The Make-A-Wish internship program is designed for current undergraduate or graduate students who have a goal of being a leader in the non-profit sector. The purpose of the internship program is to help undergraduate and/or graduate students further cultivate their skills through a real-life work experience.
The Development Team at Make-A-Wish America allows us to deliver on and execute our mission to grant the wish of every child diagnosed with a critical illness. The planned giving team raises over $7M each year through testamentary giving (wills, trusts, etc.) The selected intern will help to evaluate program trends and performance. This work helps us to make decisions about which programs are most likely to result in positive ROI and to better model our planned gift donor prospect pool. The fall is peak season for direct mail revenue, and it is also the time of year when we have the most requests for data correction. The intern will help ensure prompt response to those needs.
Throughout the internship, duties and responsibilities could include:
- Use of Raiser’s Edge database to run basic queries and exports
- Complete analysis of organizational giving and industry trends to develop a long-term view of giving history
- Assist donors needing to update contact preferences in proprietary direct mail database
- Preparation of winter donor mailings
- Compilation of data to help identify and plan fundraising strategies and activities
- Other tasks as appropriate during our busiest fundraising season
- Demonstrated interest in learning about various fundraising teams and ability to work with diverse groups is preferred.
- Selected individual will exhibit a strong work ethic, enthusiasm to learn. He or she will be process and detail-oriented, and self-motivated.
- Knowledge of and experience with the Make-A-Wish mission and service population is welcomed.
- Some knowledge of the non-profit sector, fundraising, and Raiser’s Edge (or another donor database), either through coursework or professional experience
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to confidently and clearly communicate information verbally and in writing
- Strong attention to detail in data maintenance and project organization
- Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality with information and excellent customer service skills
- Proficiency in MS Suite (Excel and Word specifically)
- Some volunteer experience preferred, although not required