Building Community

Hosting an Intern

Hosting an Intern

The deadline to submit an application to host an intern in summer 2010 has passed. Please check back with us next year, or contact Holly at hkingsbury@denverfoundation.org or (303) 300-1790 ext. 147 for more information.

The Denver Foundation's Nonprofit Internship Program strives to engage young people, especially those from populations traditionally underrepresented in the nonprofit sector, by offering meaningful internship opportunities with Metro Denver nonprofit organizations.

The goals of the program are to:

  • Provide students with meaningful exposure to opportunities within the nonprofit sector
  • Encourage motivated, highly-qualified students from communities traditionally underrepresented in the nonprofit sector to pursue deeper involvement in the sector
  • Develop the leadership capacity of undergraduate students
  • Build capacity within nonprofit organizations by providing additional staff support

Each Summer, The Denver Foundation selects up to ten organizations to host interns through a competitive application process. The Denver Foundation awards host organizations a $5,000 grant to pay the intern's salary ($12.00/hour and taxes) and for other expenses related to hosting an intern. The Denver Foundation advertises the internship opportunity to local students and potential applicants.

Eligible organizations must, at a minimum:

  • Be a recipient of a grant from The Denver Foundation's Community Grants Program in the past three years
  • Submit a clear job description for the intern that provides education opportunities as well as an opportunity to contribute to the organization in a meaningful way
  • Demonstrate capacity: have a designated, experienced supervisor, appropriate work space, etc.
  • Provide a structured and interactive opportunity: "busy work" alone will not be sufficient.  Ideally, opportunities will engage and/or expose students to several aspects of the work of a nonprofit organization, such as programmatic work, fundraising, governance, etc.
  • Have a clearly articulated commitment to building inclusiveness and diversity, and be engaged in strategies to become more inclusive as an organization.
  • Organizations that received a grant to host an intern in the past are eligible to apply.  However, those organizations that hosted an intern during the previous year's program (2009) are not eligible to apply for the 2010 program - they are required to take a year off before applying again.
  • Pay students as employees of the organization and not as independent contractors.

The follow organizations will host an intern in summer 2010:

Over the past three years, the following organizations have hosted an intern:

2009

  • African Community Center
  • Doctors Care
  • Growing Home
  • Padres y Jovenes Unidos
  • PHAMALY
  • PlatteForum
  • Sisters of Color United for Education

2008

  • Denver Kids
  • Denver Urban Ministries
  • El Centro Su Teatro
  • Project Angel Heart
  • Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network
  • Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley
  • Shalom Park
  • Think 360 Arts Complete Education
  • Women's Lighthouse Project
  • YWCA of Boulder County

2007

  • American Red Cross - Mile High Chapter
  • Colorado Nonprofit Association
  • Breakthrough Kent Denver
  • Denver Urban Ministries
  • Front Range Earth Force
  • Project Angel Heart
  • Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts
  • Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum
  • Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence
  • Women's Health

For more information, please contact Holly Kingsbury, at hkingsbury@denverfoundation.org or at 303-300-1790 ext. 147.