Development Intern

Reports to:

Manager of Alumni Relations

Team Leader:
Chief Development & Operations Officer

Chicago Scholars is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit leadership development organization that empowers academically ambitious first‑generation or low‑income students to overcome systemic barriers to success in college and beyond while preparing the city’s businesses and organizations for the next generation of leaders.

Since 1996, Chicago Scholars has built a legacy of success by investing in our youth and amplifying their leadership. Our Scholars are high‑achieving first‑generation college students and students from low‑income communities, and they have the talent, heart, and big dreams to become our next generation of leaders and transform our city.

At its core, our work is about economic mobility, leadership development, and belonging. It’s about making sure our Scholars have everything they need to journey from Chicago’s classrooms to Chicago’s boardrooms—or to wherever their dreams may lead.

Chicago Scholars is transforming the leadership landscape of our city by resolving the fundamental barriers to success for academically driven, first‑generation college students from under‑resourced communities. Through college counseling, mentoring, and by providing a supportive community to our Scholars through each phase of our program:
College Readiness, College Success, and Career and Leadership Advancement, we ensure that they realize their full potential as students and leaders.

76% of Chicago Scholars graduate college within 6 years. Per the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, only 49% of their peers earn a degree within 6 years. Upon graduation, our Scholars move into leadership positions across Chicago, helping to drive the economic future of their communities and our thriving city.

At Chicago Scholars we strive to prepare our Scholars for the world and the world for our Scholars. Our dual focus on Scholars and the world is essential to our strategy. To achieve these goals, we center racial justice, equity, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion (READI) in all that we do.

Chicago Scholars’ commitment to READI encompasses all of our stakeholders—from our staff to our board, from our volunteers to our partnering organizations, and most importantly our Scholars. This holistic approach is necessary for the sustained, long‑term, positive impact that we seek for our Scholars, our neighborhoods, our city, and our world.

To learn more about Chicago Scholars commitment to READI, please visit chicagoscholars.org/readi.

At Chicago Scholars, we believe that education is social justice. That's why we're empowering Chicago's best and brightest first‑generation college students and students from low‑income communities with the mentors, resources, and opportunities to go to our nation's best colleges and universities, graduate on time, and become Chicago's next generation of leaders. Since 1996, we've impacted the lives of more than 5,000 young leaders in Chicago.

We Dream Big. We speak up, innovate, push the boundaries and keep the creativity flowing. We don’t accept the status quo because the stakes are too high. We have an incredible belief that growth and change is possible. While we dream big, we are laser focused on our intended goals and outcomes for our Scholars, our city and the world.

We Show Up. We show up every day; not just physically, but with a positive attitude and willingness to work, connect, challenge, engage, solve problems and have fun. We don’t wait for someone to tell us what to do. We take action and get the job done. If we don’t know how, we figure it out through our knowledge, exploration or our network.

We Embrace Our…