The Intern Foundry (IF) program is a partnership between the Foundry and the University Honors Program to pair high-achieving students with project-based internships addressing key areas of community need. The IF program launched in 2022 with 10 students interning at 8 nonprofits, and grew to 20 students interning at 20 nonprofits in 2023.
Small nonprofit and purpose-driven organizations provide an ideal learning laboratory for students like you, who care about the community and want to do meaningful work. In the IF program, you will be matched with an organization and project based on your skills and interests. IF projects support the organization’s mission and most urgent needs. IF organizations have a lean staff and view interns as critical members of their teams.
Opportunities and Benefits
The cohort-based Intern Foundry (IF) program offers you the following opportunities and benefits.
Make Money + an Impact
Help meet pressing community needs by undertaking a project that the partner organization otherwise may not be able to complete. You will earn at least $13/hour, paid through the University Honors Program with the support of external funding. Without the IF program, many of these internship would not exist, or would be unpaid.
Access Networking & Mentorship
You will have networking opportunities with 20+ purpose-driven organizations, meeting local leaders and learning about their experiences and organizations. Your nonprofit director and staff will be wonderful mentors and supervisors. The professional staff at the Foundry will provide additional guidance and two IF student coordinators will serve as peer coaches.
Develop Transferable Skills
Whether this is your first internship or your fifth internship, you will gain a better sense of your professional identity. Learn skills that will easily transfer to your future career, such as project management, communication, grant writing, fundraising, marketing, research, website development, advocacy, time management, and problem solving.
Enjoy Flexible Scheduling
The IF internship will be a total of 120 hours. While this equates to 8 hours per week over the course of a 15-week semester, you and your supervisor may set a schedule that works best for you and the flow of the project. You might work remotely, in-person at the organization’s office, in the co-working space at the Foundry, off-site at events, or at a combination of locations.
Earn Honors Hours
All students in the IF program will take two Honors courses related to the internship experience:
- UHON 401H - Purpose-Driven Project Management: Take a 1-credit course with your fellow interns to discover best methods for project management, fundamentals of purpose-driven businesses, and the “why” behind your assigned project. Taught by two community leaders, the course begins online and ends in-person at the Foundry, where you will touch base with your internship supervisor as you develop your project plan.
- UHON 99H - Internships: Throughout the semester, take an asynchronous, zero-credit (tuition-free) Honors Experiences course. Through guided critical reflection and intentionally crafted assignments, you’ll draw connections between your internship and what you're learning in the classroom. Upon successful completion of the course, you will earn 3 Honors hours.
Sample IF Projects
“The IF program has given our team the opportunity to work with highly skilled and capable students at the University of Nebraska. As a small nonprofit organization, the IF students add critical capacity and provide valuable support on some of our most pressing projects. The IF students get real-world, impact-oriented, project management experience and our organization benefits from their high caliber capabilities. We are grateful to the Foundry and UNL Honors Program for making these internship opportunities possible.”
The IF program has exposed me to skills and community members that I could not have developed otherwise. The welcoming culture of The Foundry, as well as the staff's dedication to student growth and learning has allowed me to blossom as a professional as well as an individual.
Apply
Students: The Intern Foundry (IF) program is in progress for spring 2023 and is not currently accepting applications. Applications for 2024 will open in fall 2023, so please check back in!
Organizations: Please email hello@thefoundry.co to inquire about hosting an intern.