training
Have the opportunity for a mini-grant to advance economic equity and systemic change for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) residents in Arkansas
What is the commitment?
From September to March, fellows will participate in 5-7 hours of virtual/in-person classes, trainings, peer conversations and individual study each month. There will be a 2-day retreat in October.
Fellows applying for grant opportunities from Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and Micah Fellows Program will have grant workshops in April, May and June.
Who should apply?
We welcome people of faith from various backgrounds, genders, ages, ethnicities, and regions of Arkansas.
Leaders with formal and informal connections with the faith community with a demonstrated commitment to economic justice and poverty alleviation.
People who are disruptors of old myths that cause complacency, people who have a heart for God, and people who subscribe to the principles found in Micah 6.8 (for which the fellowship program is named).
As an ecumenical cohort that is rooted in Biblical interpretation and theology, we look to attract people who subscribe to Christian faith traditions or beliefs - with the knowledge that we will also be learning from other faith traditions during the learning process.
What is the curriculum?
The Core Teachings of the Micah Fellowship will emphasize the synthesis of praxis and prophetic mandate as found in the Biblical text. Sessions include:
The History of Faith-Rooted Movements to End Poverty In the South
Creating Communities of Belonging, Envisioning an Equitable Arkansas
Advocacy 101 - What is possible (legally), how, and why?
Introduction to Faith-Based Community Organizing
Arkansas Policy
Amplifying Our Public Witness (Media Training)
April through July: Action Plans and Grant Opportunities:
Receive feedback and support on project proposals eligible for Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and Micah Fellows Program funding opportunities.
KEY STAFF MEMBERS
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Reverend Ryan Davis
PROJECT COORDINATOR | MICAH FELLOWS PROGRAM
Reverend Ryan Davis is the project coordinator for the Micah Fellows Program. He is also the director of UA Little Rock-Children International, the Associate Pastor at Bullock Temple C.M.E. Church and an ordained elder in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Davis also serves as a board member at The Arkansas Public Policy Panel, the executive committee of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Decarcerate Arkansas, and Arkansas Coalition against the Death Penalty. He is also the chair of the board of Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and executive board member of the Friends of Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. He is a life member of the NAACP.
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Reverend Shantell Hinton Hill
EQUITY OFFICER | WINTHROP ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION
Reverend Shantell Hinton Hill is equity officer at the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. A native of Conway, Arkansas, Hill received her Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School. She also earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Colorado State University.
Shantell is passionate about taking action at the intersections of social justice, theology, and faith-based coalition building. In her spare time, Shantell loves coloring, writing, and science fiction. Her favorite quote is, "Do the work your soul must have," coined by the late womanist pioneer Rev. Katie G. Cannon, Ph.D.
She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the National Society of Black Engineers. She is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
OTHER MEDIA & “THE WHY”
What’s faith got to do with it?
CONFRONTING THE STATUS QUO IN THE COVID ERA:
The Micah Fellows Program is a new, exciting strategy to advance a faith-based narrative of economic equity and anti-poverty in Arkansas.
Strengthening Faith and Work Against Poverty
Listen to the latest interview with Kyle Kellams of KUAF - NWA NPR affiliate station discussing the mission of the Micah Fellows Program.
“GREATEST OF THESE” VIDEO SERIES
A virtual conversation series with faith and public leaders in Arkansas.
