Summary
This educational, unpaid internship is designed to help students gain hands-on experience in nonprofit funding strategy, proposal development, and research. The Grant Writing & Research Intern will learn alongside The Exodus Road’s development and strategy teams, gaining exposure to how nonprofits sustain impact through funding partnerships. This role is ideal for a Master’s-level student or upper-level undergraduate who enjoys research, writing, and learning the fundamentals of grant development. Academic credit may be available.
Learning-Focused Responsibilities
(All activities are structured to support learning and do not replace the work of paid staff.)
- Learn how to identify funding opportunities by researching foundation, corporate, and government grant sources.
- Practice drafting sections of grant proposals, letters of inquiry, and funding applications with feedback from TER’s development team.
- Observe how supporting documents (budgets, program stats, bios, histories) are compiled and assist in gathering these under staff supervision.
- Learn how to maintain and update an internal grant-tracking system with deadlines, contacts, and submission statuses.
- Conduct background research on potential funders to understand how proposal strategies are tailored.
- Collaborate with program and finance staff to learn how information is collected for proposals.
- Review past grant proposals to study effective language, structure, and narrative approaches.
- Practice editing and proofreading proposal materials to improve clarity, consistency, and alignment with funder guidelines.
- Explore how AI tools (including Claude.ai) can support research, writing, and idea generation in the grant development process.
- Participate in relevant team meetings to gain insight into nonprofit fundraising strategy, project planning, and cross-department collaboration.
Ideal Candidate Has
- Excellent research and writing skills with strong attention to detail
- Organizational skills and an interest in learning to manage multiple deadlines
- Curiosity about nonprofit management, philanthropy, or social-impact strategy
- Ability to work independently while asking questions and seeking guidance
- Familiarity with Google Workspace and willingness to learn new tools
- Bonus: prior exposure to grants, fundraising, or nonprofit communication
Educational Benefits
- Direct mentorship from experienced grant writers and nonprofit strategists
- Real-world experience learning how proposals are developed and researched
- Exposure to the funding systems and internal operations of a global nonprofit
- Opportunities to tailor learning projects to your academic or career interests
- Academic credit or volunteer hours may be available depending on your program
- Flexible scheduling that supports academic commitments
- No expectation or guarantee of employment at the conclusion of the internship