Anticipated dates for 2025-26 11 month service term are October 6, 2025 to September 4, 2026. Fellows who accept an offer must commit to service the full term of service. The service year will begin with program Orientation. Orientation is approximately one-week and will be a hybrid schedule of CivicSpark programmatic orientation days and days at Fellow service sites.
Overview
CivicSpark is a full-time Fellowship program. Although the priority deadline to apply was July 10, 2025, the application is still open and I would encourage you to apply ASAP! Please be advised that CivicSpark accepts applicants from different locations; however, all Fellows must live in their state of service during the service term. Fellows will need to live within commuting distance (~50 miles) to their service site. At this time, CivicSpark does not provide formal assistance in relocating. CivicSpark does NOT allow a Fellow to serve out of state. Accepted applicants MUST relocate to their service community by the start of the service term.
We ask that applicants NOT send any resumes or cover letters via email; we will only accept applications submitted through our application portal.
For the 2025-2026 service year, CivicSpark plans to place up to 150 Fellows with community partners across California, Colorado, and Washington. Fellows will serve in a full-time capacity (roughly 40 hours per week) for 11 months, from early October 2025 through early September 2026. Fellows will serve at individual projects supporting community planning priorities and be part of a larger CivicSpark cohort completing various training and professional development activities as part of their weekly schedules.
The Fellowship provides an opportunity to serve communities while building connections and developing skills through a project-based experience.
Please review the current list of open projects for the 2025-2026 using the webpage password “Projects25-26″. This list will be updated as additional projects are approved and current projects are filled. https://civicsparkfellowship.org/2025-26-full-term-projects/
common project types:
Disaster Resilience
Projects on natural disaster preparedness and recovery, including health impacts and risk assessments.
Housing
Projects focus on housing priorities such as analysis of housing capacity and inventory, planning for increased housing supply, housing assistance programs, disaster recovery, and rebuilding development.
Water
Projects focus on water management priorities such as stormwater resource planning, groundwater management, integrated watershed management, and water use.
Mobility
Projects focus on community mobility priorities such as streets and highway network analysis, bicycle/pedestrian access and planning, traffic analysis, infrastructure studies, autonomous vehicles, and shared mobility.
Electricity and Power
Projects focus on public utilities, power grids, project identification, building identification and benchmarking, workforce outreach and community education.
For questions about qualifications, project experience, and program activities, please refer to our Fellow FAQ webpage. https://civicsparkfellowship.org/fellow-faq/
About the Application and Matching Process: From Application to Offer Our application process is dynamic with multiple stages, starting with application review, project matching, and two rounds of interviews. Please see the Fellow FAQ for an overview of the application, interview, and matching process. We strongly encourage interested applicants to apply early! Please be sure to complete required questions. If you have any questions, please reach out to info@civicsparkfellowship.org. We look forward to reviewing your application!
About CivicSpark
CivicSpark is an award-winning and evidence-based fellowship program that builds local workforce capacity to address community planning priorities and challenges such as natural disaster preparedness, water resource management, power and electricity, parks and recreation, transportation, affordable housing, and public health. During the service year, CivicSpark Fellows complete research, planning, or implementation projects that support local governments and community organizations in advancing their planning priorities. CivicSpark Fellows are AmeriCorps members, making them eligible to receive an education award upon successful completion of the fellowship, among other benefits.
Since 2014, over 1,000 CivicSpark Fellows have provided more than one million hours of service. Over 95% of completed projects have met or exceeded expectations. CivicSpark provides both a workforce pipeline and a professional launchpad for Fellows, 73% of whom continue to work in the public sector.
CivicSpark is fiscally sponsored by Public Health Institute (PHI), a 60-year-old nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening public health and community well-being through fiscal sponsorship, thought leadership, and partnership. As a fiscal sponsor, PHI provides operational support and infrastructure so that CivicSpark can focus on supporting our community partners and Fellows.
