Faith In Place Fellowship
Description:
The task for our Beatitudes Fellow for the summer of 2010 is to make a substantial contribution to the planning of our major donor event for the year, the fall Harvest Celebration. The fellow will work with our Director and Deputy Director on creating an overall tone for the event, and then will begin the work with caterers and the site staff to insure that we set the tone we are seeking. S/he will also contact businesses (most of which have donated to Faith in Place in the past) to obtain donated items for our silent auction. These items come from local ecological businesses, feature local knowledge of place, or in some other way exemplify the values of Faith in Place, and collecting them is time-consuming, but not difficult. Event planning of this sort is a critical part of our overall development plan for the year, and will serve the fellow well as an experience.
Skills Required:
A cheerful understanding of how development work fits into the overall mission of an organization like Faith in Place is critical to successful completion of this work. The fellow will understand that by helping us create this event and by soliciting donations for the silent auction s/he is communicating a vision of a sustainable and just world to the potential donors, and asking them to invest in that vision. This kind of experience of direct-asking will be invaluable to the fellow, wherever her or his ministry goes. Careful attention to detail and to manage a complex project is critical. Good writing ability, and clear communication, so that the Fellow can create a concise report of work is also important, as is quick study of how things have been done previously. There is plenty of room for innovation and improvement in this effort if the fellow has ideas, but it will also be important that the fellow come in and depart seamlessly – clearly communicating what has been accomplished and what is left to do to the rest of the staff.
Unique Opportunities:
Faith in Place is a unique and welcoming organization. Our interns tend to linger when their internship experiences are over, because we are a caring community of workers who share a vision and are willing to work hard to achieve it. Working here in any capacity will give the fellow an experience of non-profit life, and particularly of the connection between good development work and the overall mission of an organization like ours. When there are interesting meetings with the city Department of the Environment or other local environmental groups, we will bring the fellow with us to attend them, so that s/he has an opportunity to learn about different career options in the field, and to network with other organizations. Our primary partners are religious congregations, but programming tends to be minimal in the summer. When opportunities to interact on a program level with congregations do arise during the fellowship period we will be sure to involve the fellow in them. The fellow will also work from our downtown Chicago office in June and July. We are steps from Millenium Park and the summer outdoor concert series, and there could not be a more beautiful place to be in those months.
Click to learn more about Faith in Place.
Click to learn more about Faith in Place.