ACLS Mission and Overview

Formed a century ago, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a nonprofit federation of 81 scholarly organizations. As the leading representative of American scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences, ACLS’ core principle is that knowledge is a public good. As such, ACLS strives to promote the circulation of humanistic knowledge throughout society. In addition to stewarding and representing its member organizations, ACLS employs its endowment and $35 million annual operating budget to support scholarship in the humanities and social sciences and to advocate for its central role in the twenty-first century.

Overview of Department 

The Development Department’s role is to develop and secure funding from a wide range of sources, including individual donors, small and major foundations and institutional members. Formed in 2016, the department is charged with planning and executing activities that will expand the scope of ACLS’s individual giving program, foundation support and institutional memberships. Activities include organizing engaging public programs (mostly online) and in-person events; identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gift prospects; supporting the efforts of ACLS leadership to raise major gifts; enhancing a planned giving program; and partnering with the President’s Office on the ACLS Research University Consortium and Associate Membership networks. 

Job Summary 

ACLS is looking for a careful, attentive Development Data Intern to help us establish good data hygiene in our database of fellows and potential donors; prepare accurate mailing lists; and conduct light research. Integrity of data is critical to our work, and the ideal candidate will be able to work with large amounts of information with the highest degree of accuracy. 

ACLS maintains a network of thousands of scholars, fellowship recipients, and donors whose information is stored in our Customer Relations Management (CRM) system. It is essential that we have up-to-date contact details for our constituents so we can direct fundraising messages to the appropriate addresses, gain new supporters, and maintain contact with current ones. 

Right now, we are looking to deepen our relationships with recipients of ACLS fellowships and grants by learning more about them and planning relevant and engaging programming for them. The Development Data Intern will support this work by updating the honorifics and employment information for hundreds of awardees.  

We have also recently undertaken a campaign to recruit new Associate members. Associates are colleges, universities, research libraries, and other scholarly institutions committed to supporting humanistic study; their membership dues are a key part of the ACLS financial structure. The Development Data Intern will create or update CRM records for several hundred potential Associate member institutions and their key contacts. They may also support preparing outreach messaging and mailings.  

Finally, the Development Data Intern will further support our cyclical fundraising activities by updating biographical details and home addresses of potential donors in CRM, and by formatting and verifying the mailing list for our end-of-year fundraising campaign.  

The Development Data Intern will gain valuable insight into the behind the scenes aspects of the development department, the impact of data integrity on fundraising, and outreach. 

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: 

• Updating CRM records with the accurate biographical, employment and contact information of hundreds of fellows, grantees, and potential donors. 
• Researching contacts using institutional websites and directories. 
• Classifying prospective Associate member institutions in CRM and updating their key contacts and mailing addresses. 
• Supporting direct mail activities by formatting and reviewing mailing lists.  

Desired Qualifications: 

• Currently enrolled or recent graduate in a degree program in a related field 
• Excited by detail-oriented work; genuinely enjoys being “in the weeds” and spending hours in databases. 
• Has superior organizational skills and flawless attention to detail while managing a high volume of data. Self-checks for accuracy while working. 
• High level of technical skill with Excel (must feel confident using formulas, pivot tables, filters, and more advanced features) 
• Self-motivated, able to manage their time independently, and reliable. 
• Comfortable asking for guidance. Because accuracy is so important, we desire candidates who exercise good judgement as they work and actively seek clarification.
• Willingness to try new tasks and learn skills on the job 
• Interested in learning about the higher education landscape and fundraising 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; strong interpersonal skills 
• Proficiency in MS Office, particularly Word and Outlook  
• Experience with Mailchimp and CMS systems desired but not required

Compensation: 

• $25/hour 
• 10 hours a week for a term of four months. Must work a fixed schedule of hours each week. 

https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit-internship/8c43632370734a36bbe30e5b290d9d6b-development-data-intern-american-council-of-learned-societies-new-york?utm_source=symplicity&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=listings-api