Development Intern

Internship Program

Texas Public Policy Foundation provides young conservatives with the opportunity to work with the best free-market thinkers in the country. Our experts research a wide range of different policy areas, and those topics influence not just Texas but the entire country.

Staff members and invited guests share their time, knowledge, and experience with each intern class through a series of discussions that illustrate the range of ways that policy changes the world. All of our interns leave our Foundation with a solid understanding of our work, and with tangible skills they can use in the future.

The Foundation hires interns in a wide variety of areas – fundraising, communications, film, events, and law. We also consider specialty interns, such as accounting, or interns whose course schedules don’t fall into the traditional semester models (like winter blocks).

Before you apply, please familiarize yourself with our work by reading our most current research, commentary and policy analysis.

The Ideal Candidate

Our internship class is generally made up of current students, recent graduates, or students between semesters who are flexible, project-oriented self-starters. The most successful applicants can exemplify personal responsibility and the entrepreneurial spirit, and have good research, writing, and interpersonal skills.

Successful interns understand our principles of liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise, believe in an individual’s right to do business free from big government, and are excited to reshape public policy in Texas and around the world.

FAQs

Is this a paid internship?

Fall and Spring interns are given a stipend of $1000. Summer interns are given a $1500 stipend.

Interested in an even more extensive learning opportunity? The Texas Public Policy Foundation partners with Stand Together Fellowships to place full- and part-time Fellows and Interns in our Internship program for the best combined programming the Liberty Movement has to offer. Visit the Stand Together Fellowships website to learn more!

What are the start and end dates for each semester?

Fall 2026 — August 31st through November 20th

Spring 2027 — January 18th through April 23rd

Summer 2027 — May 24th through August 13th

Fall 2027 — August 30th through November 19th

How do I apply?

Applications for our program should include a cover letter telling us your story and including the semester you’re interested in interning, as well as your résumé and a work sample if available. Applications should be submitted using the button on this page or this link.

For questions regarding the program and/or the application, please reach out to Zach McCue via email at [email protected].

What are the application deadlines for each semester?

Summer — April 1 Fall — July 30 Spring — October 30

Internship Types & Descriptions

The Development interns will support the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s fundraising efforts and work closely with the development team to help research prospective donors, learn the grant writing process from start to finish, prepare for donor engagement events and meetings, and other administrative, communications, and donor management work, as needed. Development interns should be customer-service focused and have a strong ability to plan, organize, prioritize, and multi-task.

All interns get to attend “Philosophy of Freedom,” an internal class on the philosophical underpinnings of the liberty movement, taught here by our experts, as well as 1 year of no-cost membership to our Liberty Leadership Council (LLC)!

Interns will be responsible for providing office coverage, answering calls and directing inquiries to the appropriate staff member, performing data entry tasks, preparing shipments and mailings, and work on special projects as assigned.