Challenge |
Find a way to combat brain drain and attract new talent to Cleveland’s nonprofit sector | |
Approach |
Create a dynamic, high-quality nonprofit internship program for local college students | |
Investment |
$95,000 per year to support 17 interns, plus staff time for intern selection and mentoring | |
Result |
180 college students who have discovered ways to work or volunteer in Cleveland’s nonprofit community | |
Players |
Cleveland Foundation, Buckeye Area Development Corporation | |
Why Invest in Recruitment?
“Through this program, we’ve seen a new network of leaders emerging. Each cohort develops one. Folks who’ve never considered the nonprofit world are really considering it—as workers, volunteers, donors and board members.”
— Nelson Beckford, Cleveland Foundation
Download the Generating Change: RECRUITMENT case study (748k).
In the spring of 2009, Stephen Love was a junior in college. He was working on a degree in political science and international relations and had recently returned from a semester in Mexico to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. It was time to find a summer job.
“I had no ‘outside-the-ivory-tower’ experience in any professional setting,” he recalls. “I wanted to experience something different and find a career path.” Back at Baldwin Wallace University, he learned about the Cleveland Foundation Summer Internship Program, which places college students at area nonprofits for 12-week internships. “I wasn’t familiar with the nonprofit sector in Cleveland and thought it would be a great experience.”
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