The University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business is recruiting a Philanthropy Fellow – Civil Society and Leadership through a fellowship partnership with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, offering an annual salary of up to US$90,000.
The full-time fellowship provides emerging professionals with an opportunity to develop practical experience in strategic philanthropy, civil society, grantmaking, monitoring and evaluation, research and social-impact leadership.
The successful candidate will work with the Packard Foundation’s Civil Society and Leadership Initiative (CSL) and contribute to research, learning, grantmaking and strategy while receiving professional-development support.
The position pays US$78,435–90,000 per year and includes comprehensive University of California employee benefits, mentorship, career coaching and funding for conferences and professional development.
The fellowship is based in Los Altos, California and follows a hybrid working arrangement, with in-office collaboration on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The first review of applications begins on September 22, 2026, making early application advisable.
UC Berkeley Philanthropy Fellow 2026: Key Details
Institution: University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business
Position: Philanthropy Fellow – Civil Society and Leadership
Partner: David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Location: Los Altos, California, United States
Working Arrangement: Hybrid
Employment Type: Full-time
Working Hours: 40 hours per week
Salary: US$78,435–90,000 per year
Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience
Minimum Experience: Two years of full-time professional experience
Focus: Civil society, philanthropy, grantmaking, research and leadership
First Application Review: September 22, 2026
The opportunity is designed to prepare emerging professionals for careers across philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
About the UC Berkeley Philanthropy Fellowship
The Philanthropy Fellowship brings together UC Berkeley’s Center for Social Sector Leadership and the Packard Foundation.
The programme is intended to help prepare the next generation of professionals working in philanthropy, nonprofits and social impact.
Rather than providing only classroom-based training, fellows gain professional experience while contributing to real philanthropic programmes.
The selected Civil Society and Leadership Fellow will join a cohort of five professionals working across several areas.
These include environmental conservation, science, reproductive health, and families and communities.
Fellows also receive mentorship, career coaching and financial support for conferences and specialized professional-development opportunities.
Salary: Up to US$90,000 Per Year
The salary range for the fellowship is:
US$78,435–90,000 per year.
This is a full-time position involving approximately 40 hours of work per week.
The fellowship is described as a career-level exempt position, with compensation paid monthly.
In addition to salary, the programme provides access to a wider employee-benefits and professional-development package.
Fellowship Benefits
The opportunity provides more than salary.
Successful fellows can benefit from:
- Comprehensive University of California employee benefits
- Paid professional-development opportunities
- Conference and workshop funding
- Individual career coaching
- Mentorship from UC Berkeley and Packard Foundation leaders
- Professional experience within strategic philanthropy
These features make the fellowship particularly attractive to professionals interested in building long-term careers in foundations, nonprofits, international development or social-impact organizations.
Is the UC Berkeley Philanthropy Fellowship Remote?
No.
The position should not be promoted as a fully remote fellowship.
The supplied vacancy information describes it as a hybrid position based in Los Altos, California.
In-office collaboration takes place on:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays
at the Packard Foundation headquarters.
Applicants should therefore consider the location requirement carefully before applying, particularly if they currently live outside California or outside the United States.
What Will the Philanthropy Fellow Do?
The fellow will support the Packard Foundation’s Civil Society and Leadership Initiative through research, learning and grantmaking activities.
This provides exposure to how a major philanthropic organization develops strategies, works with grantees and evaluates social-impact initiatives.
The role combines analytical work with practical programme responsibilities.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
One important responsibility is supporting monitoring, evaluation and learning, often abbreviated as MEL.
The fellow will contribute to projects designed to understand whether programmes and philanthropic investments are producing their intended outcomes.
This may involve working with qualitative and quantitative information and helping teams use evidence to improve decision-making.
Candidates with previous experience in programme evaluation, impact measurement or research may therefore be particularly competitive.
Civil Society Research
The fellow will conduct policy and strategic research on civil society issues.
Strong analytical skills are therefore central to the role.
Applicants should be capable of reviewing complex information, identifying relevant evidence and communicating findings clearly.
Research experience gained through universities, nonprofits, think tanks, public-policy organizations or development programmes may be relevant.
Grantmaking Experience
Another major benefit of the fellowship is exposure to philanthropic grantmaking.
The successful candidate will assist with grantmaking portfolios alongside programme officers.
This can provide valuable experience in understanding how foundations identify partners, develop funding strategies and manage relationships with organizations receiving philanthropic support.
For candidates hoping to build careers with foundations and grantmaking organizations, this practical exposure could be particularly valuable.
Strategy Sessions and Learning Events
The fellow will help coordinate:
- Retreats
- Strategy sessions
- Learning events
- Meetings
- Field convenings
This requires strong organizational and project-management abilities.
Candidates should be comfortable coordinating multiple responsibilities while working with different internal and external stakeholders.
Knowledge Management
The position also involves developing knowledge-management systems for qualitative and quantitative information.
Large philanthropic programmes generate substantial amounts of research, programme information and learning.
Effective knowledge management helps ensure that this information can be organized, accessed and used for future decision-making.
Candidates with experience working with databases, spreadsheets, research repositories or organizational knowledge systems may therefore have useful transferable skills.
Grantee and Partner Engagement
The fellow will participate in:
Grantee meetings, site visits and partner engagement.
The position therefore provides direct exposure to organizations working within civil society.
The successful candidate may also collaborate with:
- Researchers
- Government agencies
- Funding partners
- Nonprofit organizations
- Other stakeholders
These responsibilities make interpersonal communication and collaboration particularly important.
Qualifications – Education
Applicants should possess either a:
Bachelor’s degree
or:
Equivalent professional experience.
This means the position does not require a Master’s degree as an essential qualification.
However, graduate studies can strengthen an application, particularly where they relate to the programme’s areas of work.
Minimum Two Years of Professional Experience
Applicants need at least:
Two years of full-time professional experience.
The vacancy also expects candidates to have experience working with civil society organizations.
This makes the fellowship suitable for emerging professionals who already have some practical experience but are still developing their careers in philanthropy or social impact.
It is not primarily designed as a first professional position for candidates with no experience.
Skills and Experience Required
Competitive candidates should demonstrate a combination of analytical, communications and programme-management abilities.
Important qualifications include:
Research and analytical skills
Applicants should be able to work with evidence and produce useful insights.
Written and verbal communication
Strong communication is necessary for reports, meetings and stakeholder engagement.
Monitoring, evaluation and learning
Knowledge of MEL approaches is specifically relevant.
Project management
Candidates should be capable of managing several projects simultaneously.
Collaboration
The role requires working effectively with colleagues, grantees and external partners.
Civil society experience
Applicants should understand the nonprofit or civil-society environment.
The vacancy also mentions an ability to use artificial intelligence ethically to support strategy and learning.
Preferred Qualifications
Several additional qualifications can strengthen an application.
Graduate studies in areas such as:
- Public policy
- International development
- Law
- Public health
- Social sciences
are preferred but not identified as mandatory.
International professional experience can also be advantageous.
Candidates with experience strengthening civic space or civil-society ecosystems may be particularly relevant to the Civil Society and Leadership Initiative.
Language Skills
Conversational ability in one or more additional languages can strengthen an application.
The vacancy specifically identifies:
Spanish, French and Bahasa Indonesian
as useful language skills.
These languages are listed as preferred rather than essential requirements.
Who Should Consider Applying?
This fellowship could be particularly relevant to early-career and emerging professionals with backgrounds in:
- Civil society
- Nonprofit organizations
- International development
- Philanthropy
- Public policy
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Research
- Human rights
- Democracy and governance
- Community development
- Grantmaking
- Social impact
Applicants should already have at least two years of full-time professional experience and should be able to demonstrate meaningful engagement with civil-society organizations.
Strong Opportunity for International Development Professionals
Professionals who have worked in international development may find the fellowship particularly relevant.
Many of the core skills required by the role overlap with international development work, including:
Research, programme management, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder engagement, policy analysis and partnership development.
Candidates should explain how their previous work relates to the Civil Society and Leadership Initiative rather than assuming that general development experience will automatically demonstrate suitability.
Building a Career in Philanthropy
One of the major attractions of the fellowship is the opportunity to gain direct experience in strategic philanthropy.
Entering the foundation sector can be challenging for professionals whose previous experience has primarily been within NGOs, academia or government.
This programme provides an opportunity to understand philanthropy from the funder’s perspective.
Fellows can learn how funding organizations:
Develop strategies, assess evidence, engage grantees, manage funding portfolios and evaluate impact.
These skills could support future careers with foundations, grantmaking institutions and other social-impact organizations.
How to Strengthen Your Application
Candidates should tailor their application specifically to the fellowship.
A strong application should show both technical capability and genuine commitment to civil society.
Applicants should consider highlighting:
Civil society experience
Describe organizations or communities you have worked with and your contribution.
Research
Provide examples of policy research, analysis or evaluation work.
Monitoring and evaluation
Explain how you have measured or assessed programme performance.
Project management
Demonstrate your ability to coordinate multiple priorities.
Stakeholder engagement
Provide examples of collaboration with nonprofits, government, funders or communities.
Social impact
Where possible, quantify or clearly describe the results of your work.
The supplied vacancy information specifically recommends demonstrating measurable achievements and explaining how previous work strengthened organizations or contributed to social impact.
Preparing Your Cover Letter
Applicants need to submit a resume and cover letter.
The cover letter should not simply repeat information already contained in the resume.
Instead, it should connect the candidate’s previous experience with their motivation for entering strategic philanthropy.
Candidates can explain:
- Why civil society matters to them
- Why they want to work in philanthropy
- What they learned from previous nonprofit or development experience
- How their research or MEL skills match the fellowship
- What they hope to contribute to the Civil Society and Leadership Initiative
Specific examples will generally make the application more convincing than broad claims about passion.
Use Measurable Achievements
Where possible, applicants should quantify previous achievements.
For example, instead of writing:
“Supported nonprofit partnerships,”
an applicant could explain how many organizations they worked with, the type of programme involved and what changed as a result of their contribution.
Similarly, applicants with evaluation experience could describe the number or scale of programmes assessed and how findings influenced decisions.
Metrics should always be accurate and verifiable.
Application Review Date
The first application review begins:
September 22, 2026.
Interested candidates are advised to submit their resume and cover letter before this date for maximum consideration.
The source describes September 22 as the date when application review begins rather than explicitly identifying it as an absolute closing deadline.
This distinction matters.
Applicants should therefore avoid assuming applications will necessarily remain open indefinitely after September 22.
Important Location Consideration
International readers should pay particular attention to the location before applying.
Although the fellowship focuses on issues with global relevance, the role itself is based in Los Altos, California and operates on a hybrid schedule.
The supplied vacancy information does not establish that candidates can perform the role from another country.
Applicants who would require U.S. work authorization or relocation support should therefore verify the official employment conditions rather than assuming sponsorship or relocation assistance is available.
The source provided does not confirm visa sponsorship, so it should not be advertised as a visa-sponsored opportunity unless UC Berkeley explicitly confirms that separately.
Why This Fellowship Stands Out
The opportunity combines several attractive features.
It offers a salary reaching US$90,000 per year, along with University of California employee benefits.
It also provides professional-development support, individual career coaching and mentorship.
Most importantly, participants gain practical exposure to strategic grantmaking and civil-society philanthropy.
For an emerging professional seeking to move from nonprofit, research or development work into the foundation sector, this combination could be particularly valuable.
Final Thoughts
The UC Berkeley Philanthropy Fellow 2026 opportunity offers emerging professionals an opportunity to gain professional-level experience supporting civil society and strategic philanthropy.
The position pays US$78,435–90,000 annually and includes professional-development opportunities, career coaching, mentorship and comprehensive University of California employee benefits.
Applicants need a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience, at least two years of full-time professional experience, and experience working with civil-society organizations.
The fellowship is based in Los Altos, California and follows a hybrid working model rather than a fully remote arrangement.
Candidates interested in strategic philanthropy, international development, civil society, monitoring and evaluation, grantmaking, or social-impact leadership should consider preparing a targeted resume and cover letter.
The first application review begins on September 22, 2026, so candidates seeking maximum consideration should apply before that date.
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