2026 Spring Grants Internship for Graduate Students
The Impact Fund is now accepting applications for a graduate-level internship for the 2026 spring semester.
About the Impact Fund: The Impact Fund is a civil rights legal nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, committed to supporting class action and impact litigation to achieve economic, environmental, racial, and social justice. We believe 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 grants have provided funding totaling more than $10 million to support impact litigation on behalf of communities seeking economic, environmental, racial, and social justice.
About the Internship: The Impact Fund Spring Grants Internship for graduate students provides an opportunity for a graduate student to work part-time for a semester while also taking part in educational opportunities in a wide range of areas. The areas covered will include social justice, environmental justice, trust-based philanthropy, impact litigation, public interest litigation finance, and communications.
About the Role: The Grants Intern will support our ongoing grantmaking efforts, as well as assist with other long-term projects. During the semester, the intern will attend grant-related meetings and discussions, assist with application analysis, and observe a quarterly grantmaking meeting.
The work of the internship covers the following core competencies:
Philanthropy: meeting with applicants, analyzing grant requests
Writing: writing grant-related summaries
Legal Updates: summarizing case reports
Research: researching topics related to our portfolio of grants
Grants Management: maintaining our grantmaking data
Project Management: managing the various projects of the internship
Communications: providing internal and external communications about the work of the internship, including a final presentation to Impact Fund staff
Qualifications:
Currently pursuing a graduate degree in a field related to our work
A demonstrated commitment to social justice, public interest law, environmental justice, and/or civil rights
Professional interest in philanthropy, the law, social justice, 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 and other communication skills
Note: We prefer to hire students in their final year of graduate school.
Internship Details:
The internship requires a 12-week commitment during the spring of 2026.
The internship is part-time for 8 hours per week, broken into two 4-hour shifts.
The Grants Intern will be paid on an hourly basis at a rate of $20/hour.
The role requires in-person work on either Mondays or Thursdays for one of the weekly shifts. The other shift may be worked from the office or a remote location. Our office is located in downtown Berkeley, immediately adjacent to the Downtown Berkeley BART station.
To Apply: Please send the following to grants@impactfund.org with your name and “2026 Spring Grants Internship Application” in the subject line:
Cover letter that explains your interest in our organization’s purpose and highlights your relevant experience
Resume
Writing sample*
*We encourage you to submit a sample you have already written, such as a paper completed for school or another project that showcases your writing ability.
The application window will close on October 27. 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.