Intern, Development Department (Summer 2027)

Job Type
Internship

Description

Legal Aid DC, a nonprofit organization with an approximately $18 million annual budget and a staff of approximately 125 employees, is seeking a Summer Intern to join our Development Department.

Since 1932, Legal Aid has provided civil legal assistance to clients in individual cases and engaged in systemic reform. Currently, we provide individual representation in consumer law, domestic violence/family law, housing, public benefits, and immigration matters. We also help people with the collateral consequences of their involvement with the criminal justice system. From the experiences of our clients, we identify opportunities for law reform, public policy advocacy, and systemic impact and appellate litigation. Legal Aid also administers the DC Resource Bridge, a single access point for legal services in the District.

Legal Aid believes that meaningful pursuit of our anti-poverty mission requires an unwavering commitment to racial justice and equity. We aspire both to reflect the rich racial diversity of the communities we serve and to value, respect, and empower our staff and clients to be effective agents of change. For more information about Legal Aid please visit our website, www.LegalAidDC.org .

Interns at Legal Aid DC have the unique opportunity to receive substantive assignments that will have an immediate impact on our clients. This internship is for Summer 2027 and will be 10 weeks in duration. Summer interns should expect to work full-time (40 hours per week). Interns mainly work out of Legal Aid’s NW DC office, with the option to perform some work remotely if approved by their supervisor. Summer interns may be required to perform duties off site, and will be required to travel locally for summer programming events.

The summer term is from May 27th through August 6th.

Legal Aid’s Development department is responsible for raising over $10 million per year. About 40% of funding comes from government grants, primarily allocated by the DC Bar Foundation. Most of the remaining funds come from the DC legal community, including from law firms and individual attorneys. At its core, our role is to share the impact and importance of Legal Aid’s work with supporters and potential supporters, to understand their philanthropic priorities, and to demonstrate exceptional gratitude for their support. We believe this approach can sustain the long-term health of the organization and ensure that it can continue to achieve its mission far into the future.

Responsibilities:

- Support individual and organizational donors by providing acknowledgment letters and other important tax documentation.
- Maintain Legal Aid’s donor database system, DonorPerfect, ensuring that donor records are up-to-date and that all contributions have been properly recorded.
- Conduct in-depth research on current and prospective philanthropic funders to identify alignment with Legal Aid DC values and priorities.
- Other duties as assigned.

Scholarship Funding:

Legal Aid DC can provide scholarship funding to ensure that summer law students receive no less than $6,440 per summer, including scholarships from the Lee Horton Memorial Scholarship for Aspiring Public Interest Lawyers.

Summer law students are required to apply for outside funding to fund their internships in order to receive supplemental scholarship funding. We will provide a scholarship of up to $6,440 to summer law school interns when:

- They attend a school that does not provide funding OR they are not approved for at least $6,440 of funding from their schools

AND

- They do not get funding from any other outside sources that gets them to total funding of $6,440 for the summer

Example: if a student receives $5,000 of outside funding, Legal Aid will pay them $1,440 in scholarship funding.

Students may waive funding if they are prohibited from receiving renumeration by their law school.

To Apply:

Legal Aid values an inclusive, diverse workplace and encourages applications from interested persons from diverse backgrounds of any race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, genetic information, or any other legally protected status.

We strongly encourage applications from people with personal experience with the criminal justice system and/or with lived experiences in the communities we serve.

Submit your application, cover letter, resume, writing sample and transcript or letter of matriculation?here. Applications will be accepted until 5:00 pm EST on October 23, 2026.

Requirements

Current undergrad or graduate student interested in social justice and or development.