In your job with the Fund, you will not only make a difference, but you will also get the kind of communication and leadership skills you’ll need for your career. You’ll learn how to raise money, manage and train your own team, work with the media and lobby elected officials.
Develop and refine communication skills
Communication skills are at the center of any career. The Fund’s training focuses on teaching communication skills beginning on your first day, and runs the gamut from basic public speaking trainings to advanced listening and judgment skills. We specialize in giving our staff the skills and experience they need to talk to anyone, whether they be coworkers or regular citizens, about important issues.
Learn how to:
- Effectively communicate our message to community members and persuade them to get involved with our work.
- Hone your public speaking skills.
- Successfully fundraise.
- Communicate expectations to new trainees.
Hone leadership skills
For those of you looking for more out of a job, look no further. Leadership opportunities abound in our campaign offices and we provide the trainings you’ll need to succeed. Need to learn principles for teaching others? What about how to set goals, motivate your team and hold them accountable? Find all of that and more in our canvass offices. We run multiple leadership trainings every week and give our field managers and trainers the feedback and confidence they need to excel.
Learn how to:
- Run skill sessions and trainings for new staff.
- Provide feedback to new staff in order to improve their skills and performance.
- Oversee and manage staff in the office and in the field.
- Recruit new staff to join your campaign.
Learn key campaign skills
Working with the media, contacting supporters, building consensus amongst movers and shakers in the community—these are the kinds of skills you need in all sorts of work. The Fund provides opportunities for staff to learn and practice these skills through our campaign actions.
Learn how to:
- Work with local media groups to build visibility about the campaign.
- Organize news conferences highlighting key issues about the campaign.
- Organize and run a phone bank.
- Organize petitioning efforts and deliver petitions to our local elected officials.
- Lobby elected officials.
Unlock opportunities
Any good training experience sets you up to take on more responsibility and leadership in the future. Working with The Fund is no different. The training you receive in your first year on the job prepares you to have an even bigger impact when you return for subsequent summers.
You may:
- Play a bigger leadership role in the office, as a field manager or lead field manager (running meetings, training new field managers).
- Lead aspects of the campaign such as a lobby day or a camping trip to a politically important district.
- Pursue internship opportunities with our partner groups like U.S. PIRG and Environment America.
- Top staff are invited to run their own campaigns.