Paid summer internship opportunity

Know a graduate student interested in the non-profit sector and philanthropy?  The Andrus Family Fund (see below), is offering a very interesting summer internship, and what’s more, it’s paid.  We found out about it at the Entry Level Living blog, and we’re passing it along.

The Andrus Family Fund (AFF) seeks a graduate student with an interest in philanthropy, public policy, economic/racial justice, community organizing and/or collaborative processes for a ten-week full-time paid summer internship.  Start/end dates are negotiable.

Duties

Internship duties will primarily include supporting the work of the NYC Collaborative for Fairness and Equity in Philanthropy (CFEP).  This group consists of representatives from organizations led by and serving African American, Latino, Asian and Native American communities and foundation representatives, working to engage the NYC-area philanthropic community in a conversation about foundation diversity, accountability and transparency.  This work is taking place in the context of a national conversation that was sparked, in part, by the Greenlining Institute’s efforts in California and a more recent report entitled Criteria for Philanthropy at its Best by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.  Supporting this Collaborative will involve:

• Planning for a foundation strategy session to take place during Summer 2009;
• Initial planning for CFEP’s first forum to take place in Fall 2009;
• Tracking research and opinions in the national discussion surrounding foundation diversity, accountability and transparency;
• Maintaining CFEP’s communications, including coordinating conference calls and meetings; and
• Developing a database of foundation and non-profit leaders supportive of CFEP’s efforts

The intern will report to AFF’s program officer and will also assist her with regular duties, including evaluating grant applications and supporting grantee organizations.

The ideal candidate will be one with strong writing, speaking, research, organizing and computer skills.

Compensation

The Andrus Family Fund Summer Intern will be compensated at the rate of $25/hour (maximum 35 hours/week) with no additional benefits.   (U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries who are eligible to work in the United States are welcome to apply.)

How to Apply

Submit a resume and cover letter explaining your interest in the internship to jwilliams@affund.org by May 1, 2009.

About the Andrus Family Fund

The Andrus Family Fund’s grantmaking is guided by the belief that social change efforts will have a better chance for success when the emotional and psychological effects of the change process are recognized and addressed. William Bridges, a noted author and organizational consultant, uses the term “transition” to refer to the psychological process that a person experiences when he or she comes to terms with a new situation. Where change is external and situational (i.e., marriage, a new job), transition is the internal process of how one responds to the change.

AFF examines the power of using the Transition Framework within the Fund’s two program areas: (1) youth’s passage from foster care to independence; and (2) community reconciliation.  AFF focuses its grantmaking on these program areas while also seeking to learn about the relationship between external change and internal transition.

The fund was established in 2000 to give fifth generation Andrus family members between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five an opportunity to learn about and participate in organized philanthropy.  AFF operates under the 501(c)(3) status of the Surdna Foundation.

AFF is interested in the work of the Committee for Fairness and Equity in Philanthropy (1) because it is a collaborative effort, much like the efforts the foundation supports in its community reconciliation program and (2) because AFF is interested in testing its theories of community reconciliation within the philanthropic community of which it is a part.