VEP Student Fellowship Program

The Voter Empowerment Project (VEP) invites undergraduate and graduate students to apply to our Student Fellowship Program.

VEP recruits and manages a network of volunteers who provide remote support to small, high-impact, state and local voting rights organizations that engage historically disenfranchised communities. 

LOCATION: Remote

SEMESTER: Semester 2023 (late May to late July)

COMMITMENT: 5 to 10 hours/month of volunteer service and attending monthly trainings

APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 12, 2023

VEP fellows, interns and volunteers bring a wide range of skills and expertise to aid these front-line partners in areas such as communications, data analysis, web design, social media strategy, fundraising and grant writing, volunteer recruitment, digital marketing, graphic design, video production, writing and editing, and other areas.  VEP assists partner organizations in determining their needs, matches volunteers with the necessary skills and experience, and manages the process to ensure timely and satisfactory completion of projects. For this fellowship program, VEP is especially committed to creating a pipeline for students color, women, LGBTQ+, first generation college attendees, those who grew up with less economic privilege, and/or other historically underrepresented identities.

Background

VEP was launched in 2019 to create a new model of civic engagement and service. It was inspired by a 2016 conversation with an older Black Philadelphia voter, who conveyed that his reticence to vote was because “you people come here every four years and tell us ‘go vote’ then you leave ‘cause you don’t give a damn about us.” Activists of color have said for decades that we must abandon such short-term, presumptious forms of voter engagement and instead adopt respectful, year round strategies that foster trust. VEP therefore pivoted away from having mostly, privileged, mostly White out-of-town volunteers parachute into less-privileged, mostly Black and Brown communities, and instead developed its pro bono technical assistance model. Since its inception, VEP has overseeing 200+ volunteers providing 2000+ hours of service to 40 partners in 14 states.

Responsibilities & Requirements

VEP Student Fellows will:

  • Participate for the Summer 2023 Semester (late May to late July/early August)

  • Contribute 5 to 10 hours of service to VEP that will involve:

    • supporting VEP leadership with key activities related to managing the nonprofit’s operations;

    • providing assistance to small, high-impact voting rights organizations based on your skills and interests;

    • outreaching to key networks and recruit volunteers with relevant professional skills; and

    • engaging campus groups and national student organizations to build partnerships; and

    • Researching best practices to increase voter turnout in high need areas;

  • Attend monthly virtual training and networking calls (only one excused absence per semester); and

  • Complete an end-of-term project (which may be a short issue brief, slide deck, data analysis, infographic, video or other product highlighting a key issue related to increasing voter turnout).

PROGRAM BENEFITS

VEP Student Fellows will receive:

  • A Certificate of Completion documenting your participation in the VEP Student Fellowship Program;

  • Reference Letter commenting on your performance in the Student Fellowship;

  • Services Hours to meet any University volunteer requirements;

  • Trainings in various skills and issue areas;

  • Mentorship opportunities with leaders in the field; and

  • Professional development opportunities (potentially including assistance with resume writing, networking, job search, LinkedIn Profile and others)

Skills and Qualifications

Ideal candidates will demonstrate an effective combination of some or all of the following skills and qualifications: 

  • Demonstrated commitment to progressive values, racial and gender equity and all forms of diversity, equity, and inclusion for historically marginalized communities;

  • The ability to respectively collaborate with others, including with VEP staff, volunteers, non-profit partners and other stakeholders;

  • Strong written and verbal communication skills;

  • Proficiency in relevant computer and technological skills needed for effectively creating written content, electronic communication, organizing data, and creating presentation materials (e.g. Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint, Google Suite); and

  • Self-directed, organized, and detail oriented with the ability to work effectively both independently as well as collaboratively in teams; and

VEP welcomes applicants who also have the following skills (not required):

  • experience managing social media platforms (e.g. facebook, instagram, twitter, tik tok);

  • expertise in one or more skills that VEP offers front-line partners (e.g. social media strategy, data analysis, research, video production, graphic design, etc); and

  • proficiency in one or more non-English languages (preferably Spanish).

Application Process

Interest applicants should submit their application via the Application Portal by May 12, 2023

Questions regarding the internship can be sent to davec@voterempowerment.org.

Commitment To Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

VEP is committed to addressing long-standing and persistent racial and gender disparities in employment. All applicants will be considered for employment regardless of race, ethnicity, skin color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, nation of origin, criminal record history, disability status, or other underrepresented backgrounds and identities. Given VEP’s mission to serve historically disenfranchised and oppressed communities, the organization prioritizes creating opportunities for applicants that are representative of these communities.