GivingTuesday Data Commons Fellowship

The GivingTuesday Data Commons invites graduate students (masters level and PhD candidates), postdocs, and exceptional undergraduate students to apply for the GivingTuesday Data Commons Fellowship Program.

Selected Fellows will be awarded a research grant to support the conduct of a research proposal, designed and carried out by the Fellow, that will advance the understanding of the nonprofit and philanthropy sector – including but not limited to donor behavior, economic forces, data management, best practices, etc.

Program Details and Application Process

2024 program details and application coming soon.

GivingTuesday believes that the most radical liberatory futures and innovative technologies are being built by communities that have been pushed to the margins. GivingTuesday encourages students of all backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities to apply for the Data Commons Fellowship, particularly individuals who have not had equal access to opportunities because of their race, gender, class, sexuality, immigration/documentation status, age, or disability.

FAQ

I’m an international student. Am I eligible to apply?

Yes! The GivingTuesday Data Commons Fellowship is open to all students globally who are enrolled in full-time undergraduate or graduate programs at a university or hold a postdoctoral position at a university.

Can I submit more than one application?

You can submit multiple individual and unique applications but fellows will receive only one award.

Which fields of study can apply for the fellowship?

The GivingTuesday Data Commons Fellowship is open to applicants from all fields of study whose work might contribute toward a better understanding of giving and giving behaviors. This includes all STEM fields, economics, philanthropy, arts, humanities, etc. including interdisciplinary fields.

I would like to do a project in partnership with a data provider. Can I apply?

Yes! The GivingTuesday Data Commons acts as a bridge between academia and industry. If you have examples of data providers you would be interested in collaborating with, please mention it in your proposal.

The fellowship requires me to present my project at a conference. Can I choose which conference?

We welcome suggestions for conferences at which you would like to present. However, the final decision will be made mutually.

How will GivingTuesday support me through the fellowship?

Apart from the monetary award, GivingTuesday Data Commons Fellowship awardees will get membership to Working Groups providing them the opportunity to network with sector leaders, nonprofit organizations, and other researchers. The fellowship also offers mentorship opportunities to the awardees.

I am an undergraduate student. What do I need to apply?

All undergraduate applicants must be in good academic standing and must identify an advisor who will mentor them through the project. In addition to a letter of support from your advisor referencing how they will oversee your work, we would also require a letter of recommendation.

I am a graduate student. What do I need to apply?

Graduate students need to send in their project proposal with a sector value statement and a personal statement. They also need to provide a letter of recommendation from their faculty advisor.

I am a postdoctoral researcher. What do I need to apply?

Postdoctoral researchers need to send in their project proposal with a sector value statement and a personal statement. They also need to provide a letter of recommendation from a faculty member of their department.

What are some example projects?

GivingTuesday is supportive of research from various departments. We seek to understand fundraising and donor behavior, giving behavior and the generosity ecosystem, and research into the GT distributed model. Some research questions include:

What can we learn about donor behavior patterns when we analyze various demographics and identities?
What can we learn about modes of giving and how they relate to traditional recipients and traditional giving mechanisms?
Understanding individual donor behavior and how they respond to impact on multiple levels: Is it rational? Emotional? Entertainment? Consumption? Investments? Generational?
What do different donor segments want and/or expect from donation platforms and causes?
How can we develop a feedback mechanism for making progress on impact measurement?
How can we measure or develop metrics in ways that meaningfully take into account community context and goals of the organization or initiative?
What biases are demonstrated by actors such as national governments or local nonprofits – and how do they affect the distribution of aid resources?
How do we best measure generosity and sentiment?

I am interested in working with donor data. What kind of data do you have?

GivingTuesday Data Commons partners with a variety of sector data providers to create datasets that are made accessible to all researchers. Some types of data that we have are:

Fundraising Effectiveness Project DataFEP: Transaction data from donors to organizations. Organizational data has cause-area associated with it.
VolunteerMatch: Individual signups for volunteering opportunities. Global but primarily US-based, and specifically California-heavy. Includes online vs in-person.
Donor Advised Fund (DAF): 625,000 transactions from funds to charities, 2014-2021 demographics on the fund advisors (anonymized), some fund assets, which charities got which gifts or grants from funds, etc.
GivingPulse: Survey data with our taxonomy + sentiments + solicitation + demographics data. N=100 every week, different people each week.

GivingTuesday Data Commons Fellowship

<img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-8704" src="https://www.givingtuesday.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/University-819x1024.png" alt="A student sitting on a bed with a laptop and books around them" width="400" height="500" />Program Details and Application Process

FAQ

Program Details and Application Process