RAYMOND JOHN WEAN FOUNDATION Grant is win-win deal for interns, agencies

Most nonprofit agencies don't have the money to pay interns.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Area nonprofit agencies will get free college student help and Youngstown State University students will get help meeting college requirements, thanks to a $112,014 grant from The Raymond John Wean Foundation.
The grant to YSU is enough to provide paid internships at nonprofit organizations for 40 students.
The goal is to increase the number of YSU students working at nonprofit agencies, particularly those that help children in economically disadvantaged communities.
A secondary goal is to increase student interest in YSU's American Humanics Certificate program, which prepares students for leadership careers in nonprofit agencies.
YSU began the program in 2001, one of 67 universities and colleges nationwide to offer a certificate in American Humanics. YSU's Center for Nonprofit Leadership oversees the program.
"This grant allows university students to get paid while serving internships at agencies throughout the area," said Jane Reid, professor of marketing and director of the Center for Nonprofit Leadership.
Requirement
One of the requirements for the American Humanics certificate is completion of a 300-hour internship with a nonprofit organization.
Those internships are usually unpaid and that's one significant reason why students choose not to enter or complete the program, Reid said.
The nonprofit groups that could most benefit from the presence of YSU students are the ones that can least afford to pay them, she said.
Some offer stipends but most don't have the money to pay an intern, Reid said.
The certificate is designed to be earned in addition to a regular four-year degree in any major. YSU has 10 students enrolled in the program, with one of them on a current internship, Reid said.
There were four students on internships last fall, she said, noting that most prefer to take the internship over the summer when they can dedicate more time to it.
Beginning this summer, the grant will fund internships for five to eight students per semester at a $7-per-hour rate.
"We believe this will result in more nonprofit agencies offering internships, more students interested in serving internships, and, eventually, more students seeking careers in the nonprofit sector," Reid said.
The paid internships also will be made available to any other YSU student interested in an internship at a nonprofit agency that serves the economically disadvantaged, Reid said.
The only requirement is that they must take a one-hour Nonprofit Leadership Seminar class while doing the internship, Reid said.