ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The Parthenon and Centennial Park have been essential parts of Nashville’s fabric for more than a century. Centennial Park Conservancy sustains the vibrancy of Nashville’s Centennial Park, home to the historic Parthenon, by supporting Metro Parks in revitalizing and activating this public green space to ensure the park remains a welcoming destination for recreation, culture, education, and community connection for all. The organization is responsible for a variety of initiatives focused on caring for the Park, including:
Centennial Park Revitalization – a public and private partnership with Metro Parks to revitalize Nashville’s central park to serve our residents and visitors; achieved through capital improvement projects, the Centennial Park Beautification Fund, Sylvia Rapoport Future Fund, and Parthenon Preservation Fund
The Parthenon – a full-scale replica of the Grecian monument that operates as an engaging museum, presenting humanities exhibitions and educational programming for over 350K visitors annually
Musicians Corner – an outdoor music series attended by 80K people annually that presents free, diverse, and accessible live music for all
Kidsville – an educational program that serves over 70K children (ages 2-12) annually and provides free activities in the Parthenon, and Metro Parks Community Centers across the city
Nashville Earth Day – the city’s official event attended by 12K people to celebrate and protect our environment. The program also provides grants for city-wide environmental projects annually
Job Description: Development and Prospecting Intern / Centennial Park Conservancy (Summer / Fall, 2025)
- This is a proactive internship where you will engage in advancing the development/fundraising priorities of the organization. You will attend high-level meetings with organizational staff and support the department by engaging in hands-on research projects to find new donors and build upon relationships with current donors.
- The ideal candidate is familiar with and interested in fundraising and donor/sponsor cultivation and stewardship, with an interest in research projects and a keen eye for detail. The candidate must be interested in working with a team to develop and support the mission of Centennial Park Conservancy and its Development Department. Our office is fast-paced and a proactive, can-do attitude is essential. The internship is a great opportunity to gain real-world professional experience with hands-on fundraising for a known and respected nonprofit.
Learning objectives:
- Learn about both the science and art of fundraising, relationship building, and nonprofit volunteer management
- Acquire invaluable experience in working with fundraising software (Salesforce, DonorSearch, Foundation Search)
- Gain direct experience with event management for a variety of constituencies
- Direct experience cultivating and stewarding community fundraisers
- Develop excellent internal and external communication skills to be able to work with all different personas
Duties and Responsibilities: The CPC Development Intern will:
- Research and support the development of proposals for grants (foundation or corporate) and individual giving;
- Identify and prospect opportunities for funding, with direction from CPC staff;
- Support maintaining and updating contacts in the organization’s Salesforce CRM;
- Work with the Development Assistant to draft and send out donation acknowledgements;
- Support donor engagement mailings and gift deliveries;
- Contribute both individually and as a team member in meetings and brainstorming sessions.
- We have a few key events in the fall. Event-related activities may include: Support the following event-related activities: research, plan, coordinate several aspects of these events – ticketing, communication with vendors, communication with sponsors, communication with donors, logistics, managing event booking
Time Commitment: It is our hope that our interns experience as much of CPC as they can, and truly become a part of our team. Therefore, we have created a program centered on a flexible range of 12-15 hours per week.
Compensation: $14/hr; the internship provides the opportunity to hone management and supervisory skills while making a tangible contribution by supporting the work of the Conservancy.
Work Environment: The intern will work in a small collaborative office environment; work from home is available depending on the assignment / task.
Vision: We view our interns foremost as learners who offer a valuable fresh perspective. We treat each intern as a professional team member and part of the CPC Community. Our staff is committed to the program, offering guidance, and appreciation for each intern’s contribution.
