Building Capacity, Careers, & Community Internship Initiative.
The VirtualIntern is a simple approach that helps NGOs build capacity through virtual internships, removes access barriers for internship opportunities, and advances equity in under-served communities.
Overview
The VirtualIntern is launching the Building Capacity, Careers, & Community Internship Initiative, a cohort intern program that partners with nonprofits and other organizations to place college-level students in short-term, project-based virtual internships in communities across the country.
The Initiative seeks to close the widespread “career experience” and “economic opportunity” gap for college-level students from underserved communities by removing barriers and helping them launch their careers through paid virtual internships.
With the Initiative, all interns will receive real-world project-based learning, soft skills training, and career readiness development, and NGOs will receive access to motivated talent, help completing projects, the ability to test-drive talent, and a pipeline of talent to build their future workforce — all in a simple, easy solution.
NGO Benefits
Promote an inclusive workplace by hiring diverse interns
Gain an fresh perspective to get work done
Solve recruitment needs with a vetted pipeline of diverse talent
Build your brand by engaging with your future workforce
Informational Webinar
March 20, 2024 - 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm (ET)
Event:
Building Capacity, Careers, & Community Through Internships Webinar
Topic:
Join us for an informational webinar to learn more about how you can host a virtual intern through MobilizeGreen’s The VirtualIntern Initiative. We will discuss MobilizeGreen’s mission and approach, initiative details, timelines, and answer questions about the initiative.
The Details
The VirtualIntern will place up to 60 interns, matching them with environmental & conservation nonprofits from across the country.
The interns will participate in a cohort as they explore their career journey and professional development opportunities through the program. The internships will be paid 8-week positions with 36 hours of work each week and 4 hours of professional development on Fridays.
NGOs can host up to 2 interns, working on projects across the following categories with subcategories included on the application:
Sustainability & The Environment
Environmental Justice
Community Engagement
Project Management
Finance & Operations
Marketing & Communications
Philanthropy & Fundraising
Data & Technology
Other
With support from its partners, the cost of the intern can be split 50/50 between the NGO and The VirtualIntern.
NGOs may request up to $3750 to cover 50% of the costs for their intern, and will be required to provide a match equal to the requested amount per Internship.
100% matches may be provided for smaller community-based organizations.
NGOs are limited to 2 awarded internships in the summer, and may not receive more than two consecutive grants for the same student.
A typical 8-week internship cost is $7500. Ninety percent (90%) of that cost goes directly to the intern with the remaining amount to program administrative costs.
NGOs will provide the day-day supervision for their intern projects and mentorship for interns. The VirtualIntern will handle all of the administrative components (e.g., payroll, timekeeping system, handbooks), soft skills training, and professional development, along with ongoing career coaching.
The hosting application with the matching grant request opens March 1, 2024. Click here.
Getting Matched
Our goal is to make every stage of the process as quick and easy as it should be:
Vetted Talent that aligns with the skills you need
Diverse Recruiting that reflects the real world
Remote Work with life skills training and mentoring
Fast Hiring that can build your future workforce
Simple Solution where we handle the paperwork
Meet Nadia… Nadia served as an Environmental Justice Climate Equity Fellow working as a virtual intern on community assessments. Nadia was working towards her Master’s degree in Natural Resource Management.
“[T]he onboarding process was so simple. Their virtual interns are not just someone you hire from Upwork, you are getting hand-picked candidates that have passion and an interest to make a difference with your organization.”
The Timeline
Grant Applications Open: March 1, 2024
Grant Applications Close: Apri 15, 2024
Notice of NGO Grant Award By: On a rolling basis
Talent Prescreening Underway: February - March, 2024
Intern/NGO Matches Made: On a rolling basis
Intern Orientation/Supervisor Training: June 17, 2024
Intern Cohort Starts Work: June 18, 2024
Professional Development Training: Fridays, June 21 - August 2, 2024
Project Presentation / Closeout: August 9, 2024
Supervisor Evaluations Due By: August 16, 2024
Frequently Asked Questions
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Internships are 4 - 10 weeks, depending on the time of year. This summer, internships are 8 weeks.
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We review your project description and will match you with your intern by degree, skills, and interest in working on your project. All candidates are pre-vetted by our staff. We will find you an ideal candidate for you.
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Before any cost share, the cost to host an 8-week summer intern is $7500. A 50% grant award will make that cost $3750.
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No. Interns may be hosted year-round, starting on a standard cohort date in the Fall, Winter, and Summer.
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In the summer, interns are expected to work full-time 36 hours each week on their project, and 4 hours on professional development training and events.
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We provide orientation, soft-skills training, and professional development opportunities during their internship with the opportunity to join a networking community with resources after their internship ends. Interns who have been successful in their virtual internships receive priority placement in future career pathway internships with MobilizeGreen.
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Your team will manage all of your intern’s daily assignments and deadlines, guiding them in completing their projects. This includes checking in with the intern regularly, providing clear timelines and expectations for projects, and answering the intern's project-related questions. In addition, we also will provide mentoring/coaching and professional development opportunities.
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Supervisors are asked to complete a student and program evaluation that will ask about project metrics that were reported during the host application.
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We want interns to get extended and hired. We track this hiring metric, and ask that you share the great news with us. There is no cost to hire an intern permanently. Intern extensions are made on the same or an agreed cost change.
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We believe all interns must be paid, and have designed the program for the cost to be affordable to NGOs and equitable for interns. Yet, we want to make sure that small, community based organizations can access this talent and we will consider smaller cost-share requirements.
