Apply to be an Organizing Fellow at 596 Acres

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596 Acres is a growing, innovative nonprofit that makes use of vacant land, helping organizers turn it into productive community gardens and urban farms.

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They are currently seeking applicants for three new positions, as described below:

“596 Acres is proud to announce three Organizing Fellow positions for Spring 2013, one each for the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan.

To apply, please send a cover letter and your resume to organizers@596acres.org by 11:59pm on Sunday, March 31, 2013. Include a short story about a challenge you have encountered organizing within your community in the body of your letter. Please use the subject “Bronx Organizing Fellow” / “Brooklyn Organizing Fellow” / “Manhattan Organizing Fellow” for your email.

Positions will run April 15 – August 15, 2013; fellows will receive a stipend of $500 per month ($2000 for the entire fellowship) and will be asked to commit at least 40 hours per month.

Fellowship Duties and Responsibilities

  • Respond to inquiries about vacant lots in your borough and help communities structure their land access campaigns using 596 Acres resources, as well as OASIS, Acris and other databases.
  • Keep accurate notes about communities’ experiences with government entities.
  • Communicate with organizers in your borough by phone, email and in person.
  • Conduct popular education “Land Use Visioning Sessions” when requested in your borough.
  • Develop and maintain dialogue and relationships with community leaders, political entities, governmental agencies in order to create more garden spaces.
  • Co-develop and organize database of community leaders and stakeholders for multiple sites.
  • Assist in turning maps and broadsheets into signs that can be posted on vacant lots.
  • Manage volunteers for sign posting.
  • Act as a direct liaison, when necessary, with city agencies and community boards.
  • Check email at least every other day.
  • Meet twice a month with other fellows and facilitators to discuss
    • ongoing organizing efforts
    • strategies for approaching communities &
    • to problem solve city agency interactions.


Recommended Qualifications

  • General knowledge of community gardens, their history and city and state governmental structures that directly affect them.
  • Understanding politics of land access, politics around vacancy, land usage, and development in the borough where you will be working.
  • Ability to operate well in a collective-type organizational and decision-making structure.
  • Ability to speak Spanish, and present comfortably in both Spanish and English.
  • General knowledge of borough geography and neighborhoods/community boards.
  • Knowledge of OASIS, ACRIS and other city databases, maps and research tools
  • Understanding of gardening basics, and familiarity with resources available to gardeners
  • Experience in grassroots community organizing and/or founding, running, or working in a community garden are all a plus!
  • Available most weekends during fellowship.”

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