Over the course of one year, the project leader and team are coached to identify new possibilities and strengthen their planned impact. Each team receives additional support to create materials and experiences that engage Extension resources to speed development and generate a change where it is desired. The full value of this program is in the accelerator experience. Awardees can expect robust and productive interaction with a group of catalysts and key informants in a mentoring role to help you and your team grow professionally over the course of a one- year partnership.

Depending on the type of project, there is up to $60K in Fellowships available, and all projects receive support from Extension Foundation Catalysts, Coaches, and Key Informants. Catalysts are experienced CES Administrators that provide mentorship and guidance to projects, and Key Informants have subject matter expertise across areas such as publishing, evaluation, partner development, leadership and team development, project management, marketing, and more. Projects have access to these resources to advance their projects.

Through NTAE, the Extension Foundation provides a set of services most projects rarely have access to. The services that create deeper impact, greater leverage for impact and greater sustainability for the project. These services in collaboration with the great ideas and planned projects make for extended successes and sustainability of projects.

The one-year journey for the project leader and team will be unique. Please expect the time commitment for the team leader to be as much as 10 to 20 percent (4-8 hours per week) on average over the course of one year. By the end of one year, your program is stronger, better-resourced, and more easily adopted or adapted by others across the Cooperative Extension system to serve the needs of people and communities.