Does your community-spirited nonprofit, small business, or startup need a little help but lack the funds to hire a student intern? An innovative initiative from Grove City College’s Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation (E+I) just might have the solution to your problem.
The E+I Fellows program provides paid student interns to regional Pittsburgh organizations and businesses at no cost. E+I will pay selected students $25 per hour and place them with organizations that have a positive impact through social innovation or economic opportunity but can’t increase capacity or continue to grow without some help. In addition to the interns’ labor, hosts get help creating a detailed project plan to maximize the value of the placement for both the organization and the students involved.
E+I is now taking applications from regional organizations and businesses that would benefit from having highly driven interns placed at their organizations free of charge. The deadline to apply for the fall 2025 E+I Fellows cohort is Aug. 17. Program and application information is available at gccentrepreneurship.com/host-organizations. Call 724-458-2591 for more information.
The Spring 2025 program placed 24 students with 18 different host organizations. Students helped small businesses, startups, and nonprofits in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington, and Greene counties. Their roles ranged from marketing, data analysis, web design, supply chain management, communications, and project management. The upcoming fall 2025 timeline is an eight-week internship, starting in mid-September and ending in November. Positions can be fully remote, hybrid, or in-person (for organizations reasonably close enough for students to feasibly commute) as determined by the host organization's needs. To be eligible, a host organization must be within two hours of Pittsburgh.
“In just eight weeks, long-standing projects move forward, organizational capacity grows, and new opportunities emerge for our host organizations. Many describe the experience as transformational and we believe this program is making a lasting impact across the region,” Emma O’Toole ‘23, E+I community manager and organizer of the E+I Fellows program, said. The program is funded by a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and an anonymous donor.
“With so many aspects to planning an event as large as the Jubilee Conference, it’s so crucial to have all hands on deck. Our Fellow worked diligently on social media marketing initiatives and projects that helped shape our digital marketing plan as well as event ideas we plan to execute. Thanks to the Center for E+I and the E+I Fellows program for investing in the success of college students and local organizations,” said Carrie Reale, assistant director of events at the Coalition for Christian Outreach, a campus ministry focused on transforming the lives of college students.
For more about E+I Fellows, visit gccentrepreneurship.com/ei-fellows-program. For more about the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation, visit gccentrepreneurship.com.