BMO Fellowship Program – United States

It offers award-winning training in entrepreneurship, sustainability, and leadership to help advance their sustainability-focused ventures and actively contribute to solving their communities’ most pressing challenges. This Fellowship is specifically intended for individuals from historically underserved communities within BMO’s reach who possess lived experience with the challenges they are determined to address.

Program Elements

• The BMO Fellowship offers award-winning training, dedicated mentorship, and a dynamic peer community. They are here to equip you with the skills and insights necessary to supercharge your venture and make a lasting impact. The workshops, speakers, mentors, and community support for this fellowship will be adapted and customized to serve those leading sustainability focused ventures.
  • Venture Acceleration & Leadership Training
  • Community & Network Building
  • Mentorship & Collaboration

What You Will Accomplish?

• Thanks to BMO’s generous sponsorship of the BMO Fellowship powered by Watson Institute, the Watson Institute team will provide you with a comprehensive roadmap to guide the growth and scalability of your work and impact. You will gain the skills to construct and refine your pitch, and you’ll have the opportunity to present it at the high-profile Summit event.
• Additionally, you will facilitate an impactful workshop and training session (known as a Basecamp) in your community for your stakeholders, backed by a stipend, playbook, and team support to bring your vision to life.

Pay the Impact Forward: Empower Your Communities through Basecamps

• Grow your leadership skills, build local partnerships, and expand your impact by facilitating a Watson Institute Basecamp in your community.
• Every Fellow receives training, a playbook, and a financial stipend to facilitate a Basecamp—a one to three day intensive workshop—in their community, empowering them to drive positive change locally. As a key deliverable of the BMO Fellowship, all Fellows will facilitate a Basecamp event during their time in the program. Fellows are empowered through their training to tailor the Basecamp structure and outcomes to their desired participant community.

Eligibility Criteria

• Who You Are:
  • You are a BIPOC, woman, or Native American/Indigenous entrepreneur or community leader deeply committed to creating sustainable, scalable impact in your community.
  • You are at the helm of a sustainability-focused social impact venture or community endeavor in its initial stages, showcasing a history of making a difference. Ideally, your venture is in the space of environmental sustainability.
  • You have an entrepreneurial spirit, a growth mindset, and are driven to grow as an effective leader within your community. The ideal venture stage for this fellowship are those in the Problem-Solution Fit or Product-Market Fit phases, with engaged customers or beneficiaries, and demonstrated outcomes in both impact and revenue.
• Where You Create Impact: You are located across BMO’s mid-west footprint which includes Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota. While BMO is located across North America, this fellowship will focus on the U.S. mid-west region. Preference will be given to applicants from:
  • Wisconsin
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Minnesota
• What You Are Looking For: You are looking for expert-guided entrepreneurial training, a community of entrepreneurs to give you feedback that improves your venture, and a wide-reaching mentorship network to enhance your leadership abilities and the impact of your venture.

For more information, visit Watson Institute.