The pros and cons of nonprofit internships
By Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf
November 9, 2009
The voluntary sector is full of people trying to serve and better society in a multitude of ways. Most people would agree with this assessment. But established charities and nonprofits all have to get their staff from somewhere. They don't just grow on trees.
One of the time-honoured methods employed by organizations to stock the third sector with civic-minded employees is to tap into the wellspring of willing and eager student interns.
Summertime, and the learning is easy
The old adage that says if you want to learn how to do something, you have to actually do it, holds true for interns and the voluntary organizations that employ them across the nation. Though there are many good schools dedicated to training future leaders in the nonprofit world, perhaps one of the country's best-kept secrets is the quality of interns that are consistently turned out by Ontario's Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning.
World renowned Canadian CFRE Ken Wyman - who is the coordinator for Humber's Postgraduate Fundraising and Volunteer Management Program - spoke with CharityVillage recently about the program and about the importance of interns to the sector.
Lest one think there's too much emphasis on this particular school, consider the following about Wyman's program: 92% of the school's graduates find work in the sector within six months of graduation. That's impressive.
And students are placed on internships not just in Canada, but sometimes worldwide, before they complete their studies. This year alone, the school placed students in more than 35 "big name" charities and nonprofits for 10-week, summer internships.
Asked why churning out competent interns is so vital to the sector, Wyman responded:
"They provide much more than 10 weeks of labour. They are well prepared, bringing the latest information and fresh ideas. They can complete major projects, and explore new initiatives," he says. At the same time, interns learn on the job how to "research and write grant proposals, create direct mailings, plan and execute special events, organize major donor visits, develop annual and capital campaign plans, set up online giving and social networking, and so much more. Successful interns should be able to take away samples of work done for their portfolios - with due regard for confidentiality - letters of reference, results they can use for the CFRE applications, and a sense of satisfaction for a job well done."
From an organizational perspective, Wyman believes interns represent a great resource for both pragmatic and future planning.
"Some employers see this as a chance to 'test drive' a potential new staff member before making the commitment to hiring full time" |
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"For a nonprofit group, having interns is primarily an opportunity to get an extra pair of hands and a lively brain to tackle important projects beyond what the current staff or volunteers [are able] to complete. Some employers see this as a chance to 'test drive' a potential new staff member before making the commitment to hiring full time," he states. "The interns can also offer a mini-refresher course, helping the nonprofit's team update their skills. On the flip side, taking on interns is an opportunity to give back, to serve as a mentor, with a responsibility to help the next generation of leaders to polish their skills as they enter the field."
Speaking intern
Lauren Wells, fundraising and marketing coordinator for the Argos Foundation in Toronto, graduated from Wyman's program in 2007. She feels the experience was invaluable. She spent her internship working with Imagine Canada that summer before moving on to contract work with the Princess Margaret Hospital and Big Brothers Big Sisters York Region, and says it was one of the best things she did for her career.
"It was a good fit. My personality matched [theirs]," Wells says. "It was a great experience because [Imagine] deals with a lot of corporations. And there was a need to get that kind of experience. I worked a lot with Mike Meadows [Imagine's senior manager for Corporate Citizenship] on the Caring Companies [project]. That was really neat."
Wells says she was "an open book," willing to learn anything the organization had to throw her way. And while learning new skills was enlightening, for her the best part was the internship's aftermath.
"In terms of maintaining contacts and getting a peer-mentor role, it was fantastic. I'm still in contact. Just having those individuals to go to once my internship was over...to have them as a sounding board when I was applying for other contracts, was really great to have that lead into the nonprofit environment," she says.
And her experience led her to her current role at the Argos Foundation.
"I did a lot of cold calling at Imagine, so I gained more confidence with that. Now at the foundation, dealing with the two or three large corporate donors we try to steward, I think I've learned how to do that from [the internship at] Imagine," Wells explains, adding that her advice for people considering internships is simple: Have an open mind and "be aware that you're going to enjoy something you might never expect you would."
"I was surprised at all the different avenues the fundraising world offers. There are so many different, unique opportunities. It's not just fundraising."
Wyman's assessment of the qualities and character traits that an intern should develop seem to jibe with Wells' insights.
"Adaptability is key," he says. "Every organization's unique situation makes it essential to adjust the methods to fit the special issues. Communication skills are vital as interns must listen for unspoken instructions, explore different possible solutions to problems, and explain their ideas to busy leaders."
To intern, or not to intern
Yet, should nonprofits always be looking for interns to fill organizational needs? The answer is slightly complicated. For Wyman, there are times when an organization might want to rethink a plan to attract interns, particularly when it has unrealistic expectations.
"They are good, but creating miracles is not in most interns' job description. Interns, talented though they are, also require supervision at least once or twice a week. If the supervisor goes on vacation, or becomes preoccupied with other projects and abandons the intern, both sides will likely be dissatisfied," Wyman says. "Organizations that are tiny, desperate, and on the verge of failing may need more sophisticated skills from a professional who understands organizational turnarounds."
Still, the benefits usually outweigh the costs, for both the intern and the hiring organization.
Talking ‘bout my intern-nation
Meg Kwasnicki manages Imagine's nonprofit library and has seen her fair share of interns (many of whom arrive via Ontario's Seneca College Library Studies field placement program). For her, interns represent a boon to the office.
"They're important. They let us get caught up on jobs that we normally [put on the backburner] and do work that we don't have the staff capacity to do all the time," she says. But beyond the specific, pragmatic help interns represent to an organization, according to Kwasnicki, they also represent an ideology in the sector.
"There's also the civic responsibility of [hiring an intern]. The notion that you're helping somebody to potentially become an employee for your sector and learn a skill that they might want to develop further," she points out.
On the sensitive nature of paying interns for their work, Wyman notes that while not all nonprofits can afford to pay an intern, it's not necessarily the case that an intern will turn down the opportunity to work for nothing, if the return on their time investment makes sense.
"Students are attracted by the chance to work with respected mentors, to meet influential board members, volunteers and donors, and expand their networks." |
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"Students prefer to be paid, of course. However, not every organization can pay, and students have been known to turn down a paying position in favour of an opportunity to take on more responsibility so that their skills shine," Wyman asserts. "They also want to feel passionate about the causes they support. In addition, students are attracted by the chance to work with respected mentors, to meet influential board members, volunteers and donors, and expand their networks. Travel can also be an incentive."
An unexpected side discovery
On a last note, Kwasnicki says in her work with interns, she's discovered an impediment in the sector that was only brought to her attention by the volunteer.
What has become clear to her over the years through the eyes of her interns, she says, is how complex the nonprofit world is to the uninitiated.
"I think in some ways [interns] can offer more insight into how to organize or categorize material so it makes sense to those who aren't as knowledgeable or ingrained in the [sector's] terminology and jargon," she says. "When you work in the sector, you tend to get stuck in the trees. All the acronyms we use around here...having to re-explain that, you realize we have to change the way we talk about things because it's not helpful. I know there are a lot of new people in the sector who come to our website or have just gotten a job at a nonprofit and they don't really know all the lingo. And why should they? So it's helpful for us to [acknowledge] that."
Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf is president of WordLaunch professional writing services in Toronto. He can be reached at andy@wordlaunch.com.
Next week: The nonprofit road to the Olympics.
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