Trinity Leadership Fellows Program – Fully Funded 2026

The Trinity Leadership Fellows Program is for individuals seeking to deepen the faith-inspired and values-driven mindsets and skills needed to effectively lead organizations and serve communities in contemporary society, while also building lifelong supporting peer and mentoring relationships. This non-residential, fully funded program provides faith-driven community leaders—as well as ordained leaders across faith traditions—with the skills needed to empower their congregations and communities in ways that heal divides and disrupt injustice. Fellows will build life-changing relationships with peers who share their passion for faith-driven leadership that produces positive change in our world. (For more on our selection and application process, please click here.)

You will be able to save this application and continue to work on it later. While the application does not allow you to move to the next page until you have answered all required questions, it will allow you to go back to edit previous answers.

Summary

1. Application Deadline: 30 Jan 2026
2. Value: Fully Funded Fellowship
3. Study Level: Postgraduate
4. Sponsor: Trinity Church Wall Street
5. Course to study: Leadership Development & Community Empowerment
6. Eligible Country: All Countries

Eligibility Criteria for Trinity Leadership Fellows Program – Fully Funded 2026

1. Bachelor's degree or equivalent
2. Advanced English proficiency required in written and spoken form
3. Stable internet access throughout the year, in order to attend weekly classes virtually on Mondays from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) between September 2026 and August 2027
4. Must be able to travel to New York City September 13–18, 2026 (including securing necessary visas and other travel requirements)

In addition to these requirements, applicants must demonstrate the following characteristics with specific examples from their careers/ministries to be successful in the selection process:

1. An active person of faith
2. Note: the curriculum and program are designed for a Christian audience, but this program is open to people of all faiths.
3. Has achieved goals that are in service of their community and the common good. They must demonstrate a desire to pursue goals beyond their self-interest.
4. Has clear goals they hope to accomplish during the fellowship
5. Naturally inclined to build relationships and engage with people
6. Prior experience working with a group to inspire and guide them to achieve a common goal
7. Strong interpersonal skills
8. Entrepreneurial mindset, self-starters with demonstrated ability to creatively solve problems
9. Able to simultaneously see and think long-term and short-term; able to see the big picture and detail, "the forest and the trees."
10. Willing to sacrifice and have a high tolerance for discomfort to achieve goals
11. Able to balance personal ambition with the ability to listen and take criticism

Benefits of Trinity Leadership Fellows Program – Fully Funded 2026

Fully funded fellowship covering program participation; access to mentorship, networking, and leadership skill development; build life-long peer relationships; training to lead faith-driven initiatives in communities

How to Apply

Applicants will need to create an account with an active email address in the application portal. The application will require the following:

1. A short resume (no more than 2 pages) uploaded as a Word or PDF document
2. Responses to the following 3 questions, which you will cut and paste into the appropriate fields in the application form. Please ensure that your essays are personal and include specific examples of your leadership. Generic responses without personal examples are less competitive.
3. Biographical Profile: Please include a short biographical profile of 100 words or less. This is the type of profile included for staff websites or conference attendees. If you are selected as a Trinity Leadership Fellow, this profile will be used publicly so only include details that you're comfortable sharing with a wider audience. Please visit the Trinity Leadership Fellows website to see examples.
4. Short-answer question: In 200 words or less, please describe a personal and specific instance when you supported or led a group of people (a congregation, a group of employees or co-workers, or a group of volunteers) through an effort to address a challenge, create something new, or build on an opportunity. The focus should be on your role, your interpersonal skills, and your faith as elements in the success of the endeavor.
5. Essay question: In an essay of fewer than 500 words (referring to but not repeating in full the story above), describe your personal leadership journey as shaped by your faith. The following questions can inform your response: What aspects of your faith motivate you to lead? How does your faith shape your interpersonal skills and the ways you work with others to set and achieve common goals? What have you sacrificed or minimized to stay true to your faith in leadership roles? What aspect of your faith or values makes you an effective leader? Your responses must be grounded in specific personal examples from your work, volunteer work, and/or ministry. They should be examples that you think your references will also note. Please conclude your essay with 2-3 sentences describing what you hope to bring to and take away from the Trinity Leadership Fellows experience and how you hope to grow throughout the fellowship.

We strongly discourage the use of Artificial Intelligence (tools like ChatGPT and others) to write essays, as those responses tend to be impersonal and will make the application less competitive.

For more information, visit the Trinity Leadership Fellowship webpage

Application Deadline

30 January 2026

Application Link(s)

• Apply for Trinity Leadership Fellows Program – Fully Funded 2026