Impact Interns

Students in the Impact Interns program will have the benefit of: 

• A paid internship experience over the summer 
• Learning more about what it is like to work in the social impact sector 
• Building professional skills through contributing to a major project or initiative at your host organization
• Access to professional development programming throughout the summer from the Do Good Institute  
• Connections with other students interested in a career in social impact

Host organizations in the Impact Interns program will have the benefit of: 

• A talented and passionate paid summer intern
• Consultation from the Do Good Institute on how to attract more students to your position description 
• Screening and review of your initial applicant candidate pool and forwarding of the top 4-7 candidates for your review and final selection 
• Financial grants to support up to two-thirds of the cost of hosting an Impact Intern (available only for nonprofit organizations)
• Support from the Do Good Institute on how to onboard and support an intern, particularly for those that have not hosted an intern before 
• Connections with other nonprofit and social impact organizations
• Information on additional resources from the University of Maryland for nonprofit and social impact organizations 

Students: The Impact Interns program is open to any current student at the University of Maryland, College Park. 

Hosts: The Impact Interns program is open to any social impact organization across the country. Organizations may be nonprofit, for-profit, public, or private but ultimately must have a clear focus on creating social impact. For host organizations located outside of the DMV, we cannot guarantee that an intern will be able to be in-person. While any type of social impact organization is welcome, grant funding is limited to registered nonprofit organizations.  

Every host organization that participates in the program must be able to: 

• Offer your student(s) at least 200 hours of work over the course of the summer
• Partially or fully support an intern’s salary  
• Provide meaningful supervision to your student(s)
• Include a major project or initiative in your student’s work portfolio

More information about the process and host requirements can be found in the Host Expectations Document. 

Students: Students interested in Impact Interns will need to apply using our student application portal. Students can apply for up to ten of the available positions. Please submit your application before 11:59pm on February 23, 2025.

Students with questions should join one of our virtual Impact Intern Student Q&A Sessions to learn more about the program and what to expect over the summer. 

Hosts: Host organizations interested in Impact Interns will need to apply using our host application portal. Please submit your application before 11:59pm on December 6, 2024. 

Hosts with questions should join one of our virtual Impact Intern Host Q&A Sessions to learn more about the program and what to expect over the summer. Attending an information session or speaking to a Program Coordinator is required for organizations that have never participated in Impact Interns before.

Each host organization is required to offer students at least 200 hours of work over the course of their summer internship. All students must be paid at least $16.50 an hour, either by stipend or by hourly wage.​ ​As such, ​the ​total cost ​of hosting an Impact Intern ​is $3,300. The total cost could be greater if the host and the student are interested in working​ beyond the minimum 200 hours required​ or a host is looking to have multiple student interns. ​ 

In their application, nonprofit organizations may request funding to support their interns' salary. The Do Good Institute may grant up to $2,200 to​ ​subsidize​ an Impact Intern's salary.​ Do Good Institute financial support will be issued in the form of a grant to the nonprofit organization, with the requirement that the grant be used solely to pay the Impact Intern’s salary. Nonprofit organizations may host as many interns as they would like, but the maximum grant amount is $2,200 and compensation requirements still apply to each student. Grant awards come as a check addressed to the nonprofit organization and can be expected to arrive 6-8 weeks after the confirmation of their selected Impact Intern. 

Impact Interns have led or contributed to projects including, but not limited to: 

• Communications and marketing 
• Evaluation and impact measurement  
• Fundraising and development 
• Grants administration 
• Grant review and due diligence 
• Portfolio analysis 
• Research and report writing 
• Special event planning  
• Program management and coordination 

The start date, the end date, in-person/remote work schedule, the hours per week, and the payment structure of the internship are all up to each host organization. The information about each position can be found in each individual position description.    

Impact Interns will have the opportunity to attend professional development workshops throughout the summer. The workshops will cover topics aimed at young professionals and will help you develop skills that will be applicable to your internship as well as your future career. You will also be able to network with other host organizations and social impact professionals through informational interviews and site visits. Additional development opportunities may be announced throughout the summer as well.   

Students will apply to be a part of the program during January and February. They will be able to see the position description, an organization’s mission statement, and the work area for each position on the Do Good Institute website. They will be able to browse all of the available Impact Intern positions and can apply for up to a maximum of ten. 

The Do Good Institute will conduct an initial review of the applicants for each position and advance the top 4-7 candidates for additional review to the host organization. Students may be advanced for additional review to a maximum of three organizations. Host organizations should be aware that there is a chance your candidates may be interviewing for other positions within and outside this program. Host organizations will review the application materials and choose to interview as many of those students as they would like. Host organizations may choose to not extend an interview offer to all of the candidates they were forwarded. Interview offers and final internship offers will come directly from host organizations.

No. While we try our absolute best to ensure you are paired with an intern, the process must be mutually matched. Your candidates may be interviewing for other positions and may withdraw their application if they accept another opportunity. Additionally, we hope that you are able to make an offer to one of your candidates but realize that sometimes there isn’t a good match. If this happens, we will attempt to make additional matches, however, a match is not guaranteed. 

Previous Philanthropy Fellows (the previous name of Impact Interns) have worked at the following organizations:  

• AARP Foundation
• Arabella Advisors
• Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE)
• Capital One
• CareFirst
• DC Mayor’s Office of Partnerships and Grant Services
• Deloitte
• Grantmakers in Health 
• Greater Washington Community Foundation
• Healthcare Initiative Foundation
• Kaiser Permanente
• Meyer Foundation
• Montgomery County Collaboration Council for Children, Youth & Families
• Montgomery County Public Schools Educational Foundation
• National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
• The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
• Washington Area Women's Foundation

Since its inception, Impact Interns have worked with the following nonprofit organizations: 

• A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation 
• Accessible Resource for Independence, Inc. (ARI)
• ALIVE, Inc. 
• American Rivers   
• Anacostia Riverkeeper 
• Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food & Agriculture
• Arts for the Aging, Inc. 
• Aumazo   
• Autism, Family, Culture, and Communication Education Lab
• B-360 Baltimore
• Ballet After Dark 
• Baltimore County Recreation and Parks
• Bee Informed Partnership
• Bethesda Green  
• Black Business Council, Inc. 
• Black Outside, Inc.   
• Black Women in Blockchain
• Blossoms of Guyana
• Bright Beginnings Incorporated 
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington 
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore
• Calvert Impact Capital
• CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Prince George’s County
• Central Kenilworth Avenue Revitalization Community Development Corporation 
• Central Scholarship
• City Year Washington DC
• Coalition for Smarter Growth 
• Common Cause Maryland
• Community Advocates For Family and Youth (CAFY)
• Community Ecology Institute 
• Community Forklift
• Community Youth Advance 
• Compass Pro Bono
• Congressional Hunger Center
• Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)/Prince George's County, Inc.
• D.C. Scores
• D.C. Policy Center  
• Democracy Initiative 
• Dent Education 
• Diamonds On The Rise Inc.
• District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH)  
• Down Syndrome Network of Montgomery County (DSNMC)
• Eco City Farms
• ecoLatinos, Inc.
• Economic Growth Business Incubator 
• EducARTE
• empower. 
• E.P.I.C. Homeschool Network 
• Endo Black Incorporated 
• Existential Heroism Institute 
• Exponent Philanthropy
• Fair Chance 
• Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop
• Friends of Great Kids Farm
• Friends of White Oak, Inc.
• Game Genius, Inc 
• Generation SERVE 
• Georgetown Ministry Center
• Girls Inc. of Washington Metro Area
• Global Impact 
• Greater Washington Community Foundation
• Heart of America  
• High Voltage
• Housing Initiative Partnership, Inc. 
• Howard County Autism Society 
• I Will Survive, Inc.   
• IMPACTdmv Inc. 
• In Reach, Inc. 
• Interfaith Works  
• Kid Power, Inc.
• League of Women Voters of Maryland 
• Life Pieces To Masterpieces
• Joe's Movement Emporium
• Many Languages One Voice 
• Maryland Center for Health Equity
• Maryland League of Conservation Voters Education Fund 
• MOMCares 
• My Heart's Home
• National Juvenile Justice Network 
• Network for Victims Recovery DC
• Next Gen Giving Circle
• Noble Uprising Inc. 
• Nonprofit Prince George’s County
• Nonprofit Village
• PEN DMV
• Population Services International (PSI) 
• Purpose Possible, Mid-Atlantic Office
• R.I.S.E. Arts Center 
• Rising Organizers 
• ROOTS Africa
• Smith Center for Healing and the Arts 
• Stella’s Girls  
• Suburban Hospital 
• Taking Effective Action, Inc.  
• TasteWise Kids
• TCP Academy  
• The Abramson Scholarship Foundation
• The Be. Org 
• The Dance Institute of Washington 
• The Dented Puck Foundation
• The Civic Circle
• The Empowerment Center 
• The Giving Square 
• The Nature Conservancy
• The Phillips Collection  
• The SEED Foundation
• The Ulman Foundation 
• The Vegetarian Resource Group/Vegan Journal
• The Young Black & Giving Back Institute 
• There Goes My Hero
• UMD Office of Diversity and Inclusion
• Urban Teachers 
• Van der Becq Holdings, LLC
• Vietnam Veterans of America
• Vikara Village  
• Volunteers of America Chesapeake and Carolinas
• Ward 8 Woods Conservancy, Inc. 
• Waverly Main Street, Inc. 
• Young People for Progress

Summer 2023 Hosts:  

• 93% of hosts felt that they were paired with a high-quality intern.  
• 96% of hosts wanted to participate in the program again next year. 
• “[Our intern] achieved the goals we set and went above and beyond to exceed them.”
• “Our impact interns were both highly qualified for the role. They were deeply invested into the work and created quality experiences and programming that had a significant impact on our students.” 
• “[Our intern] was hardworking, enthusiastic, and took a lot of pride and ownership in her work.” 
• “We loved our experience, and we are so thankful to have the program available to us. We plan on enrolling in the next cycle.” 

Summer 2023 Students:  

• 100% of students came away with a better understanding of what it means to have a career in social impact - 96% of students now want to pursue a career in social impact.
• 89% of students felt that they had a great experience with their host organizations.   
• “The Impact Intern program has shaped my professional goals by helping to identify what my values are. After this program, I realize that I value utilizing my skills to make a change, so I want to work in the social impact or nonprofit sector.
• “Impact Interns was a valuable experience that assisted me in my professional goals that I had this summer as well as long term.”
• “I think that this program has given me a lot of good advice, knowledge, and skills that I can take with me to further shape my career.” 
• “[My host] was always accommodating and helpful when I needed something. I was able to have a lot of control when it came to my position and it gave me the opportunity to really learn from my experience.