Philanthropy California Disaster Response and Resilience Intern

Overview

Northern California Grantmakers (NCG) seeks an enthusiastic Disaster Response and Resilience Intern to support Philanthropy California’s statewide disaster response and resilience efforts.  

Philanthropy California is an alliance of three regional grantmakers associations – Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties, SoCal Grantmakers, and Northern California Grantmakers – that serve over 700+ institutional and individual philanthropic members. In collaboration with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Management, Philanthropy California plays a critical role in educating, galvanizing, coordinating, and directing individual and institutional donors to give generously and impactfully to communities at risk of and impacted by natural hazards, including wildfires, extreme heat events, and drought. NCG leads Philanthropy California’s disaster response and resilience efforts. 

The intern is part of a broader climate and disaster team at Philanthropy California. Central to Philanthropy California’s climate and disaster resilience efforts is our pursuit of social justice and racial equity. Recognizing that institutional systems and policies – past and present – place Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and low-income individuals at greater risk to and impacts from climate change and other natural hazards, the intern will be working at a critical juncture to undo inequitable institutional systems and policies and mobilize the power of philanthropy to create equitable solutions to our ongoing climate crisis. 

The internship is fully remote, and the intern is supervised remotely for the duration of the internship.   

More information about our work can be found here:  https://ncg.org/disaster-resilience

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor, track, and research significant natural hazard events (e.g., wildfires) affecting communities across the state, including information on incident locations, populations impacted, and local responding organizations;
• Attend local and regional VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters) meetings and prepare meeting notes;
• Prepare situation reports for significant natural hazard events impacting Californian communities;
• Support the planning and execution of virtual education programs for the philanthropic community;
• Track and analyze existing federal and state emergency declarations and assistance programs;
• Attend relevant virtual programs/meetings;
• Provide administrative support as needed, including note-taking, setting up meetings with external partners, and preparing briefing documents;
• Other duties as assigned.

Competencies desired

• Strategic. Ability to collect, review, synthesize, and present information and findings.
• Values-based. Commitment to systemic change and social justice.
• Relational. Excellent interpersonal skills with an ability to work with diverse people and in diverse groups.
• Adaptable. Ability to change course and support the successful completion of projects.
• Emotionally intelligent. Is self-aware and reflective and able to read and respond appropriately to the energy in a room.
• Resourceful. Finds alternative solutions to overcome problems or limitations.

Relevant experiences desired

• Currently enrolled as an undergraduate junior/senior or graduate candidate in a degree program in emergency management, homeland security, human geography, public affairs, or related fields.
• Commitment to advancing equity in disaster response and resilience.
• Technical acumen, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. Ability to learn and adapt quickly to virtual communications and collaborative applications.
• Interest in state and federal legislative processes.
• Interest in creating opportunities for people to work collaboratively.  
• Interest in meeting facilitation, public speaking, and relationship management. 

Benefits

• Not applicable

Payment

• $5,000 will be paid in four monthly installments. Intern will submit an invoice to NCG.
• U.S. work authorization required.