Frequently Asked Questions

STANTON FELLOWSHIP FAQs

What is an example of a Stanton Fellowship project?

An applicant is the Executive Director of a nonprofit that builds affordable housing. She would like to see affordable housing incorporate more “green,” or environmentally friendly, standards in building. She has read in professional journals that Brazil has been successful with this, so she plans to take a six-week break in Year One to visit affordable housing developers there, followed by a two-week trip to a U.S. location for the same purpose, and two weeks set aside for reading, research and talking to colleagues.

In Year Two, the fellow wants to learn more about how the regulatory arena works. She has made plans to spend half of each week for four weeks at the state housing regulatory agency. She will spend another eight weeks on research and writing. Her goal is to develop a report on green building standards for affordable housing and to create a communications plan for disseminating the report.

The fellow realizes that her project is ambitious and will likely take longer than two years, but she will assess her goals at the one-year mark.

How would a Stanton Fellow allocate time spent on the fellowship and away from work?

The design of each Stanton Fellowship will be as unique as the fellows themselves, as will the way that time is dedicated to the project. For some, it will involve several short breaks of two weeks or more. For others, longer breaks may work better.

How should the grant be allocated?

A large portion of the grant will be spent to buy the time of the nonprofit leader, by underwriting his or her salary for a portion of the time devoted to the project. Funds can also be used for travel, research materials and coursework.

What is the end product expected at the conclusion of the Stanton Fellowship?

The end product for each fellowship will be unique. Applicants to the program are expected to set goals for themselves, but those goals will depend on the nature of the project.

I have been involved with youth development for over 20 years. I know that there is a better way to train inner-city youth for jobs, but I don’t know what the answer is. Can I get a grant to investigate this?

We don't expect applicants to have all the answers before they apply for a Stanton Fellowship. One of the purposes of the fellowship is to discover or formulate new ideas and approaches. The Foundation is prepared to send fellows into uncharted territory. However, applicants should have some idea about how they will go about tackling their issue and be able to propose a plan for doing so.

After the first year of the fellowship, Stanton Fellows will be asked to review their progress and submit a plan for the second half of the fellowship. It may be that initial assumptions were proven incorrect, and the fellow decides to embark on an entirely new path at that point. The Durfee Foundation hopes that Stanton Fellows will embody the right mix of curiosity, drive, openness and flexibility to make their projects work.

Can my project include advocacy work such as lobbying for legislative change?

The Durfee Foundation, as a private foundation, is subject to limitations on its ability to fund lobbying. However, there may be projects involving lobbying that a Stanton Fellow would want to pursue that the Foundation could support. Applicants who are contemplating projects that include advocacy are encouraged to contact the foundation to discuss their plans prior to submitting their applications.

Where did the idea for the Stanton Fellowship come from?

Since 1997, the Durfee Foundation has operated the Durfee Sabbatical Program, which offers nonprofit leaders in Los Angeles County the opportunity to take an extended break from work, typically three months, to rest, rejuvenate and return to work with renewed purpose. Former Sabbatical recipients suggested the Stanton Fellowship as a counterpart to the rejuvenation program, offering policy-oriented leaders an opportunity for intensive professional advancement.

The Stanton Fellowship is named after R. Stanton Avery, who, along with his wife, Dorothy Durfee Avery, founded the Durfee Foundation in 1960. Until he passed away in 1997, Stan Avery chaired Durfee's Board of Directors and advocated for Durfee support of exceptional individuals.

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