Become a 2024 Wisconsin Humanities Fellow!

Every day, Wisconsinites use their creativity to tackle challenges in their communities, making Wisconsin a better home for everyone. Community Powered, the community innovations arm of Wisconsin Humanities, helps communities mobilize that creativity by training people in how to recognize, communicate, and act upon their strengths, their stories, and their histories. We put the tools of history, culture, and community conversation in the hands of civic-minded citizens, turning community energy and assets into resilience.

Starting in 2024, Community Powered will run two training sessions each year for 8 Wisconsin Humanities Fellows each. Fellows will serve a year-long term that includes:

• Six months of training in documenting local history, telling community stories, and activating community members in local projects.
• Six months of personal mentoring while the Fellows put their training to work in their communities, sharing what they have learned and helping residents work toward a more vibrant future.

Wisconsin Humanities Fellows will receive:

• Certification from Wisconsin Humanities that recognizes their training and expertise.
• Mentorship from Wisconsin Humanities staff.
• Access to Wisconsin Humanities’ network of public humanities practitioners around the state.
• A $2,500 stipend for participation and additional funding support for their community project(s).

Who is invited to apply to become a Wisconsin Humanities Fellow?

Community Powered values the diversity of knowledge and experience in communities around Wisconsin. Your drive to engage deeply with your community means more to us than your educational background or professional experience.

Key audiences for this program include:

• Individuals working with heritage and culture
• Members of cultural organizations (museums, arts councils, places of worship)
• Educators, librarians, archivists
• Artists, actors, storytellers
• Anyone with an interest in community

What do Wisconsin Humanities Fellows learn?

Fellows will be trained in our Community Powered process, which ensures that projects address pressing community needs in ways that will be most useful to individual communities. The training will include monthly training and sharing sessions on Zoom and some gatherings in Spooner, Wisconsin. Our training workshops offer tools that you can use to help design a meaningful project.

Workshops cover topics including (but not limited to):

• Documentation techniques like oral history or ethnographic interviewing, history harvests, short-form interviewing, and photography.
• Place-based approaches like asset mapping, community-led walks, story mapping, and cultural resource management.
• Storytelling events like community conversations and story circles.
• And project development like project management, budgeting, grant writing, ways to share about your project, and evaluation.

Our training gives participants a menu of options from our toolkit. Each training session will be customized to the needs of the participants.

What is expected of participants?

The workshops will consist of 25-35 hours of formal training, plus the time spent during our gatherings in Spooner. We also expect participants to spend time outside of the workshops to put what they’ve learned into practice in their community. Additionally, there will be opportunities for optional, informal sessions with your fellow trainees and ongoing one-on-one mentorship with Wisconsin Humanities staff.

The anticipated schedule for the Summer 2024 session is as follows:

• Interest form submitted by February 16, 2024
• Interviews conducted in March 2024
• Selections announced in April 2024
• Orientation in May 2024
• Training Workshops (3-4 hours a month on Zoom) from June-November 2024, plus one weekend-long workshop in Spooner in August 2024
• Showcase in December 2024

At the end of the first six months, we will ask you to propose a project you would like to complete in the remaining six months of your fellowship. Our training should prepare you to feel confident in proposing projects like:

• A series of community story circles
• An oral history project
• A community garden
• An asset map or story map
• Walking tours of local significant sites
• And so much more!

How do I apply?

Express your interest using the Google Form here by February 16, 2024. If you would prefer to submit your responses orally, please call Chrissy Widmayer at (608) 265-1052 and leave a voicemail answering the following questions:

• Name (first and last)
• Email address and phone number
• Location
• How are you involved in your community? Include any work, volunteer, or other connections.
• Why do you want to participate in Community Powered?
• What are one or two challenges, big or small, that you’re interested in tackling in your community?
• What are some of the strengths in your community that you would hope to build on?
• Anything else you’d like to add.

Once we have closed the interest form, we will set up individual interviews with prospective participants to hear more about their interest in the program. After the interviews, we will select eight Wisconsin Humanities Fellows and be in further contact about how to accept the position.

Have questions or need more information? Contact Chrissy Widmayer at chrissy.widmayer@wisconsinhumanities.org or call her at (608) 265-1052.