The Second Day Impact Fellowship
The Fellowship program is designed to open doors for emerging leaders ready to launch purpose-driven careers.
Impact Fellows are matched with paid internships at leading social change organizations, where they can gain practical experience working on meaningful projects. Alongside this hands-on work, Fellows receive comprehensive training, personalized coaching, and long-term career support to build the skills and confidence needed to succeed. Our goal is for this Fellowship to be a jumping-off point into a long, sustainable career in the non-profit and social impact industry!
Apply!The Impact Fellowship welcomes current college students, recent graduates, and young professionals who are passionate about making a tangible impact in the social impact sphere. We place Fellows in a wide range of roles with our hiring partners so we’ll work with you to find an opportunity that’s aligned with your background and interests.
Meet some of our Partners below:
Why Become an Impact Fellow?
The Impact Fellowship offers an enriching experience through a blend of virtual workshops, mentorship, and hands-on internships with leading organizations in the social impact sector.
We’ll place you.
We place our Fellows in paid internships and full-time jobs with our hiring partners––social impact groups that share our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. We’ve worked with over 80 organizations including the National League of Cities, iCivics, BUILD, Bell Creek Consulting, and SWAN Impact Network. Through our screening and matching process, we’ll aim to find you a placement aligned with your background, interests, and experiences.
We’ll pair you with a mentor.
Through this mentorship, you’ll have the opportunity to talk through challenges and opportunities at work, role-play potentially challenging conversations, and bounce ideas around with someone who’s been in your shoes. Many Fellows highlight this relationship as the most helpful part of their experience!
We’ll pay you.
We’re committed to making the program financially accessible to all our fellows. Our host organizations pay their Impact Fellows at least $15/hour for part-time and full-time positions. Once you’re matched to a potential placement, we’ll share a specific hourly rate and weekly commitment.
We’ll broaden your network.
By participating in the program, you’ll build relationships with the other fellows in your cohort, your coach, host organization staff, Second Day staff, and best of all, you’ll join our community of more than 400 Fellowship alumni. You’ll leave with a network of friends and mentors, and we’ll help you leverage your connections to move forward in your career.
We’ll train you.
You’ll participate in a sequence of career readiness trainings designed to equip you with the tools you need to succeed in the fellowship and beyond. We’ll share best practices for managing up, asking for feedback, building workplace relationships, networking, and navigating questions of purpose and belonging at work.
We’ll help launch your career.
After your Fellowship, we’ll stick with our Fellows long-term with career support and connections to future employers. We’ll source job applications for you, edit your resume and cover letters, help prepare you for interviews, and work with you to negotiate job offers––whatever it takes to support you in launching a lasting career in the social impact ecosystem.
Apply
Take 10-20 minutes to complete our application, and we'll consider you for a range of paid internships with our hiring partners. We’re not looking for candidates with extensive experience or the most impressive resume; we’re looking for people who can tell us a story about themselves and have a clear motivation for working in social impact.
All placements are coordinated on a rolling basis. As the hiring needs of our partners evolve, we’ll keep your application on file and reach out if we find a role that’s a good fit for you. Even if you aren't selected for a match, we’ll share valuable professional development resources with you to support your growth.
Next Steps
Here’s a bit about what you can expect from our application process:
Application
Our application is straightforward and easy to complete (we mean it — it only takes about 15 minutes and we don’t ask for cover letters!). There aren’t any trick questions: we just want to get a sense of who you are and what drives you.
Screening
If we’re especially excited about your application, we might ask you to complete a short asynchronous video interview, a written matching exercise, and reference checks. Our goal is to figure out which roles excite you and where you might shine.
Matching
Once we’ve gathered all of the information we can about you, we’ll share your profile with our hiring partners, and reach out to you directly if we confirm a match. We’ll share more background on the role, and you can decide whether you’d like to move forward.
Interviews
If you’re selected as a finalist, you’ll interview with one of our host organizations. During the interview, you’ll meet your potential boss and learn more about the placement. They’ll ask you questions about your background, interest in the organization, and long-term goals.
Placement
After your interview, your host organization will reach out directly with an offer, and you’ll become a Second Day Impact Fellow. We’ll give you the training and coaching you need to succeed on the job, and then you’ll get to work!
Join the Impact Fellowship
The Impact Fellowship Program is more than just an internship; it's a comprehensive platform for career development, mentorship, and community engagement in the social impact sector. If you're ready to take a significant step forward in your career while contributing to meaningful change, we invite you to apply to the Impact Fellowship Program.