Frequently Asked Questions

Please email laura@moralambition.org.

The selection process is skill-based, focusing on the relevant skills and mindsets crucial for success. After the initial application, which takes approximately one hour, the process includes a one-hour on-campus interview.

The School for Moral Ambition will execute a matching process between host organizations and selected juniors starting in December 2025 to ensure tight alignment. We anticipate that host organizations will be high-impact nonprofits with potentially disruptive approaches — for example, one host organization leads the largest no-strings-attached giving program in the world.

This program is for members of the class of 2027 — so current juniors. If you have taken an accelerated course load but are officially a member of the class of 2027, we ask that you wait a year.

Yes — for now. This first fellowship is exclusively for Harvard juniors in good standing. Future cohorts may open up to other schools, but this pilot is designed to build something deeply rooted in the Harvard ecosystem first.

Yes. Harvard is just the beginning. We’re starting here to prove the model: that you can pay top students to do meaningful work and that they’ll take it. Once we show the impact, we plan to expand to other major universities across the U.S. Moral Ambition is a movement, not a one-campus experiment.

By senior year, most students have already chosen their path. The Moral Ambition University Fellowship meets students right before that fork in the road offering them a viable, well-funded, high-impact alternative before they get locked into a default career track.

For decades, elite universities like Harvard have quietly funneled top talent into careers that optimize for margin, not meaning. In 2022, 58% of Harvard grads went into consulting, finance, or tech. If we can help even a small number of the best students at the most prestigious school redirect their talent toward solving real problems like climate change, inequality, or AI safety it can have a ripple effect across campuses (and boardrooms) everywhere.

The School for Moral Ambition does not receive funding from governments nor are we engaged in sponsorship deals with companies. We do accept donations from companies in return for a talk or workshop we provided.

We publish the names of our largest donors on our how we are funded page and in our annual report.

For larger donations of €50,000 and more, we are happy to discuss the options. Reach out to Sabrina van der Sandt, Philanthropy Director, via sabrina@moralambition.org.

The School for Moral Ambition is registered in the Netherlands as an ANBI-stichting and has a 501(c)(3) status in the USA. This means that donations are tax deductible in the Netherlands, United States and all countries that recognize the Dutch or US status. This may require extra paperwork, but we're happy to help you with that. Contact Sabrina van der Sandt, Philanthropy Director, via sabrina@moralambition.org.

‍

We are grateful for every contribution - large or small! Discover all the options on our Support Us page.

None of the employees, board members (and funders) of The School for Moral Ambition have interests in the Tobacco or Vaping industry, nor the Tobacco-Control sector. Two of our Board members (Heleen Dura van Oord and Edmond Hilhorst) invested in funds with sustainable protein companies in their portfolio. The Board of SMA is not involved in the selection of topics for fellowships. The fellowship topics are selected according to an independent research process and decided on by the management of the School.

The selection process is skill-based, focusing on the relevant skills crucial for success in the role rather than just academic credentials. After the initial application, the process includes a three-hour skill test, a 45 minute online interview focusing on case scenarios and personal fit, and a final one-hour interview with a potential host organisation.

Moral Ambition Fellowships are an opportunity to radically transform your career and be prepared to contribute at the highest level to urgent global issues. The fellowship is a seven-month program, including a one-month intensive training that sharpens you into an effective advocate for positive change, followed by a six-month placement at a leading NGO or think tank working in the field of a Tobacco Free Future or Food Transition.

You can apply for the second edition of the EU fellowship during the application round from April 2 to May 12, 2025. The first round of application will take approximately 1.5 hours.

By the end of the program, fellows are expected to have developed comprehensive skills in advocacy, made substantial contributions to their field, and prepared a foundation for a career focused on making a difference in global issues related to their fellowship topic area.

During our selection process we focus on skills instead of traditional credentials.The School for Moral Ambition embraces diversity and inclusion, welcoming applicants of all races, religions, gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, national origins, abilities, and other diverse backgrounds.

The success of the fellowships is measured by the impact of the fellows work and their continued contribution to their respective fields after the fellowship, relative to the costs invested in the fellowship program.

We will financially and logistically support temporary relocation to your placement location. We are also exploring options for shared housing for our fellows.

Yes, fellows receive expert guidance at their placement organizations and have the opportunity to listen to inspiring guest speakers, enhancing their learning and professional development during the fellowship. SMA will also provide the fellows with independent professional coaching to facilitate the career change.

Yes, there is. After the first edition of the fellowship we started our alumni network for our fellows.

The 2025 EU Fellowships will focus on two key themes: A Tobacco-Free Future and The Food Transition. We are also partnering with Ambitious Impact on the Founding to Give program. Additionally, we are planning to launch a U.S. Food System Reform Fellowship and a Global Tax Fairness Fellowship.

Fellows are well positioned to continue their careers in the fields of the programs using the skills and networks developed during the fellowship.

Last year 653 people applied for 22 positions across 2 fellowships.

Fellows may work on a variety of projects depending on their background, including writing evidence-based studies and position papers, engaging with policymakers, coalition-building or networking to further their careers post-fellowship.

We plan to add, dependent on funding, one new topic on a yearly basis

During their six-month placement, fellows receive continuous support from their host organization and the fellowship program. This includes professional guidance, mentorship, and regular cohort meetings to discuss progress and share learnings.

The fellowship program carefully matches fellows with host organisations to ensure alignment of goals and skills. Fellows are integrated into their teams with planned orientations and are supported throughout their placement to maximize both their impact and their learning experience.

Yes, it is possible that you get rejected on one of the application rounds. However, we welcome you to apply for our Moral Ambition Fellowship in the future.

No, there is no job guarantee after the fellowship. Your fellowship will have equipped you with many desired skills and many contacts to organisations and funders. You must find your own place after the fellowship.

Some fellows can stay at their host organisation after the fellowship, but there is no guarantee for that. Other fellows can apply to jobs in NGO's, thinktank or lobby organisations. Some fellows start their own NGO after the fellowship.

Previous backgrounds included consultants, researchers, medical doctors, laywers, marketeers, NGO leaders, entrepeneurs and lobbyists / advocates. However, we welcome candidates from various backgrounds with relevant work experience and transferable skills related to the fellowship program.

Moral Ambition Circles are for anyone determined to improve lives by tackling the world’s most critical challenges. Whether you’re taking your first big step toward impact or already leading at a high level and know you can contribute more, a Circle gives you the structured, peer‑led support to turn moral ambition into measurable results.Participants commit to eight sessions of 2–3 hours each, plus roughly 2–3 hours of preparation before every meeting.

Initially, the program focuses primarily on donation potential: participants pledge to donate at least 50% of their personal proceeds if they exit their company. This emphasis was chosen because we identified a lack of available capital for high-impact initiatives during the first year of SMA's existence. However, we are definitely open to founders building direct impact ventures — startups that create positive change themselves.

We’ll keep you informed and may offer other ways to contribute to the cause or connect you to aligned efforts.

Our fellowships and founder programs are designed to strengthen existing orgs by injecting talent and channeling new funding.

Yes. We’ll notify you and explore ways to keep you engaged in related work.

We value grassroots work deeply. We support it via Moral Ambition Circles, but our programs focus on policy and entrepreneurship

We believe these are the most powerful levers for systemic change, policy can shift institutions, and entrepreneurship drives innovation and can create funding sources at scale

Professionals allowed to work in the EU, U.S., Canada, or the U.K., preferably with experience in tax law, economics, or communications.

All programs require a full-time commitment

For any remaining questions about the US Food Systems Reform Fellowship, please contact AJ Kroboth (aj@moralambition.org)

For any remaining questions about the Global Tax Fairness Fellowship, please contact Omezzine Khelifa (omezzine@moralambition.org)

The fellowship includes 1 month of intensive training and 6 months of full-time paid placement. Training will cover tax justice fundamentals, advocacy strategies, and network-building for impact.

We collaborate with host organisations in Europe, the US, and Canada. You will be placed based on the regions where you are legally allowed to work.

Relocation might not be required. Fellows may be placed across the U.S. depending on their project.

Fellows will be placed in leading organizations working on global tax justice. Projects may involve policy advocacy, research, communications campaigns, or building coalitions for a global wealth tax.

Stipends will be available, with the amount varying based on your location. The ballpark figure we can give is around 5000 USD per month

The program requires a full-time commitment

Projects may include state-level food policy reform, reshaping food systems to promote environmental sustainability, improve public health, and enhance animal welfare.

The fellowships are expected to start in late 2025 or early 2026, depending on funding.

U.S. citizens or permanent residents who want to make a career shift into food system reform.

We review applications on a rolling basis, so we recommend applying as early as possible. The early application deadline is June 23, 2025.

We are still fundraising for the programs and we don't know the exact start dates. Therefore we didn't want to ask you to complete a longer application.

After the incubator phase, participants can continue to receive mentorship and may connect with networks that provide seed funding, ongoing advice, and community support.

You can contact Jacintha Baas from our partner organisation AIM: jacintha@charityentrepreneurship.com

The Founding to Give Program is operated by Ambitious Impact (AIM), in partnership with the School for Moral Ambition (SMA). AIM leads program design, selection, and delivery; SMA supports outreach.

All founders pledge to donate at least 50% of their personal proceeds over $900K from a future exit to effective charities.

The next program starts January 5, 2026. The first month is in-person, followed by two months remote.

It includes a short form, intro interview, test task, and partner interview. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Highly ambitious builders ready to launch a high-growth tech company and want to donate a portion of future exit proceeds to effective charities. We welcome technical talent, founders, and domain experts from across the world.

We provide a 3-month stipend, cover flights and housing during the in-person phase, and connect you to aligned capital. We do not take equity.

We support high-growth, tech-enabled startups, with or without direct impact. We’re particularly excited about healthtech, edtech, emerging markets, and fintech ideas.

No. Most participants start without a team or idea. The program helps you find cofounders and explore promising ideas during the first phase.

We would love to welcome you to our Community Platform — the space where ambitious idealists from around the world come together to connect and collaborate. Once you're in, you can:Explore the Requests Page to offer or ask for supportJoin events (online and offline) that spark action and reflectionDiscover and connect with members working on similar topicsShare your own project and story through your profile. You can sign up here.

We regularly post open roles on our vacancies page. Explore what’s currently available via this link. Nothing that fits your talents or wishes? Join or start a Moral Ambition Circle to connect with other community members who are looking for their best way to make a difference. You can read more about the program here or explore it through our community onboarding.

To help you find what you’re looking for, we invite you to post your request on the Requests page of our community platform. It’s the place where morally ambitious people come together to exchange support, ideas, and meaningful connections.You can use the page to ask for advice, look for a collaborator, seek a connection, or offer support yourself.

No, you don’t — although you’re welcome to. You can choose to rotate the host role, so that each member takes a turn facilitating a session. This not only eases the pressure on the Circle starter, but also gives everyone a chance to contribute in a meaningful way.

By signing up on our community platform — you can do that via this link: https://community.moralambition.org/signup.

Once you're in, you can:

• Explore the Requests Page to offer or ask for support
• Join events that spark action and reflection
• Discover and connect with members working on similar topics
• Share your own project and story through your profile

If you want to start a Circle, the first step is to complete the Circle Starter Training. This training helps you internalize the material and prepares you to confidently guide your own Circle. Also, you will connect with other Circle starters from around the globe! Once you've completed the training, you'll be invited to the Circle Pioneer Club — a dedicated sub-community on our platform where Circle starters connect and support each other.

We use all feedback to continuously improve the Circle program. In fact, we're already on the third version — shaped by the insights and experiences of those who came before you.

Absolutely! There are countless challenges worth working on. To help you focus your efforts, we use the SSS framework — Sizable, Solvable, and Sorely Overlooked — to guide you in identifying which global problem you might take on. As a Circle participant, you’ll gain access to all related materials and recommendations.

Yes. Circles are grounded in the “5 C’s”: Confidentiality, Commitment, Curiosity, Courage, and Challenge. These principles are essential to building a safe and supportive space. Throughout the program, you'll regularly reflect on them, and various exercises are designed to strengthen the 5 C’s within your group.

The program consists of 3 modules, each with three sessions. We recommend planning 2 to 3 weeks between each session. However, there are also optional extra sessions you can add — so you’re free to extend the journey if you like.

On average, preparing for a session takes about 2 to 3 hours — and we ask that you take this seriously. If you’re also leading the session, add roughly another hour for facilitation. The sessions themselves last between 2 and 3 hours.

No. The School for Moral Ambition is a non-profit foundation that offers the program free of charge. Leading a Circle is a voluntary commitment — it’s not a paid role.

Yes — the school offers a comprehensive curriculum free of charge. It includes a guide and slide decks for all sessions of the program. This serves as the foundation for your Circle meetings. Of course, you’re free to adapt and personalize it — it’s your process!

We’ve chosen a model that gives everyone free access to all materials. This way, we keep the threshold for participation as low as possible — so anyone who feels called can join.

All royalties from the book and from Rutger Bregman's lectures on the book go to The School for Moral Ambition. You can find the contract between Rutger’s BV and Stichting School for Moral Ambition here.

We truly appreciate it when participants share their experiences. After each session, you'll have the opportunity to provide your feedback. Your insights help us enhance the Circle program for everyone involved.

When putting your Circle together, we recommend considering two things: location — can you meet in person? — and the ambition level of the people you invite. It helps if you're on the same page when it comes to your drive and goals.

First, create an account on our platform via this link https://community.moralambition.org/signup. Then, we recommend joining a Community Onboarding Session to get started.If you decide to start your own Circle, the next step is to complete the Circle Starter Training. This training gives you everything you need to confidently guide your own Circle.After completing the training, you will be ready to start your Circle — and you will get access to our Circle Pioneers Club: a dedicated space on the platform with events, exclusive resources, and a private forum to support and inspire each other.

As a Circle Starter, you're generally responsible for finding your own location.The ideal space is quiet, enclosed, and allows you to sit in a real Circle—ideally with access to a screen.Here are some tips for finding a good location:At your workplace: Ask if you can use a meeting room in the evenings.Rotate weekly: Host the first session at your home, then ask others to take turns hosting.Community spaces: Libraries or neighborhood centers often offer affordable rooms for social initiatives.Commercial venues: Some professional meeting spaces offer discounts for initiatives with social impact.

The School for Moral Ambition is primarily funded by significant donations from individuals and grants from foundations. Additionally, we receive smaller contributions from individuals, income from paid talks and workshops, contributions from host organizations partaking in the fellowship program, as well as valuable in-kind contributions. Read more about how we are funded.

No, we don’t. We did receive positive feedback from students who have completed the Moral Ambition Circle program. Are you a student interested in joining? You're very welcome to try it — and we’d love to hear about your experience! Please start by joining the Moral Ambition Community. Here you can find more morally ambitious students - and others!

The School for Moral Ambition was founded by Rutger Bregman (author of the book Moral Ambition), Julia van Boven (Community Director), Harald Dunnink (Creative Director), and Jan-Willem van Putten (Fellowship Director).

Join the Moral Ambition Community Platform and either start or join a Moral Ambition Circle—a peer‑led group of six to eight ambitious idealists who help one another turn moral ambition into action. The platform gives you step‑by‑step resources to organise your Circle and connects you with members who share your drive for impact. Create your profile and get started!

We encourage everyone within their own company or organization to pursue their moral ambition. Learning more about moral ambition can be done by reading the book Moral Ambition and by participating in Moral Ambition Circles. For now, we are not entering into direct collaborations, but this may change in the future.

We work in accordance of applicable legislation in this area, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Furthermore, we handle the personal data of participants and stakeholders with care.

The book is currently available in Dutch. You can buy the book at your favorite book retailer. For example, in the kiosk of De Correspondent or at your local bookstore.

‍

Upcoming translations:

Finnish: October 2024

German: November 12, 2024

English (UK/US): Spring 2025

French: September 2025

‍

The publication dates of other editions are not yet confirmed. Translation rights have been sold to 17 countries.

For contributions to lectures or events, we recommend emailing us at info@moralambition.org.

Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn.

We have published our policy plan in accordance with ANBI regulations on our website moreleambitie.nl. Annual reports will also be published here with the first one in June 2025.

For substantive questions or comments about the book, you can email post@decorrespondent.nl.

For questions not addressed in the FAQ, you can contact us directly at fellowship@moralambition.org. We also periodically host webinars during the application period.

For complaints, it's best to contact The School for Moral Ambition directly via info@moralambition.org.

The topics were chosen through an extensive research process using the Impact-Neglectedness-Tractability framework, supplemented by assessing whether a small cohort of talented individuals could make a significant impact. These topics were identified as both urgent and actionable, where focused efforts could lead to meaningful change.

We strive to mobilize talented individuals to address the greatest global challenges. Also see our seven core principles.

The fellowship program carefully matches fellows with host organizations to ensure alignment of goals and skills. Fellows are integrated into their teams with planned orientations and are supported throughout their placement to maximize both their impact and their learning experience.