After the two week trip, Fellows have the option of continuing their travel independently or in pairs by partnering with an Ashoka social entrepreneur working in the Global South. This is a chance for Barr Fellows to exchange ideas with emergent leaders working on similar issues in radically different environments. Fellows who do not choose to extend their travel have access to a limited pool of funds for alternative approved learning and writing opportunities.

We hope that both the collective journey and the Ashoka pairings act as stirrers of the imagination, allowing Fellows to think in new ways or be confirmed in their aspirations to achieve what in the everyday setting of home can feel impossible. Global networks of social entrepreneurs have demonstrated the transformative power of this type of exchange to provide our leaders, many of whom face exhaustion and isolation at work, with the courage and resolve to act on new thinking.

Leadership is relational and its development is best fostered in a relational/group context. In addition to connections between leaders from different countries working in vastly different contexts, ongoing relationships between Barr Fellows are a source of support and accountability for Fellows as they seek to manifest their dreams at home. In addition, each Fellow has the option of working with a personal coach to help maximize this opportunity.

Following the sabbatical, the Foundation gathers the cohort of Fellows on semi-annual overnight retreats over the course of the three years. Gatherings continue to build the peer network of support and learning.

For Organizations
Each organization receives a $30,000 grant that can be used flexibly before, during and up to one year after the executive director is on sabbatical. The grant is spent on a menu of support options such as bonuses for existing staff that take on interim responsibilities, organizational development, temporary workers and grant writers.

Third Sector New England is partnering with the Barr Foundation to support the organizations and to convene interim leaders for peer support. Often, sabbatical programs fail to provide organizations with support and as a result they flounder during the leader's absence.  This program aims to strengthen the organization during the sabbatical period, so that both the organization and its leader perform at a higher level at the end of the three months.