Development Internship (Main Street America)

PROJECT SUMMARY

Main Street America (MSA), a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is seeking a Development Intern to support fundraising efforts for the organization. MSA leads a collaborative movement that advances shared prosperity, creates resilient economies, and improves quality of life through place-based economic development and community preservation in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts across the country.

The Intern will support our mission by helping to grow MSA’s individual giving program and supporting the build-out of new fundraising infrastructure. The intern will conduct research on digital individual giving best practices, audit MSA’s existing individual giving efforts, and contribute to the development of a digital giving campaign. They will also help the department manage and update a new donor database.

National Trust internships are temporary experiential learning opportunities with no expectation of employment at the conclusion of the internship.

For this internship, the National Trust is offering a stipend of $4,000 to help offset expenses. The period of the internship would be from approximately June 1 – July 24, for approximately 28 hours per week (some flexibility of schedule available).

DUTIES

• Conduct research on digital individual giving best practices, audit MSA’s previous giving campaigns, and develop recommendations to guide MSA’s individual giving program.
• Use recommendations to project manage and assist with the development of a summer giving campaign.
• Manage a new donor database platform, including creating and updating donor records, running reports, developing or refining Standard Operating Procedures for the new system, and cleaning up data. Make recommendations to development team about best practices for using the database.

EDUCATIONAL VALUE TO THE INTERN

The intern will gain experience under the mentorship of experienced fundraising professionals, in an educational setting at one of the nation’s leading economic and community development organizations. The intern will also have the opportunity to participate in educational programming offered via the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s organization-wide internship program. Students may also be eligible for college or graduate school academic credit at the discretion of their institution.

Specifically, the intern will gain knowledge and build skills in the following areas:

• Knowledge of individual giving best practices
• Experience developing and executing an individual giving campaign
• Email and social media marketing
• Fundraising database management

At the end of the project the intern will have produced a presentation evaluating Main Street America’s individual giving efforts to date, a survey of individual giving best practices, and based on that research, providing recommendations to improve the impact of Main Street America’s campaigns. This presentation can be added to their professional portfolio in support of their future career pursuits.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Interest in and familiarity with non-profit fundraising practices. Some fundraising experience a plus but not required.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills. Friendly and professional demeanor on the phone and in writing, with ability to speak and write clearly in English.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Basic analytical and problem-solving skills, including issue identification and prioritization. Basic project-organization skills.
• Ability to collaborate and achieve results with supervision, including ability to interact professionally with key internal and external stakeholders as needed.
• Strong organizational skills required, with ability to prioritize, multi-task efficiently, and meet deadlines in a timely fashion
• Ability to adapt and be flexible in a dynamic work environment. Ability to work effectively with frequent interruptions required. Able to handle frequently changing and/or unscheduled tasks with accuracy.
• Ability to work effectively with culturally diverse colleagues; connections to or experience helping to engage culturally diverse audiences and partners a plus.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office products required, including Outlook, Word and Excel. Familiarity with Salesforce a plus but not required.
• Ability to work effectively in a remote environment, maintaining productivity and communications to meet deadlines and goals is required.
• Bachelor’s level studies (or equivalent years of experience) required; current or rising juniors, seniors or graduate students preferred. Studies or demonstrated interest in related subject matter preferred, such as communications, marketing, or non-profit management.

https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit-internship/d6a0de89176c4fa8afde653ef0d51ae7-development-internship-main-street-america-main-street-america-chicago?utm_source=symplicity&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=listings-api