Applications now open for Fall 2024-Spring 2025.

Let’s change the world together.

Make an impact with your internship.

Deadline: June 2

Duration: August 14 – May 10 (two semesters)

The Public Policy Intern for Minaret Foundation will provide research-level support for our organization’s advocacy, monitoring, and coalition-building efforts. This highly competitive internship program is limited to only four students for the 2024-25 cohort.

This remote internship, spanning two semesters, will provide hands-on experience in policy and interaction between communities and government on local, state, and federal levels. Our policy slate is limited to child welfare, food security, and religious freedom issues.

Interns can decide which projects to work on, such as food insecurity, religious freedom, or child welfare.

Relevant experience is not required.

We’ll prepare interns through hands-on involvement in relevant projects, one-on-one sessions with experts, and intense experiential learning.

Relevant majors

Political Science, History, Communications, Journalism, Social Work, International Relations, and Public Administration.

You will be provided training with other interns to help you transition into this role.

A stipend is provided at program completion, all expenses incurred will be paid, and if available, we will work with your educational institution to provide credit towards your degree plan.

About Minaret Foundation

At Minaret Foundation, we’re building capacity on food insecurity, child welfare, and religious freedom policies. Our mission is to leverage our faith beliefs to change the world around us through multi-faith and civic engagement. Our vision is to see a world where our faith communities seek each other’s help to create change as the norm instead of the exception.

“Pursue something so important that even if you fail, the world is better off with you having tried.” – Tim O’Reilly

General Responsibilities:

  • Provide research support for ongoing government-related projects and prepare reports for working groups.
  • Monitor issues and potential regulations impacting Minaret Foundation’s collaborative policy projects.
  • Help coordinate research and messaging with domestic and international entities and community organizations.
  • Conduct meetings with coalition partners, prospective community and faith organizations, elected officials, and others in the policy field as necessary.

Required Qualifications:

  • Respect, appreciation, and curiosity for ALL faith traditions, ideologies, and political leanings.
  • Fundamental understanding of local and federal structures and legislative processes with a keen ability to rapidly learn and digest complex information.
  • Creative and innovative; the ability to see alternatives and solutions.
  • Ability to multi-task effectively and balance priorities in an ever-changing, fast-moving, time-sensitive environment.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • Ability to manage time efficiently and operate with little oversight and minimal direction.

Desired Qualifications:

  • Candidates should be working toward a bachelor’s or a graduate degree in a relevant field.

Compensation and Benefits

This position is part-time for 15 hours a week, and a two-part stipend of up to $1,000 is provided. Minaret Foundation will pay all organizational expenses.

Ready to join Minaret Foundation for a career changing internship?

Please send us your resume using the form below! In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email Seyi Fatokun at seyi@minaretfoundation.com or give us a call at (281) 401-9229.

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Notes from our 2022 Internship Cohort:

My time at Minaret taught me more about public policy and non-profit work than I initially could have imagined. It provided me with real hands-on experience in advocacy and policy work, including writing one-pagers, conducting meetings with congressional staff, and writing sample bill text while teaching me the more general but vital skills of leading meetings and building meaningful partnerships. Overall, I loved the flexibility of my work at Minaret regarding the remoteness and the policy areas I wanted to work on. This dynamic truly does expose you to as much as possible in the time given. Further, the policy areas of child welfare, religious freedom, and food insecurity were all issues I found myself particularly passionate about before coming to Minaret, so the impactful policy work we did regarding these issues was significant to me.  Lastly, and most importantly, the staff is an incredible group of people from various backgrounds who genuinely care about their work. They also understand your circumstances and are always willing to help in any way they can. This attitude creates a great work environment and helps bring out the best in your work.– Isabel, Barnard College

 

Minaret Foundation has taught me much about what it means to work in policy. Whether through meetings with Congressional offices or helping write a one-pager, I learned how to tailor my language to my primary audience and represent the organization at the highest levels of government. I wouldn’t have imagined at the start of my internship that I would be representing the organization at tens of congressional meetings. The flexible nature of Minaret Foundation meant that my colleagues and I could contribute to positive change in Texas and the country from anywhere in the world. In addition to forging a collaborative team environment in our Zoom room, my colleagues understand a university student’s schedule. I am grateful for their help in my professional development. Minaret allowed me to advocate for child welfare issues while cementing the foundation for my policy career.Julian, University of Illinois 

 

Working at Minaret Foundation has been highly fulfilling. Since I started at Minaret, I have worked closely on our Handle with Care policy. I had minimal experience with child welfare issues when I started, but I’m so happy I learned about it and am hopeful that the policy will progress soon! I loved getting to know all the other interns and the rest of the staff! Working at Minaret provides much flexibility between working remotely and making your schedule. Making your own schedule also means different people are in the virtual office at different times, which makes for a fun dynamic. I’m also grateful for the experience I got getting familiar with the policy and reaching out to different policy leaders. Because this internship is six months, you get to dive deep into the issues and see progress, which is rewarding. The past few months have been extremely rewarding, and I can’t wait to see where Minaret goes from here.-Madison, American University

 

When I began this internship, I was still deciding about my future career options and which path was best for me. Throughout the program, I have learned much about myself and what it means to be a public servant due to this formative experience. From the start, Minaret’s emphasis on child welfare, religious freedom, and food security stood out as the organization sought to change issues that everyone could agree on. As an intern, I assisted with all three of these policy areas, learning how public policy can be utilized to connect people and improve their current circumstances. One of my favorite experiences here was the chance to draft resolution language that will go on to establish Muslim American Heritage Month in the state of Texas, recognizing the contributions of Muslims from every corner of the state. This has been an incredible experience in which I have been able to understand what I want in a career, and it has furthered my passion and commitment to serving others.Mayha, DePaul University

 

My experience with Minaret Foundation has been incredibly positive over the past six months. I loved the flexible nature of the internship program. I could schedule my working hours around my class schedule, which allowed me to stay on top of my academics and my internship work. During my time with Minaret, we shifted to a four-day workweek, and I found that to be very beneficial because it allowed me to be more productive during my working hours, and in return, I received an extra day off. The most important thing I learned during my time with Minaret was how messaging is crucial to any policy and how to tailor messages in ways that will garner bipartisan support for the same policy. This skill is invaluable especially given the current polarized nature of politics. One thing I will take away from my time working for Minaret Foundation is a passion for shaping child welfare policy. I plan on continuing into this policy field through fellowships and legislative positions. My experience with Minaret Foundation has ignited my passion for public policy, which I will always be thankful for.” –Yonathan, University of Maryland