From accomplished entrepreneurs and nonprofit professionals to veterans, seasoned scholars, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and passionate community leaders championing social justice and local causes — this dynamic group of 65 ERC Fellows is poised to catalyze innovation and drive positive change in communities large and small across the United States.
Learn more about these changemakers, their lived experience and impact they aim to create.
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Fellowship Features
High-Impact Field Experience
- 30-month contract with an economic development project aligned with your professional background and skills.
- $90,000 annual fellowship stipend for 2.5 years ($225,000 total).
- $10,000 post-fellowship readjustment stipend (contingent upon fulfillment of contractual requirements and completion of program).
- Mentorship opportunities with experienced community and economic development leaders.
- Action research capstone project in partnership with your host organization.
Leadership and Professional Development
- Access to professional development opportunities, including a stipend of up to $27,500 for travel expenses, annual in-person training retreats, and access to up to two conferences per year hosted by IEDC or one of the ERC partners.
- An opportunity to pursue certification to become a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and/or Entrepreneurship Development Professional (EDP).
Expanded Network
- Monthly Community of Practice engagements with a sub-cohort of peers led by one of the six ERC partners.
- Quarterly virtual peer learning and network exchanges with the entire Fellow cohort.
- Access to ERC Partners’ nationwide network of industry leaders, more than 23,000 partner organizations, and ongoing support, collaboration, and professional opportunities through IEDC’s 4,000+ member network.
Who Are The Fellows?
Fellows are early-to mid-career professionals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines related to the economic development field. Fellows did not need to be an economic development professional to apply for the Economic Recovery Corps program.
Their previous professional experience spans the following sectors:
- Urban Planning
- Rural Development
- Public Policy & Administration
- Local Government
- Transportation
- Housing
- Workforce Development
- Downtown Revitalization
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI)
- Placemaking
- Community Development
- Small Business Development
- Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- Historic Preservation
- Tourism
- Consulting
- Marketing + Communications
- Project Management
- Nonprofit management/leadership
- Education
- Social Work
- Public Health
- International Development
- Environmental Conservation
- Real Estate
- Parks and Recreation
- Peace Corps / AmeriCorps
- Research & Evaluation
- Microfinance
- Small business owner
Types of Projects
Fellows will serve as community builders and connectors who work to strengthen and empower a designated project by fostering relationships, encouraging collaboration, and supporting acceleration of the designated project. This could include, but is not limited to:
- Supporting the creation of a regional partnership to foster growth of an industry sector.
- Organizing a small business ecosystem support structure to accelerate the growth of local small businesses.
- Organizing a place-based economic revitalization initiative and developing a specific property or commercial district of regional significance for economic activity.
- Creating programs to engage policy-makers and industry representatives to focus on supporting entrepreneurship, living wage career pathways, and investment in disadvantaged communities.
- Building alliances to create and implement policies, partnerships, and initiatives to increase the number of workforce housing units in a community.
- Organizing an employer partnership to identify regional jobs in high demand by major employers who can pay a living wage, offer career advancement, yet are struggling to find qualified workers.