Branding and Visual Communication Fellow

Fellowship Term: 7 months, November 2026 – May 2027

Stipend: $7,500

Time Commitment: Approximately 10–15 hours per week

Location: New York City-based (hybrid); must reside in NYC and be familiar with Central Brooklyn

Reports to: BEJP President

Program Area: BEJP Community Loan Fund

About the Brooklyn Economic Justice Project

The Brooklyn Economic Justice Project (BEJP), an initiative of Brooklyn Level Up (BKLVLUP), is building a community-centered economic infrastructure rooted in the values, leadership, and lived experiences of Central Brooklyn residents, small businesses, and grassroots organizations. Through its emerging community loan fund, BEJP seeks to expand access to non-extractive, relationship-based capital for small businesses, community-serving enterprises, cooperatives, and other neighborhood-rooted projects that advance economic justice, stability, and shared prosperity.

The BEJP Community Loan Fund is designed to support borrowers who are often excluded from traditional lending systems, while centering trust, community accountability, technical assistance, and democratic decision-making. The fund will prioritize businesses and projects that are rooted in Central Brooklyn, serve working families and neighborhood businesses across Central Brooklyn, and contribute to long-term community wealth building.

Position Summary

BEJP is seeking a Branding and Visual Communication Fellow to support the visual identity, design, and public presence of the BEJP Community Loan Fund. The Fellow will work closely with BEJP's Visual and Media Lead and the BEJP President to turn the fund's story into clear, consistent, and compelling visuals across digital and print platforms.

This fellowship is ideal for someone interested in graphic design, visual storytelling, branding, social media, grassroots marketing, economic justice, and small business development. The Fellow will gain hands-on experience designing graphics and campaign materials, maintaining brand consistency, supporting outreach campaigns, and turning complex financial and economic justice ideas into accessible visuals.

The Branding and Visual Communication Fellow must reside in New York City and have familiarity with Central Brooklyn, including its neighborhoods, small business corridors, cultural landscape, community organizations, and economic justice priorities.

Key Responsibilities

1. Supporting Visual Storytelling and Narrative Development

The Fellow will support BEJP's Visual and Media Lead in shaping and sharing the public narrative of the Community Loan Fund through visual design. Responsibilities may include:

• Supporting the lead in visually communicating why the BEJP Community Loan Fund exists and why it matters for Central Brooklyn.
• Helping the lead turn narratives about community lending, economic justice, reparative capital, and neighborhood wealth building into graphics, carousels, and infographics.
• Designing visual features that highlight Central Brooklyn small businesses, community leaders, residents, partners, and local economic justice efforts.
• Supporting the lead in making sure images of borrowers, partners, and community members are used respectfully and with consent.
• Creating quote cards, profile graphics, and story layouts for content developed with the team.
• Supporting BEJP in communicating the fund as both a practical resource for small businesses and a broader strategy for community power.
• Helping ensure BEJP's visuals reflect dignity, trust, accountability, and community voice.

2. Supporting Communications Strategy and Content Planning

The Fellow will support BEJP's Visual and Media Lead in carrying out the communications strategy for the Community Loan Fund. Responsibilities may include:

• Supporting the lead in developing the visual side of BEJP's communications and storytelling strategy.
• Helping the lead build the monthly content calendar, with a focus on design timelines and asset needs.
• Designing content for social media, newsletters, website updates, flyers, event materials, partner communications, and public announcements.
• Helping identify visual themes and campaign opportunities related to community lending, small business support, Central Brooklyn, and economic justice.
• Helping translate BEJP's loan fund goals into accessible, engaging visuals.
• Maintaining consistency in colors, typography, templates, and visual style, in line with the BEJP brand guide.
• Tracking design deadlines tied to events, application deadlines, workshops, and campaign moments.

3. Social Media and Digital Communications

The Fellow will help BEJP build visibility and engagement through social media and digital platforms. Responsibilities may include:

• Designing and producing graphics and visual content for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, newsletters, or other platforms used by BEJP.
• Scheduling approved posts across BEJP's social media platforms.
• Helping amplify partner announcements, borrower stories, community events, and relevant economic justice content.
• Tracking engagement metrics and identifying which content is resonating with audiences.

4. Public Awareness and Community Outreach Campaigns

The Fellow will help BEJP reach community members, potential borrowers, supporters, and funders through coordinated outreach and communications campaigns. Responsibilities may include:

• Supporting campaigns to announce the BEJP Community Loan Fund and explain its purpose.
• Helping promote borrower information sessions, community meetings, fund updates, and application opportunities.
• Creating content that encourages Central Brooklyn small businesses and community-serving projects to learn more about the fund.
• Supporting outreach to neighborhood partners, community organizations, merchant associations, local institutions, and grassroots networks.
• Helping develop messaging for different audiences, including borrowers, residents, funders, elected officials, and community partners.
• Supporting digital and print promotion of BEJP events and public engagement opportunities.
• Helping ensure that outreach materials are clear, culturally relevant, accessible, and rooted in Central Brooklyn.

5. Messaging, Materials, and Communications Support

The Fellow will assist BEJP in building a clear, values-aligned communications voice for the Community Loan Fund. Responsibilities may include:

• Helping refine key messages about BEJP's community loan fund model.
• Supporting the development of plain-language explanations of non-extractive lending, community investment, reparative capital, and community wealth building.
• Designing short communications materials, including flyers, event graphics, email headers, website visuals, and presentation templates.
• Helping ensure that BEJP's communications are accessible to people who may not be familiar with lending, finance, or community investment.
• Supporting alignment between communications, fund development, borrower outreach, and community engagement goals.
• Helping organize templates, language banks, photo libraries, and communications assets for ongoing use.

Qualifications

BEJP understands that strong candidates may come from many different backgrounds. Formal communications or marketing experience is helpful but not required. We especially encourage candidates with lived, professional, creative, or community-based experience in Central Brooklyn to apply.

Strong candidates will bring:

• Strong visual design skills and the ability to translate creative and art direction into digital and print designs that communicate brand and stories.
• Canva experience and skills (required). Figma, Claude, or Adobe Suite are helpful but optional.
• Comfort creating public-facing content for social media, newsletters, flyers, websites, or community campaigns.
• Residence in New York City and familiarity with Central Brooklyn neighborhoods, communities, small businesses, cultural institutions, and local economic conditions.
• Interest in storytelling, communications, social media, digital media, community journalism, economic justice, small business support, or grassroots outreach.
• Strong writing skills and ability to communicate clearly, warmly, and accessibly.
• Ability to translate complex ideas into simple and engaging public messages.
• Strong listening skills and respect for community voice and lived experience.
• Strong visual sense and attention to detail.
• Ability to work respectfully with community members, small business owners, and partner organizations.
• Strong organization, follow-through, and time management skills.
• Ability to work independently while receiving guidance and feedback.
• Ability to work with the Content and Video Fellow to provide design assets and keep the brand consistent.

Preferred, but not required:

• Experience supporting events, outreach campaigns, community organizing, or public education efforts.
• Familiarity with Central Brooklyn's small business ecosystem, commercial corridors, cultural history, and community organizations.
• Bilingual or multilingual skills relevant to Central Brooklyn communities.
• Experience writing captions, flyers, email copy, blog posts, campaign language, profiles, interviews, or public-facing communications.