PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS AND APPLICATION PROCESS
The Internship Program is a one-year paid Internship for university students designed to increase the diversity of staff in the Affordable Housing and Community Development field and assist in meeting the diverse needs of the communities served throughout the rural West.
CCRH is active in recruiting, training and retaining students who may not otherwise know about the field, and people who reflect the rural West’s diverse cultural and linguistic demographics. The program serves as a critical pathway for students to pursue professional positions in the affordable housing field while simultaneously developing qualified candidates for the field.
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Now Accepting Applications for the following locations. Priority deadline to apply is Friday, March 9, 2018. If you have any questions, please contact Gisela@calruralhousing.org
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California locations:
Fairfield
San Diego
Sacramento
Santa Rosa
Ventura
Visalia
Watsonville
Oregon locations:
Corvallis
Sherwood
Washington locations:
Spokane
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Nuts & Bolts: How it Works
There are three main entities that make up the program: the Intern, CCRH, and the Host Agency. CCRH is a nonprofit organization that serves as the Program Administrator. CCRH sponsors the program and coordinates all supplemental program related activites and trainings. The Host Agency is the location where each Intern carries out his/her day-to-day work. All Host Agencies have a mission of working with low-income people and are actively working in rural communities.
Interns are selected via a competitive application process from across each state, and placed with a Host Agency for one year, beginning work in the summer (full-time) and continuing through the fall and spring (part-time). The Intern works closely with a supervisor and follows an Intern Work Plan that provides a well-rounded intern experience in the field of nonprofit affordable housing and community development.
While the program’s interns attend various universities in several states, CCRH ensures each Intern gains the same basic skills and professional experience needed to pursue a career in the field after graduation from the program.
Internship Program Term And Pay
The term of the program is for one year, beginning as early as June 1 and ending May 31 of the following year. Interns are expected to start no later than July 1. Interns will be placed with a Host Agency within driving distance of his/her university, so no relocation needs to occur for this program. The pay range is between $14.00 to $16.00 per hour, depending on geographic location. For other Internship activities and trainings, CCRH pays for all intern lodging and meals.
Who Should Apply
Preference is given to those who are completing their junior year in college and want to pursue a career in the nonprofit housing and community development field. Preference is also given to applicants from rural, farm worker, American Indian Reservations/Rancherias, immigrant or low-income backgrounds, and those that demonstrate a commitment to improve the quality of life of low-income and rural communities. The program encourages applicants from all majors.
All applicants must be full-time students. Some locations require that the Intern have access to a vehicle in order to carryout the day-to-day duties of the work.
SKILLS AND ACTIVITIES
Skill Development
In general, during the course of the year, the Intern will be actively involved in one of the following nonprofit housing and community development tracks:
Affordable Housing and Real Estate Development: learn hands-on what it takes to create affordable healthy living communities, and specifically learn the intricacies of developing single family homes or multifamily housing complexes from concept inception to construction completion for low-income and ethnically diverse communities following a real estate development process.
Manufactured Home Placement/Replacement Conversation: learn hands-on the process to get dilapidated, unsafe, and unhealthy mobile homes replaced with new ones.
Multifamily Housing Asset Management: learn hands-on the operations of affordable rental housing developments owned by nonprofit housing developers and housing authorities. Learn the financial, physical, regulatory and administrative services needed to support and sustain built multifamily affordable rental communities.
Financial Lending for Affordable Housing: learn the lending process undertaken by a Community Development Financial Institution for affordable housing projects and water infrastructure in rural areas throughout the West.
In addition, interns have the opportunity to be exposed to different leadership styles via CEO and Executive Director shadowing experiences; and are able to further develop their leadership skills through the program’s supplemental activities described below.
Activities and Other Opportunities:
The Intern’s Program year will include a variety of pre-professional and personal skills development opportunities. Interns also get to know their other peer group members and program alumni through various activities and develop strong long-lasting relationships as a result of the work and activities that occur over the year. Some of these opportunities include:
Summer Training Institute: Interns begin the program working at their host agencies and then shortly thereafter attend an intensive one-week training where professionals from the industry teach various affordable housing and community development topics. The intense week-long training also provides personal development tools (such as communication and negotiation techniques, the value of identifying a mentor) that Interns can use in their professional and personal lives. The Institute activities helps Interns to get to know each other on a personal level and forge bonding relationships with one another, so that they feel comfortable communicating and confiding via email/social media/telephone once they return home to various parts of the West. The Summer Institute occurs in July at the University of California, Davis where all interns are hosted by CCRH.
CCRH Rural Summit and Statewide Housing Conferences: California Interns have the opportunity to attend and participate in CCRH’s renowned Annual Rural Housing Summit, while Washington State and Oregon Interns have the opportunity to attend and participate in their respective statewide Annual Housing Conference. These events usually occur between September-October.
The Mid-Winter Training/Retreat: In January Interns take two-days in a relaxed setting to participate in a skills development/retreat where they reflect on their intern experience and gain additional community development tools.
Enrichment Opportunities: Interns are regularly informed of community development events and news via our Intern email communications initiated by CCRH’s Program Director, and attend at least one statewide or regional housing conference, depending on where the Intern is placed. Some Host Agencies sponsor their respective Intern to other non-CCRH trainings, such as the NeighborWorks America National Training Institute, National Rural Housing Conference, etc. (depends on Host Agency and CCRH partners).
Final Project: Interns culminate the program with the presentation of a housing development project they have worked on during the year where they have to convince a mock City Council that their development project is feasible and an asset to the community.
Graduation: Successful Intern graduates participate in a special graduation ceremony in April preceding the annual Housing California Conference in Sacramento. The graduation is attended by Intern families, CCRH intern alumni, nonprofit leaders and practitioners from across each state.
Resources and Employment Opportunities after Graduation: CCRH staff aggressively promotes the employment of graduating interns. Staff actively connects graduating interns with nonprofits who have jobs available via direct dialogues with its nonprofit network. On a longer term basis, CCRH keeps a data base of graduating Interns on file and regularly forwards job announcements and resources to the group. CCRH staff often serves as references for Intern graduates.
FORMER INTERNS
This is one of the simplest ways to help out our cause. We believe the best way for our initiatives to be successful is for the community to actively get involved. This is an easy and efficient way of contributing to the great work we do at California Coalition for Rural Housing. Get in touch with any questions about how you can Volunteer Your Time today.
MAKE A DONATION
Our organization always appreciates the generosity and involvement of people like you, with every contribution going towards making California Coalition for Rural Housing an even better Nonprofit than it already is. We want to provide you with the correct and appropriate information pertaining to your mode of support, so don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions.
VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME
This is one of the simplest ways to help out our cause. We believe the best way for our initiatives to be successful is for the community to actively get involved. This is an easy and efficient way of contributing to the great work we do at California Coalition for Rural Housing. Get in touch with any questions about how you can Volunteer Your Time today.
If you have a questions about the Internship Program, please contact Gisela@calruralhousing.org.