Environment Minnesota Internships In Environmental Organizing
We all care deeply about our environment. We also know that, as a country, we need to be taking more action to ensure our environment is preserved, especially when powerful interests stand in the way.
Environment Minnesota is taking applications from current college students for our internships in environmental organizing. Environment Minnesota acts as a powerful advocate for our environment: promoting clean energy, protecting our open spaces, cleaning up our air and water, and advancing global warming solutions. We speak out and take action at the local, state and national levels to improve the quality of our environment and our lives.
Interns with Environment Minnesota will get a chance to work with experienced environmental organizers and will have an immediate impact on critical environmental issues. An internship with Environment Minnesota gives current college students the training and experience to assume leadership roles in the environmental movement after graduation. Preference will be given to Environment Minnesota interns when hiring college graduates for career positions.
Click here to apply now.
Qualifications
We are looking for current college students who care about our environment and are driven to preserve it for the future. We look for strong leadership skills, academic excellence, problem solving ability, and top-notch written and verbal skills. We have a great training program, so no prior organizing experience is necessary.
Internship Project Types
There are many ways for interns to help us achieve our goals. Here are some of the internship opportunities we have available:
Media Internships – Organize media events, work with spokespeople to submit opinion pieces, meet with reporters or editorial writers, generate news stories. Media Interns learn a variety of messaging and media outreach skills, while ensuring that our issues stay at the fore-front of the news cycle and at the fore-front of the minds of the public and key decision-makers.
Coalition Building Internships – Gain endorsements from key constituencies for our campaigns, broaden the network of groups we are working with beyond the traditional folks. The definition of “key constituencies” varies depending on the targets and the issue. Coalition Building Interns master public-speaking and individual communication skills, and help ensure that on our current and future campaigns the voices being heard by key-decision-makers are not just the environmental community, but other communities too that are important to them.
Lobbying Internships – Organize and run in-district meetings with key decision-makers and their staff. Lobbying Interns master a host of organizing skills, including activist and coalition group recruitment skills, as well as debate and public speaking skills, while ensuring that key decision-makers are hearing from their constituents about the issues that matter.
Grant Fundraising Internships – Draft and submit grant proposals to local foundations for projects we will undertake in Minnesota during the next fiscal year. Meet with potential funders to pitch our project ideas in person. Identify new foundations that we aren’t currently targeting and reach out to them too. Grant Fundraising Interns learn how to develop fundable programs and pitch them to funders, while ensuring that as an organization we increase our capacity for taking on more issues in the coming years.
Ellen began interning with Environment Minnesota in January 2009. She is currently pursing an undergraduate degree in Sociology with a minor in Social Justice from the University of Minnesota. Ellen enjoys traveling, being outside, and biking both for recreation and transportation.
Lauren began interning with Environment Minnesota in February 2009. She is a junior Psychology major at Macalester College. She lived in the Netherlands until moving to the United States to attend Macalester College in St. Paul. She wants to pursue a career in environmental law or human rights law. She enjoys playing soccer, mountain climbing, drawing, and traveling.
Sean began interning with Environment Minnesota in January 2009. He is also currently working as an intern with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. His background includes environmental work with the Citizens League. Sean currently lives in North Minneapolis with his wife Vang and their two-year-old daughter Emma. He is planning to attend law school in the fall of 2009. In his spare time, Sean enjoys watching sports, reading, and engaging in political conversations.