Advancement Summer Internship Program - Stewardship Intern

The University of Iowa Center for Advancement (UICA) is currently providing opportunities for full time paid summer internships. UICA encourages students from all backgrounds to explore careers in nonprofit settings, promote engagement with the University of Iowa, support and advance the university and its programs through meaningful pre-professional opportunities, and support potential graduates to obtain roles within our organization.

The UICA will provide 9 intern opportunities that provide 10 weeks of work experience, June 1 - August 7. Internships are open to Fall 2026 2nd year college students, through May & December 2026 graduates from any college or university. Interns will earn $18/hour and will be provided with the flexibility and technology to work from home two days per week if desired. Up to five unpaid vacation days will be available throughout the internship program if desired. At the conclusion of the internship, all interns are expected to give a final presentation highlighting their experience and projects they have worked on. Housing and benefits are not available as part of the intern experience and interns must be within driving distance of our Iowa City, IA office.

**This opportunity will close 11/2/25 and applications will no longer be accepted**

As the Stewardship intern you will create donor delight for University of Iowa donors. You will partner with the stewardship team and teams across the organization to show donors the impact of their giving and engage them with Iowa in meaningful ways. As the stewardship intern you will work collaboratively on stewardship touches for donors across giving levels, including personalized communications, creation of engagement strategies, and custom stewardship for donors.

Core Responsibilities

• Create Donor Delight: Participate in stewardship meetings with members of the stewardship team and development officers (DO’s) to learn more how stewardship fits into the Donor Engagement Process. In these meetings, you will learn about the donor’s relationship to the UICA, why the donor made the gift, and how best to share the impact the donor has made at Iowa. (Examples: Custom thank you messages using our Thankview platform, identifying donors with milestone giving anniversaries to create strategies to recognize their long-term support.) The stewardship intern will also gain experience working in our I-STAR database to document stewardship activity and gain knowledge of a higher education fundraising CRM. 
• First time donor program: Lead the initiative among interns to distribute weekly list of first-time donors to the University of Iowa who will be contacted by phone call or text message to thank donors.
• Level A Donor Reports: Assist with contacting former UI scholarship recipients asking to contribute thank you notes for inclusion in donor reports, as well as help members of the stewardship team create other materials as needed for the largest annual project for the stewardship team.
• Presidential Acknowledgment templates: Collaborate with Stewardship Services team to draft letter templates used in acknowledgement letters sent by UICA CEO and UI President to recognize gifts.