The North Carolina Coastal Federation welcomes qualified undergraduate and graduate student interns from diverse backgrounds to join us in a range of internship opportunities. Offering real-world experience, these internships engage participants in projects and activities critical to the success of our organization.
A limited number of internships are available each semester in all three Federation offices and we have several recurring summer internships each year. Check out our current offerings below:
Coastal Restoration & Outreach
The Coastal Policy and Restoration Internship at the Coastal Federation’s Headquarters office in Ocean, North Carolina, offers opportunities to learn valuable skills at a successful coastal nonprofit organization.
Details
The Coastal Restoration and Outreach internship is in partnership with East Carolina University through the Public Service Fellows Program supported by the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union, NC State University through the Climate Leaders Program, and Duke University through the Stanback Fellowship Program. Students from these universities are eligible to apply through those programs.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation is a member-supported nonprofit environmental organization committed to protecting and restoring the North Carolina coast. The Coastal Federation provides several exciting opportunities for students to work with our established and successful organization. Working alongside dedicated professional staff, interns will engage in:
- Coastal policy and advocacy
- Coastal habitat protection and restoration
- Environmental education
- Community Collaboration
Interns will also learn about the inner workings of nonprofit management, including public relations, strategic planning, marketing, board of directors management, communications, fundraising, and nonprofit governance.
Be an integral part of our team.
Interns will spend 12 weeks of the summer working alongside staff in our headquarters office, located in Ocean, NC (near Newport). The exact timing of the internship is flexible, usually running from mid-May through the end of July or the first week of August. This hands-on program introduces participants to local, state, and national coastal policy and management. It also provides outdoor opportunities for habitat and water quality restoration. Whether it’s planting a living shoreline, bagging oyster shells for habitat, or building a rain garden to reduce polluted stormwater runoff, the mix of field and research-based opportunities provides a multitude of memorable experiences.
A key part of our internship includes guest presentations and site visits with local, state, and federal officials; private industry; other nonprofits and academia such as three local university marine labs and a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility.
Internship Objectives
- Learn about important coastal environmental issues and the key priority goals of the Coastal Federation.
- Better understand coastal management policy and implementation at the federal, state, and local levels and apply research skills to timely coastal issues.
- Learn about the roles of science, law, politics, and media relations in coastal advocacy, effective public participation models, and engagement strategies and apply research skills to timely coastal issues.
- Experience the natural coast and understand the Coastal Federation’s protection and restoration work by engaging in a variety of field projects and site visits.
- Learn key steps for managing and operating a nonprofit (membership and board development, use of volunteers, staffing, accounting, grant writing, and communications).
- Collaborate on key coastal issues to help advance the work of the Coastal Federation by working with fellow interns on group assignments.
The projects that interns work on change by the summer, but you can get an idea about what a day-by-day schedule looks like here.
Important Information
The Coastal Policy and Restoration Internship takes place in the Coastal Federation’s Headquarters office in Ocean, North Carolina. The Coastal Restoration and Outreach internship is in partnership with East Carolina University through the Public Service Fellows Program supported by the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union, North Carolina State University through the Climate Leaders Program, and Duke University through the Stanback Fellowship Program. Students from these universities are eligible to apply through those programs.
Please reach out to Rachel Bisesi at rachelb@nccoast.org with any questions.
Coastal Southeast Internship
Southeast Coastal Education and Outreach interns work as part of the southeast regional office team at the Fred and Alice Stanback Coastal Education Center in the Wrightsville Beach Historic Square to implement coastal education and engagement activities to support the Federation’s community outreach, advocacy, habitat restoration, and water quality initiatives.
Deadline for the summer: March 5, 2025
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation is a member-supported 501(c)3 that focuses on protecting and restoring water quality and coastal habitats along the North Carolina coast. For more than 40 years, the Federation has been restoring miles of coastline; training and educating students, adults, and communities to take actions that result in cleaner coastal waters, and advocating for an accessible, healthy, productive coast.
The Coastal Federation accepts internship applications for fall, spring, and summer terms. Term dates are based on the UNCW calendar year. Interns typically work 10-15 hours a week. The Federation’s business hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Interns are also required to work events and attend meetings on nights and weekends occasionally. This is an unpaid internship position.
Student Duties
The intern will work as part of the southeast regional office team at the Fred and Alice Stanback Coastal Education Center in the Wrightsville Beach Historic Square to implement coastal education and engagement activities to support the Federation’s community outreach, advocacy, habitat restoration, and water quality initiatives.
- Assist education, advocacy, and restoration program staff with the research, design, planning, implementation, and evaluation of regional projects.
- Help plan and promote special and re-occurring events, such as volunteer, education, and fundraising events.
- Assist with digital marketing strategies and contribute to the Federation’s website and social media channels.
- Work with staff to develop and implement tools, activities, and events to engage the community at the Coastal Education Center and recruit new members.
- Represent the Federation at public events, festivals, and workshops focused on coastal habitat restoration and water quality protection projects.
- Assist with volunteer management, which includes corresponding with existing and prospective volunteers, organizing volunteer events and supplies, and participating in volunteer events.
- Help develop and implement educational activities and materials focused on coastal habitat restoration, marine debris, water quality, and stormwater.
- Gain hands-on training in environmental stewardship by participating in restoration events, such as rain garden installments and oyster reef builds.
- Assist with office operations.
Qualifications
- Flexible and positive attitude toward duties and schedules
- Possess initiative; be a self-starter
- Enthusiasm for learning and being involved with local politics and advocacy surrounding conservation efforts
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Strong organizational skills
- Ability to conduct themselves professionally with a variety of stakeholders
Application Deadlines
Spring Internship Positions Filled. Please submit applications before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, to apply for a summer 2025 position. Interviews from the applicant pool may be scheduled and the position may be filled before the final application deadline.
To Apply
Send a cover letter and resume to Bonnie Mitchell, Coastal Education Coordinator at Bonniem@nccoast.org
Nonprofit Internship Program Summer 2025
Want to spend your summer at the coast helping educate and engage the community in coastal conservation? Interested in learning more about nonprofit work? Apply for the Nonprofit Internship Program at the southern branch of the North Carolina Coastal Federation! This is the perfect opportunity for college students who want a chance to try out nonprofit work and have fun doing it. Our Southeast office in Wrightsville Beach is at the heart of a vibrant and lively community, full of exciting ways to get involved in meaningful projects. From gaining hands-on experience working in a non-profit setting to re-building oyster reefs and coastal habitats, the Federation’s work in the southeast is never boring!
Deadline: February 3, 2025
Details
Intern Functions
The intern will work as part of the southeast regional office team to implement coastal education and engagement activities to support the Federation’s community outreach, habitat restoration, and water quality initiatives.
- Assist education, advocacy, and restoration program staff with the research, design, planning, implementation, and evaluation of regional projects
- Help plan and promote special and reoccurring events, such as volunteer, education, and fundraising events.
- Assist with digital marketing strategies and contribute to the Federation’s website and social media channels.
- Work with staff to develop and implement tools, activities, and events to engage the community at the Coastal Education Center and recruit new members.
- Represent the Federation at public events, festivals, and workshops focused on coastal habitat restoration and water quality protection projects.
- Assist with volunteer management, which includes corresponding with existing and prospective volunteers, organizing volunteer events and supplies, and participating in volunteer events.
- Help develop and implement educational activities and materials focused on coastal habitat restoration.
- Gain hands-on training in environmental stewardship by participating in restoration events, such as rain garden installments and oyster reef builds.
- Assist with office operations.
Compensation
Interns receive a taxable stipend of $5,760, which the funder provides in a lump sum to host
organizations.
Eligibility
You are eligible to apply for NPIP if you meet ALL of the following criteria:
You are a North Carolina native/resident at an accredited four-year college or university in the United
States (the college/university can be in or outside of NC).
AND
You are a rising sophomore, junior, or senior. Note that current seniors set to graduate in the spring or
summer of the internship year are NOT eligible, nor are graduate students.
AND
You are Pell Grant eligible in the academic year in which you apply for NPIP. You will be asked to submit
a Student Aid Report screenshot to verify your eligibility for this requirement.
DACA and undocumented students are eligible to apply.
Applications
Applications for summer 2025 internships are currently open. The deadline to apply is Monday, February 3, at 11:59 PM ET
To be considered for this position, you must check the box beside “NC Coastal Federation – Wrightsville Beach, NC” in the first question of the application.
For More Info
For more information about this internship position please go to https://www.ncgrantmakers.org/About-(1)/NPIP-Nonprofit-Internship-Program/Intern-Need-To-Knows.html and check the Non-Profit Internship Program FAQs. Should you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to Yara Quezada Miller at yqmiller@ncgrantmakers.org at the NC Network of Grantmakers, which now administers the NPIP program.
For questions about work at our Southeast Office’s Coastal Education Center, contact Bonnie Mitchell, Coastal Education Coordinator, at bonniem@nccoast.org.
