GENC Access Fellowship
The Details.
The Conference — GEN Annual Conference
When — November 10–11, 2026
Where — Charlotte, North Carolina
Fellowship Covers — Full conference registration
You're already doing the work.
GENC is where you sharpen it.
The GENC Access Fellowship brings ERG and Inclusion Council leaders from small nonprofits into the room where the field compares notes for two days of strategy, peer exchange, and the kind of leadership development that budgets don't always stretch to cover.
About The Fellowship
ERG leadership isn't only happening inside the Fortune 500.
It’s happening in community organizations, foundations, health networks, and mission-driven nonprofits — where the people leading employee groups are doing real, structural work with a fraction of the resources their corporate peers take for granted.
The GENC Access Fellowship is one of the ways GEN gives back: making sure the information, strategies, and peer connections that strengthen employee experience reach the leaders who don’t already have easy access to them. Each year, we select a small cohort of ERG and Council leaders from small nonprofits to join GENC as fellows with full access and no registration cost.
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Who Is This For?
The fellowship is focused on organizations where the cost of ERG and Council leadership development stands in the way — and where showing up at GENC can help the organization, and its employee groups, create real impact. We read every application ourselves. The points below describe who we’re looking for, not a set of rigid cutoffs. If you’re close and the fit is strong, apply.
- Current employees — not contractors, consultants, or volunteers — at a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit
- Organizations with roughly 50 or more employees and under approximately $5 million in annual operating revenue
- Leaders who actively run or sit on the core team of an ERG, BRG, Inclusion Council, or similar employee group – or the ERG program
- Applicants whose supervisor or Executive Director supports their attendance
Up to two fellowships can be awarded per organization. Not sure whether you’re a fit? Reach out before you apply — we’re happy to talk it through.
Built for the leaders where cost is the real barrier.
The Exchange
Full access, in both directions.
Fellows get full access to GENC. In return, we ask you to stay engaged during the conference, and after it. Here’s what that looks like.
What fellows do:
- Attend GENC in person in Charlotte (fellows cover their own travel and lodging)
- Complete a short post-conference survey on what you learned and plan to put into practice
- Activate a complimentary 90-day trial of the GEN Co//Lab
Welcomed, not required:
- A short post-conference conversation with the GEN team about your experience
- Sharing what the fellowship meant to you with your network through a social media or blog post, a recap, a conversation that sparks something
Key Dates
How the fellowship runs.
We select a cohort. We’re not ranking applicants against each other. We look for leaders at different stages, from different kinds of organizations, who’ll bring a range of experience into the room.
- August — Applications open
- September 11 — Applications close
- Early October — Fellows notified
- November 10–11 — GENC in Charlotte
The work doesn't wait for the budget. Neither should you.
Applications for the 2026 cohort open in August. Add your name, tell us what you’re building, and join a room full of people doing the same.
Questions first? Email us at hello@tapestrypartnersolutions.com