Awardees begin their fellowship with a one-year AmeriCorps Service term and are matched with a local nonprofit or government in their community that is in conjunction with their own professional goals.

This is a nonpartisan fellowship and fellows are part of AmeriCorps, meaning that they are not permitted to engage or support specific political parties or religious beliefs and/or influence legislation with their actions throughout their time acting as a member of the program. Before starting their placement, all fellows attend a twelve-day Lead for America Summer Institute in Washington, DC to learn American history and the current challenges of the country today, including the difficulty communicating across party lines, as well as leadership training. Throughout the fellowship, fellows will also attend a retreat in Kansas and will complete a fellow-exchange when they will experience a fellow awardee’s hometown and see the work that they have been doing. In addition, the fellows will come together for a graduation summit in Washington, DC. All of the expenses for these retreats (travel, housing, meals, and miscellaneous costs) will be entirely covered by Lead for America.

Once fellows have been placed, they will work for thirty-five hours per week a paid position at their host organization (that they have worked to find based on their interests and focus)