Oramenta Newsome Community Development Fellowship The fellowship is a ten-week (May to July) full-time paid fellowship opportunity for individuals who have exhibited a keen interest in the community development field and want to support small businesses in Washington DC. Oramenta Newsome served as Executive Director of LISC DC for nearly 25 years. Throughout her life, Oramenta balanced a deeply rooted neighborhood orientation with a national perspective. She dedicated decades to making Washington, DC a global city that benefited neighborhood residents. Oramenta believed that all people want the same quality of life in their neighborhood – a home, a job, and access to resources and amenities. By continuing to invest in projects and initiatives that help to balance the income disparity and promote equity and inclusion, we are one step closer towards realizing her vision for Washington, DC - inclusive, community-driven, and equitable. With this fellowship, we are creating a lasting legacy and honoring her commitment to community development.
What You Need to Know About the Fellowship:
Fellows will be placed with local nonprofit partner organizations that support local small businesses and support Oramenta’s vision for a more equitable Washington, DC.
At the direction of the nonprofit organizations, Fellows will work with the nonprofit to support and engage with the local small businesses they serve on a number of initiatives. More information can be found here
The inaugural fellow class will start in May 2021 and LISC will provide the fellows with a comprehensive virtual experience that will include an orientation, seminar series, ongoing mentorship, and a final presentation of their work.
Under the supervision of the staff of LISC’s nonprofit partners, Newsome Fellows will:
Work with the nonprofit partner to support local small businesses as they develop resiliency strategies to survive and thrive in the midst of COVID-19.
Assemble key information about the community for the nonprofit partner by conducting outreach to small businesses in DC to gather data such as contact information, as well as qualitative insights on the current landscape in the community.
Work with nonprofit partner to support local small businesses in improving their digital presence, including social media, website creation and various small business directories to help increase their visibility.
Develop press materials highlighting the economic development work of nonprofit partner and the small businesses they serve.
Coordinate and support nonprofit partners with local event planning and distribution of external resources.
Support nonprofit partners in aiding and preparing small businesses as they prepare key documentation and paperwork in order to receive local resources and benefits.
Provide on-going logistic and administrative support for nonprofit partner as needed
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or High School diploma with four years’ related professional experience.
Experienced on issues of small business development, or economic development preferred.
Experience curating content for major social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Experience engaging in community outreach.
Experience conducting surveys, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups a plus.
Experience in accounting or finance a plus
Ability to work collaboratively with co-workers and representatives from the nonprofit and private sector.
Capacity to work simultaneously on multiple tasks and projects, set priorities for a challenging workload, and be a positive, solution-oriented professional.
Ability to approach work with a great sense of humility, and strong interest in and passion for community impact.
Must have the capability to work remotely, including access to a working laptop or computer, internet and phone.
Conversational fluency in Spanish, Korean, Mandarin or Amharic may be helpful (but not required) as these languages are common in the communities we serve.
Please submit cover letter and resume to newsomefellowship@lisc.org Indicate “Newsome Fellowship” in the subject line. No calls please.