The build4good Experience

build4good, an initiative of New America, is a mentorship program that matches post-secondary students who are majoring in computer science, integrated digital media, UI/UX design, or other technology-related fields to mission-driven nonprofit organizations with technology-specific project needs. This mostly remote summer internship program aims to inspire a network of future leaders to develop socially minded technology, discover public service-oriented careers, and help nonprofits harness the power of technology for social good.

Started in April 2020 when students were losing their summer internships because of the COVID pandemic, tech-savvy student interns embark on a 10-12 week paid project-based mentorship and skill-building journey. The build4good internship provides students with opportunities to transfer classroom-learned skills to real-world application, add new technical skills, gain 21st-century skills such as collaboration, project management, problem-solving and communication, and explore potential careers in the public service sector. Host organizations have access to students with skills such as website design and development, app design and development, back-end development, data visualizations including interactive web maps, data analytics, expanding online community engagement, and addressing privacy/security challenges.

Over the past four summers, build4good has matched and mentored interns from diverse ethnic, racial and economic backgrounds (46% female, 54% male; 6% white, 84% students of color) with host organizations including Digital Promise, Campaign for Nature, Nomi Network, POETIC, the Afterschool Alliance, statewide afterschool networks, The NEA Foundation, Learn Fresh, and New America. Applicants come from a variety of universities and colleges including minority-serving institutions (MSIs) that are part of the Public Interest Technology University Network, a New America program, and are selected through a rigorous interview and matching process.

Facilitated by the build4good team, each summer cohort of interns participate remotely in weekly leadership development and skill-building workshops ranging from design thinking principles and practices, project management tools such as Scrum, GitHub, and software tools such as WordPress, ArcGIS, and React. In addition, interns have the opportunity to engage with guest speakers who are industry, policy, research, and practice experts from organizations such as TikTok, Mozilla, Microsoft, Digital Promise, and New America’s Open Technology Institute. The weekly cohort and 1:1 check-in calls also provide an opportunity for interns to share project progress and wins at their host organization, and seek help in addressing technical or personal challenges they may be facing. As part of their experience working on specific projects with their host organizations, interns also gain an understanding of nonprofits' mission and goals, operations, and practical skills such as project management, collaboration, and navigating a nonprofit work experience.

This summer, with generous support from Siegel Family Endowment, build4good interns participated in the first-ever in-person convening at New America’s office in Washington DC. Interns had the chance to participate in leadership development, cohort building, skill sharing, present projects for input, learn from a variety of speakers sharing their education and career pathways, gain insight into federal policy making, and briefly explore Washington DC. The evaluation reflected how valuable the in-person experience was to the interns.

​​I loved the in-person meeting - it was really cool to meet everyone and be able to listen to the speakers there. I also liked having the opportunity to present our projects in a professional setting - that was a great experience.

Another top aspect was the guest speakers. I definitely learned a ton and appreciated their insight and experience.

I also loved getting the opportunity to meet the cohort in person and exchange creative ideas and technical skills that helped me finish out my internship.

Other evaluation responses included:

How has this internship, if at all, changed your perception of nonprofits?

There are pathways other than big tech that lead to fulfilling careers.

My perception of non-profits has changed greatly, especially now that I'm aware of what goes on behind the scenes in maintaining their services to their communities. After this experience, I'd love to work more with non-profits and challenge myself further.

What, if anything, was unique about build4good compared to other internships or internships you have participated in?

With this internship, the cohort group being very much connected made the experience very different from other positions I've held in the past. We could easily bounce questions off each other and we were able to build great relationships.

The opportunity to be in a cohort and meet peers that are all focused on professional development.

Host organizations expressed their gratitude for having access to interns with tech experience and a fresh set of eyes to evaluate their systems, sites, and update their tools. Host organizations also appreciated the effort to recruit diverse interns with varied backgrounds, education and experiences.

I appreciated the level of professionalism and technical capability of our intern. She was exceptionally mature for a college sophomore. Her problem-solving skills, attention to detail and applied knowledge of computer science was impressive.

I am impressed by the caliber of the interns. build4good should continue to strive for applicants and interns who do not have typical career paths or attend traditional elite institutions.

Intern projects have included back-end, front-end, and app development, and data analytics projects. Below are a couple of examples of front-end internship projects. For more, browse build4good website.

Dorothy Zhang used ArcGIS to create maps in Virginia of where and how many students are being served in out-of school time programs.

Milo Soriano created a Digital Accessibility Handbook that will be used at New America to ensure that all new content and communication created is accessible to all audiences.

With advice and input from our build4good alumni and host organizations, we are already gearing up for Summer 2024. We will expand the number of internship positions available by recruiting more host organizations from a range of industries, provide site visit opportunities for host and intern, and further support host organizations with a handbook of guidelines and resources for hosting and mentoring interns. We will collaborate with career service centers at MSIs and continue recruiting a diverse cohort of students, including students with disabilities. In addition, an alumni network will be created to support professional networking, provide job listings, and opportunities to participate in workshops such as resume writing, leadership development, and guest speakers.

If your organization is interested in becoming a build4good host organization, please reach out to us at build4good@newamerica.org.

If you are interested in becoming a summer 2024 build4good intern or know of someone who is, feel free to browse the build4good website for more information, and check back January 2, 2024 for the application and deadlines.