Summer 2027 Foundation Relations Intern

Natural Resources Defense; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 112,000; Full time

Job summary

NRDC's Development (Fundraising) Department seeks a graduate intern to support Foundation Relations. The intern will report to the Senior Manager, Foundation Strategy and can be based in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, or Washington, DC. Interns are expected onsite 3 days per week.

Responsibilities include analyzing meeting trackers for funding trends, helping with corporate giving strategy, improving Salesforce data hygiene, and supporting donor engagements with program staff.

Qualifications

• Must be currently enrolled in a graduate program.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Initiative, proactiveness, creativity.
• Research and/or data analysis skills.
• Project management and/or problem solving skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Commitment to NRDC’s mission, values, and DEI principles.

Responsibilities

• Analyze meeting trackers to surface trends and funding opportunities.
• Support NRDC's corporate giving strategy and develop a prospect pipeline.
• Help research companies and advise on fundable projects.
• Improve data hygiene within Salesforce and support donor engagements.
• Coordinate with program staff to align with prospective funders.

Skills

Written communication

Verbal communication

Initiative

Creativity

Data analysis

Project management

Attention to detail

DEI commitment

Education

Graduate program enrollment

Tools

Salesforce

Asana

Job description

Overview

NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) works to safeguard the Earth, its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. NRDC combines the power of more than 3 million members and online activists with the expertise of some 800 policy advocates, lawyers, scientists, and communication experts to confront the climate crisis, protect nature, ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. As an international nonprofit environmental organization, NRDC is working to address the world’s most urgent environmental challenges, and advance innovative, science-based, and enforceable solutions.

Since our founding in 1970, NRDC has helped craft and deliver many of America’s foundational environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. Today, we continue to lead in advancing and defending strong environmental protections at the local, state, federal and international levels, as well as through the marketplace. Our team works across the United States and around the world, from offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., as well as in Beijing, and New Delhi (a subsidiary of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd.).

Supported by our members and online activists, NRDC is driving impactful solutions that confront the climate crisis, defend nature and safeguard public health acrossAsia, Africa, and the Americas. At NRDC, we believe lasting change happens when people bring their talent, passion, and expertise together for a common purpose: to build a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient world. Learn more at nrdc.org.

Our interns play an active role on the front lines of the environmental movement. Over the course of an internship, NRDC interns work with lawyers, scientists, or policy analysts in different program areas and amass experience that they could not have obtained anywhere else. Interns also have access to various events to enhance their NRDC experience.

NRDC interns may support or work on:

• Research, data collection, and analysis
• Writing and developing materials for state and federal campaigns
• Supporting with designing equitable policy solutions
• Copywriting and editing social media posts and supporting on marketing campaigns
• Brainstorming opportunities for process improvements, new vendors, partnerships, and engagement
• Project management of department and team-wide initiatives

You can find examples of work by our interns on our Careers Page.

Responsibilities

POSITION SUMMARY

NRDC's Development (Fundraising) Department is seeking a graduate intern to support ongoing projects and priorities for our Foundation Relations Division. This intern will report into our Senior Manager, Foundation Strategy. This intern can be based out of our Chicago, New York, San Francisco, or Washington, DC offices. Interns are expected to be onsite 3 days per week.

The Foundation Relations Intern will be supporting the Institutional Giving team. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is interested in nonprofit development and climate philanthropy or wants exposure to environmental advocacy work within a large NGO. A few examples of projects they could be working on are: 1) Analyze the team's meeting trackers to surface trends and lessons learned, paying close attention to which types of meetings resulted in funding and making recommendations about how our time is best spent, 2) Supporting NRDC's new corporate giving strategy by helping develop a pipeline of prospects, research companies, and provide recommendations about what types of projects will be "fundable" with this new audience. The Foundation Relations intern will have the opportunity to engage in different areas of our work, which may also include improving data hygiene within our Salesforce database, supporting with donor engagements, or meeting with program staff to compile information about their work to help determine alignment with prospective funders.

Qualifications

REQUIREMENTS

• Must be currently enrolled in a gradaute program
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Initiative, proactiveness, creativity
• Research and/or data analysis skills
• Project management and/or problem solving skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Commitment to NRDC’s mission, values, and DEI principles

TOOLS

• Experience with Salesforce or another CRM is preferred but not required.
• Experience with Asana or another project management tool is preferred but not required.

DETAILS

• Duration: 10-weeks | Commitment: 35 hours/week
  • Summer Session 1: Monday May 24, 2027 – Friday July 30, 2027
  • Summer Session 1: Monday June 7, 2027 – Friday August 13, 2027
  • Summer Session 1: Monday June 21, 2027 – Friday August 27, 2027
• Hybrid Work Model: Summer Interns are expected to be in office 3 days/week. We will not be able to offer relocation assistance for the summer.
• Stipend: This is a paid internship with a stipend equivalent of $10,000.00 paid bi-weekly over the course of the assignment.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

The incumbent will not qualify as an employee, fellow, volunteer, or independent contractor of NRDC, nor will the incumbent be guaranteed employment at the end of the internship term.

NRDC operates under a hybrid work model. Interns are required to come into the office 3 days a week.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination. Those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions. NRDC treats all vaccination-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.