Development Intern

This internship will be based in Philadelphia, PA and begin in the Fall 2025. The hours and exact start and end dates are flexible to fit the intern’s academic calendar.

About FIRE

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought. Please visit to gain a sense of our work and mission.

Position Description

The Development Intern provides essential support to the development team and contributes to its fundraising success. The Development Intern position offers a great opportunity for a student interested in nonprofit fundraising or nonprofit management. But the skills learned by working on a development team are also transferable to many career paths.

Duties and Responsibilities

Maintaining accurate donor records, and tracking donation history, activity, and correspondence in Salesforce.

Preparing donor receipts and acknowledgement letters for donors.

Conducting current and prospective funder research.

Answering phone calls and corresponding with donors on a daily basis.

Performing administrative duties, including filing donation records, mailing letters and promotional items, managing the department calendar.

Representing FIRE at events, and helping with event logistics, as needed.

Maintaining and promoting FIRE’s membership benefits, including the members-only portal, to our donor base.

Preparing team members for donor meetings.

Drafting communication as needed.

Gathering information about current FIRE cases and strategy as needed to assist team members.

Work with the team to start incorporating AI into operations.

Assist with campaign tracking efforts to see which efforts are working, and which are not.

Qualifications

FIRE’s office is located in Old City Philadelphia. Commuters that live outside walking distance can easily access FIRE through SEPTA regional rail, subway, bus service, or PATCO rail service. Parking is also available in the area at a variety of lots and garages for between $15 and $30 a day.

The Development Intern is paid $17.00 an hour will work in a standard office environment. To perform job responsibilities, the Development Intern will utilize personal computers, copy machines, and telephones. Some lifting of objects weighing up to 30 pounds may be required. On occasion, the Development Intern may be asked to perform errands which will involve walking to places within the immediate vicinity of the FIRE office.

Students will be evaluated at regular intervals. Highly successful candidates may be invited back for future intern experiences or may be offered a part-time position, however, further employment is not guaranteed.

An understanding of FIRE’s mission and the ability to articulate it to others.

A passion for philanthropy.

A willingness to learn.

The ability to work independently, manage multiple tasks, and meet deadlines.

The ability to work on a team.

Strong organizational skills.