Internships can strengthen the social impact workforce, expand organizational capacity, and give emerging professionals meaningful exposure to applied work, but only when the experience is intentionally designed and adequately supported.
The Intern Support Guidance Document helps nonprofit and social impact organizations assess whether they are ready to host an intern or establish a partnership with a college or university. Grounded in the principle of mutual benefit, the guide encourages organizations to approach internships as investments in learning, mentorship, and workforce development rather than as short-term staffing solutions.
The resource walks organizations through the full internship experience, from assessing internal capacity and meeting with prospective interns or academic partners to defining the role, onboarding, supervision, feedback, offboarding, and maintaining long-term university relationships. It also addresses practical considerations such as compensation, academic requirements, scheduling, technology, privacy, safety, and the distinction between an intern and a junior staff member.
Organizations are encouraged to create substantive, skill-aligned opportunities that offer students mentorship, professional development, exposure to real-world work, and growing responsibility. At the same time, a well-designed internship can provide the organization with meaningful project contributions, new perspectives, stronger academic partnerships, and a potential talent pipeline.
The appendix brings these principles to life through a case study of two BSRI internship experiences: one designed for an individual seeking hands-on research experience and another structured around a graduate capstone requirement. It illustrates how supervision, milestones, and learning opportunities can be adapted to each intern’s goals and circumstances, including an “I do, we do, you do” progression from modeling to guided practice and, ultimately, independent work.
This resource is particularly useful for:
- Nonprofits considering hosting an intern for the first time.
- Organizations developing or strengthening university partnerships.
- Supervisors preparing to mentor and manage interns.
- Teams creating internship scopes, workplans, and onboarding processes.
- Organizations seeking to make internships more equitable, structured, and meaningful.
By approaching internships with clarity, reciprocity, and care, organizations can create experiences that support student growth, strengthen internal leadership and mentorship skills, and contribute to the future of the social impact sector.
