Lessons Learned from Interning with a Nonprofit

I am hoping to learn a variety of skills in marketing such as advertising, how to do market research, how to run a branding campaign, and how to use social media in a marketing context. So far in my internship, I do feel that I have been learning a mixed bag of skills that are needed for marketing and the working world in general. My internship is as a PR/Marketing intern for a nonprofit called the Borgen Project. The Borgen Project is a nonprofit that is dedicated to advocating for the eradication of global extreme poverty. This is done through advocacy to encourage Congress and other government bodies to pass bills that would allocate international affairs budget toward poverty reduction efforts. One of the biggest lessons I have learned so far is how to reach out to others. This is an important skill to have in marketing as communication with consumers is crucial to having a successful marketing campaign. I have also gotten experience in advertising to customers. In the case of this internship, I am not advertising to people to buy a product but instead to donate. This has been challenging to me because I don’t have the opportunity to maintain continued contact with the donors as clients. Regardless of this, I do feel like I am getting valuable experience from this internship. I am hoping that the variety of skills that I will hopefully learn from this internship will help to prepare me to take on any role in the marketing field that may present itself. As opposed to focusing heavily on one aspect of marketing and struggling if an opportunity in that field does not present itself, I want to have a wide net of skills that I can apply to any career opportunity.

My internship is remote so I don’t have many good pictures, but here’s a few:

The Headquarters in Tacoma, WA
The Headquarters in Tacoma, WA
Me with a flyer for the Borgen Project I posted
Me with a flyer for the Borgen Project I posted
I flyer I designed myself on Canva for an informational event I was tasked with hosting
I flyer I designed myself on Canva for an informational event I was tasked with hosting

Michael Walton ’23
Marketing

5 Replies to “Lessons Learned from Interning with a Nonprofit”

  1. Hi Michael,
    Great post. It must be quite rewarding being able to learn more about marketing/PR in the real-world while also contributing to a greater good. It is great that you have been able to learn the importance of effective communication skills in marketing. I am sure you will be able to apply the skills you have learned to various other aspects of life.

  2. Hi Michael,
    I’m happy to see you making the most of your internship despite it being remote! I don’t know much about marketing, but I find it interesting that the job involves advertising to get donations, rather than selling a product – I’ve never thought of that before! Good luck with the rest of your internship, and I look forward to hearing more about it!

  3. Michael,
    Your internship sounds like it’s for a great cause! Working in any facet of business always requires a variety of skills, so I like how you said you’re experiencing a mix of things! Marketing is in high demand, so it’s great for you to get this experience first hand. I also like how you mention that you’re trying to entice people to donate rather than just buy something. That is definitely unique and would look great on a resume! Good luck on the rest of the summer!

  4. Hi Michael,
    Glad to hear your internship is going well thus far! I am also at a non-profit and I know communication with client was a big hurdle for me. It is such an important skill especially at both a non-profit and a marketing job. It sounds like you are really getting the experience you need to further develop communication skills. Keep it up!

  5. Michael –
    It’s great that you’re making the most of your remote internship! The poster you made looks fantastic! It seems like you’ve gained a lot of important knowledge and skills so far, and for a great cause! I look forward to reading more about it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *