2025 SummER GRANTS INTERNSHIP

The Impact Fund is a civil rights legal nonprofit committed to supporting class action and impact litigation to achieve economic, environmental, racial, and social justice. We are based in Berkeley, California. We are now accepting applications for a summer grants intern to assist in our ongoing grantmaking.  

About the Impact Fund:

The Impact Fund believes that communities should be able to join together to use the courts to protect their jobs, families, communities, and environment. Founded more than 30 years ago as a grantmaking organization, the Impact Fund has grown to include both advocacy and education in its range of services.  Our grant program has provided funding totaling more than $10 million to support impact litigation on behalf of communities seeking economic, environmental, racial, and social justice.  

Responsibilities:

The summer grants intern will support our ongoing grantmaking efforts, as well as assist with other long-term projects. The summer grants intern will attend grant-related meetings and discussions, including the quarterly meeting of our grantmaking committee. Our interns are also exposed to a multi-disciplinary curriculum that covers topics such as social justice, environmental justice, values-driven philanthropy, impact litigation, public interest litigation finance, and communications.   

The work of the intern will cover the following core competencies: 

  • Writing: a blog post on a topic related to impact litigation 

  • Research: a project related to our portfolio of grants or public interest impact litigation 

  • Philanthropy: researching and summarizing grant requests 

  • Grants Management: work related to maintaining our grant records 

  • Project Management: managing the work of the internship using a tracking spreadsheet  

  • Communications: updating team members about work and connecting with others outside the organization, as needed 

  • Presenting: a final presentation to Impact Fund staff on the work of the internship 

 Qualifications:   

  • A demonstrated commitment to social justice, public interest law, environmental justice, and/or civil rights  

  • Professional interest in law, philanthropy, and/or public interest work, and a desire to learn more about these fields  

  • Excellent research skills, with a high level of attention to detail  

  • Strong writing skills  

Note: We prefer to hire students in the summer before their third or fourth year of college.  

Internship Details:   

  • The internship requires a 10-week commitment during the summer of 2025.  

  • The internship is full-time (40 hours per week).   

  • The grants intern will be paid on an hourly basis at the Berkeley minimum wage, which is currently $18.67/hour with a CPI increase scheduled for July 1. 

  • The role is a hybrid position, with Mondays and Thursdays spent in person at our office in Downtown Berkeley (immediately adjacent to the Downtown Berkeley BART station); the remaining workdays may be spent in the office or working remotely.   

To Apply:

Please send the following to grants@impactfund.org with your name and “Summer Grants Internship Application” in the subject line:   

  • Cover letter detailing your commitment to our mission and highlighting your relevant experience  

  • Resume  

  • Writing sample*  

*We encourage you to reuse a paper completed for school or another project that you have completed that showcases your writing ability.   

The application window will close on March 21. At a later stage in the process, we may request contact information for three professional or academic references. 

The Impact Fund is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply. More information about the Impact Fund can be found at www.impactfund.org.