About the Institute
SV@Home is committed to creating and empowering our leaders of today and tomorrow by equipping them with the tools necessary to succeed in the affordable housing field. SV@Home’s Brick by Brick Institute offers a suite of programs in policy advocacy education and action, leadership development, and capacity building.
Brick by Brick Internship
SV@Home’s Brick by Brick Internships are designed for undergraduate students, recent graduates, or people with relevant experience looking to launch their careers and learn about local, regional, and state housing policy. Internships have traditionally been focused on affordable housing policy, social justice, and communications to support SV@Home’s policy and advocacy work.
Brick by Brick Fellowship
The Fellowship
The Brick by Brick Fellowships are designed for early-career professionals who come from low-income backgrounds and/or communities of color and are just starting their journeys in the broader fields of affordable housing and housing justice in Santa Clara County. The fellowship aims to bring together people to learn, research, and innovate tools for equity-centered systems change in the affordable housing field. Participants will also be equipped with professional development skills to climb their career ladders — transforming the makeup of leadership in the affordable housing ecosystem into one that is reflective of the diversity of our region.
Is the Brick by Brick Fellowship Right For Your Staff?
SV@Home’s Fellowship program is the right fit if you want your staff to:
- Learn healing and resiliency practices to ensure longevity in your professional housing career.
- Gain technical, critical thinking, and communication skills necessary for professional entry, development, and advancement in the affordable housing field.
- Learn practical concepts of housing justice and affordable housing history, policy, analysis, and advocacy.
- Connect with SV@Home’s vast network of community partners in the affordable housing ecosystem.
- Embark on a project within your organization that contributes to systems-changing solutions in the affordable housing field.
- Design, plan, and execute event organizing and presenting the findings of your affordable housing-related project to the public.
When is the Brick by Brick Fellowship?
Starting in September 2025, we plan to welcome the first Brick by Brick Fellowship cohort of five to eight fellows, who will commit to eight-monthly all-day sessions every second Friday of the month, with an additional event in May, and a graduation ceremony in June 2026 program.
Who is Eligible?
Participants will be made up of employees in organizations that are SV@Home members with zero to two years of experience in a professional setting. Participants must be nominated by their employer. Employees are also encouraged to ask their employers to participate in this program.
Requirements
- Nominees need to be currently employed at a Santa Clara County-based participating organization, which can include nonprofits who are community-based organizations, affordable housing developers, land trusts, community development financial institutions, or foundations.
- Nominations must come from a participating organization’s leadership.
- Participating organizations must be up-to-date, dues paying SV@Home Members after an applicant has been accepted into the program.
- Nominees need to be early-career professionals with 0-2 years of experience working in the housing field at their current job in any capacity.
- Nominees should come from either a low-income background and/or from communities of color.
- Nominees must have or will have housing-related work as part of their job duties.
Not Required
- Affordable housing or policy expertise.
Qualities We Look For
- Tenacity: deep passion for the work and the ability to persevere through challenges over months and years, while giving oneself grace.
- Devotion to housing justice: we aim to train leaders who share our vision of creating systemic changes for a diverse and equitable Silicon Valley where everyone has a safe, stable, affordable home.
- Dedication to community: community has many layers and meanings, but generally one that is rooted in compassion and commitment to support and empower people.
- Abundant mindset: readiness to take housing career to the next level by having an open mind and co-creating a culture of kindness, that celebrates people, and embraces opportunities.
- Wonder and intellectual curiosity: views the world with excitement and exploration; is ready to learn, create the capacity to understand differing perspectives, and examine one’s own assumptions.
- Cultivate, multiply, and motivate leadership: there are many ways to lead, though some common factors include the ability to take initiative, have the capacity to mobilize people, and inspire others to lead.
How Much Does It Cost?
Other than the participating organization paying the annual due for SV@Home membership, there are no other costs! This is a benefit of being a paying SV@Home organizational member!
How Is It Different From Other Fellowships?
- We serve early career professionals who come from low-income lived experience and/or communities of color.
- We offer both professional and leadership development skills that support both effectiveness in the job and career advancement.
- We provide learning opportunities in what SV@Home specializes in: affordable housing policy analysis and advocacy.
- Our commitment to training emerging leaders who prioritizes systemic changes to the housing system.
- Our geographic scope is Santa Clara County.