Does your community-spirited nonprofit, small business, or startup need a little help but lack the funds to hire a student intern? An innovative Grove City College Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation (E+I) initiative just might have the solution to your problem.
The E+I Fellows program provides paid student interns to regional Pittsburgh organizations and businesses at no cost. E+I will pay selected students $25 per hour and place them with organizations that have a positive impact through social innovation or economic opportunity but can’t increase capacity or continue to grow without some help. In addition to the interns’ labor, hosts get help creating a detailed project plan to maximize the value of the placement for both the organization and the students involved.
E+I is now taking host applications from regional organizations and businesses that would benefit from having highly driven interns placed at their organizations free of charge. The deadline to apply for the spring 2025 E+I Fellows cohort is Dec. 20. Program and application information is available at gccentrepreneurship.com/host-organizations. Call 724-458-2591 for more information.
The Fall 2024 program placed 33 students with 19 different host organizations. Students helped small businesses, startups, nonprofits, and churches in Allegheny, Beaver, Crawford, Greene, Indiana, and Mercer counties. Their roles ranged from supply chain management, web design, sales, event planning and data analysis. The upcoming spring 2025 timeline is an eight-week internship, starting in mid-February and ending in April. Positions can be fully remote, hybrid, or in-person, as determined by the host organization's needs. To be eligible, a host organization must be within two hours of Pittsburgh.
“We were successful in scaling our program, and we are excited to continue the momentum of growth into the spring. We are seeing the fruits of our labor, as organizations are grateful to receive help for much-needed projects that fall to the bottom of their to-do lists. They leave the program in a better spot and have tangible plans and results to continue in the future,” said Emma O’Toole ’23, E+I community manager and organizer of the E+I Fellows program. The program is funded by a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and an anonymous donor.
“The E+I Fellows program gave us much-needed help at a pivotal point in our startup’s growth. Our intern did high quality work from day one. She was able to contribute ideas and launch campaigns that we’ll be benefiting from for years to come. I am so pleased with this experience, and my cofounder and I are very grateful to be part of it,” said Allison Braund-Harris, cofounder of Hardly, a career development hub.
For more about E+I Fellows, visit gccentrepreneurship.com/ei-fellows-program.