Paid Undergraduate Non-Profit Summer Fellowships 2026

 Forest Foundation fosters the next generation of non-profit leaders through paid summer fellowships in Greater Boston, including a 10-week internship at a non-profit and proprietary programming. You will make a difference in the lives of others while learning about the larger non-profit sector and your role in it. You will join a cohesive community of young people who, like you, want to change the world. You gather with this community throughout the summer for days of networking, workshops, reflections, and professional development. You form a team with other interns and write real grants to actual Greater Boston nonprofits. You will build on your summer experiences with enhanced work training and industry connections that will lead to meaningful resume entries and possible future employment opportunities.

Summer Fellowship Includes:

●  Full time summer internship at a non-profit organization in the greater Boston area starts late May, 2026 for 10 weeks. Interns must be willing to reside in or within commuting distance of Boston for the duration of the summer program. Housing is not subsidized.

●  Interns are paired with a partner non-profit agency whose mission and/or job requirement matches the intern’s skill set and areas of interest

●  Intern receives $8,000 (pre-tax) compensation for the 400 hour Fellowship which includes: internship plus series of workshops and independent projects over the summer. Forest Foundation grants this money to the host non-profit which in turn pays the intern directly. Interns are considered employees of their host agency and are responsible for reporting any income tax. There may be a slight delay between the beginning of the internship and the intern’s first paycheck, so please be sure you can self-sustain for a couple of weeks if need be.

●  Interns will engage in general operations of the host nonprofit while completing tasks that help advance the organization’s work in the community

●  Interns are required to attend all in-person and virtual leadership and professional development workshops planned by Forest Foundation. We bring in outside leaders in the nonprofit world to instruct and share their experiences in the sector. The workshops and activities empower our interns to become diverse agents who can effectively address the fiscal and structural challenges facing our communities, nation and world. 

●  Within the summer long internship and series of programs/workshops, students are required to complete a grant-writing project as part of the program:

Interns are placed in small teams, receive grant-writing training, and then write a real grant for an actual non-profit organization. Grants are presented to the Forest Foundation’s Board of Trustees for review.

Accepted interns are required to attend all in-person and virtual meetings

● December 1 – Applications Open

● December 18 at 7PM EST– FF Initial Q&A Session for applicants. This session is not mandatory, but interested applicants can attend a session to learn more information about our internship program and ask additional questions. (Click here to sign up: https://forms.gle/xLV2LgcpkKBqyZv98)

● February 15 – Applications Due to Forest Foundation

● Rolling Acceptances through March – Students Notified of Forest Foundation Acceptances

● February-April – Host Agency Placement Process

● Thursday May 28 – Virtual Welcome and Introduction Meeting, 10AM (Zoom) *expect 2+ hours

● Friday May 29 –Workshop #1 – 9:30AM-3:00PM Orientation (In Person), Non Profit Center 89 South Street, Boston, MA.

● Tuesday, June 1 – Most internships begin

● Thursday, June 4- Virtual (Zoom) 1PM-2PM, Grant Team Breakout Zoom

● Thursday, June 11-Virtual (Zoom) 1PM-2PM, Understanding Generative Conflict

● Wednesday June 17 –Workshop #2 – 9:30AM-3:00PM, Grant Writing “101”, Non Profit Financials Workshop (In Person), Non Profit Center 89 South Street, Boston, MA.

● Thursday, July 2–Virtual (Zoom) 1PM-2PM, Mid Point Check in with Interns

● Wednesday, July 8, Workshop #3, 10AM-2PM, Personal Theory of Change and Job Seeking, Peer Panel (In Person), Non Profit Center 89 South Street, Boston, MA

● Wednesday July 15 –Workshop #4 – 10AM-1:30PM, Grant Preparation and Presentation Tutorial (In Person), The Link at Kendall Square 255 Main St 8th floor, Cambridge, MA 02142

● Thursday, July 23–Virtual (Zoom) 1PM-2PM, Grant Team Breakouts

● Wednesday July 29 – Workshop #5 9:30AM-3PM, Board Meeting and Team Presentations. (In Person), Non Profit Center 89 South Street, Boston, MA

● Thursday July 30- Wrap Up and Moving Forward -9:30AM-1PM (In Person), Non Profit Center 89 South Street, Boston, MA

● Friday, August 7 – Most Internships End 

To learn more, visit ffinterns.org 

Questions? Email: info@forestfoundation.net