Resilient Local Economies Spring 2021 Internship
Internship Overview: Join the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), the SustainableBusiness Network (SBN) of MA, and Cambridge Local First (CLF) for a 13-week spring internship onbolstering resilient local economies. The internship will last from Monday, February 1 through Friday, April30
We are seeking a cohort of highly motivated, self-directed, spring interns to work with us on our publicpolicy and advocacy, business assistance, and public education work. The interns must have strongorganizational, communication and research skills, and have a passion for sustainable economy andpublic policies.
Organizational overviews:
●The American Independent Business Alliance(AMIBA) is a non-profit organization providing awide array of tools, templates and support for independent business owners and advocates.AMIBA helps businesses and organizations implement buy local campaigns; organize grouppurchasing, marketing and other collaborative work; and advance policies that supportcommunity-rooted businesses rather than absentee-owned corporations. AMIBA builds a strongLocal Economy Movement by supporting the growth and development of local business alliances.
●The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) of Massachusetts engages business andcommunity leaders in building economies that are local, green and fair. SBN envisions a resilientworld economy composed of thousands of inter-connected local economies that benefit the livesof all people and all living things. SBN endeavors to build a successful model in Massachusettsand New England that inspires others to join with SBN in growing the sustainable economymovement.
●Cambridge Local First (CLF) is a non-profit network of 400+ local and independent businesseshere in Cambridge. Our mission is to support, promote, and celebrate a “local economycommunity” by educating the public and government about the significant environmental,economic, and cultural benefits of a strong local economy. In accordance with ourthree-prongedvalue proposition, our ongoing efforts center on small business assistance, education to thepublic, and advocacy. We are part of a network of independent business associations (IBAs)around the country, working to amplify local economies in our respective region
Internship description:
●The interns will spend 13 weeks this spring, during the period of Monday, February 1 throughFriday, April 30, working across the three organizations — AMIBA, SBN, and CLF — in relativelyequal measure.
●The interns will have individual project responsibilities, which may include, but are not limited tothe items below. Internship organizers will work with interns to identify projects that best matchtheir interests:
○AMIBA:
■Interview independent business alliance executive directors across the U.S.
■Conduct independent research and produce draft white papers on issuesincluding policy and nonprofit organization management.
■Update small business toolkits and resources.
■Assist with membership outreach and membership annual reviews.
■Maintain technical platforms that support existing programming and services toIBAs.
○SBN:
■Support theCambridge-Somerville Black Business Network (CSBBN). Check outour first newsletter that our interns helped to design.
■The CSBBN is a recently developed network that aims to bring together Black entrepreneurs and identify specific programs that can be developed or adopted that will help ensure that we survive the pandemic and thrive moving forward.This new initiative will bring together and work with Black-owned businesses based in Cambridge and Somerville that are in at least one of these phases: (1)Start-Up (2) Expansion (3) Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Dutiesinclude playing a leadership role in our research, including conducting interviewswith program partners, surveys with Black businesses, support in launching aCambridge Fund for investing and/or building capacity in Black and Brownbusinesses. Support our communications with social media postings, websiteupdate and maintenance, creating newsletters, taking notes and archiving,Steering Committee and Network meeting support. Organizing workshops forCSBBN members. SupportSBN’s Boston Local Food Program, includingSBN’sVirtualLocal Food Trade Show (10th year) and Value-Added Products ResearchPilot project by managing social media posts of our food vendors, distributingsurveys, analyzing surveys, participating in focus groups administration.
■ViaThe Williams Agency, a social enterprise and partner of SBN: 1) support theMA Department of Marine Fisheries’ virtual seafood trade show by: conductingresearch with potential buyers and sellers, recruiting buyers and sellers,matchmaking of buyers and seller; 2) provide public relations and marketingsupport for SBN’s virtual food trade show. This fall’s project was the launch anddevelopment of the Massachusetts Seafood Home Chef series highlightedhere.
■Value-added pilot project,Boston Local Food Festival, and other projects; assistin planning the 9thBoston JerkFest (held virtually in 2020) and providingmarketing and logistical support; assist with our pro-bono projects offeringmarketing, event planning and logistical support for projects suchCambridgeCarnival International Inc.’s 3rd Taste of Carnival, Cambridge Carnival Festival,Cambridge Youth Steel Orchestra, as well as other food, art, and culturalinitiatives and events.
○CLF:
■Interview business owners for our channel on Cambridge local television
■Write news articles for our local newspaper, Cambridge Day, on the significanceof local businesses and/or the local economy movement. These can includeinterviews with local businesses. The Cambridge Day editor will mentor theseinterns.
■Offer direct services to Cambridge local businesses, such as website support.
■Manage our three data visualizations, powered by OpenDataSoft(Cambridge-wide, Massachusetts-wide, and Black-owned businesses).
■Manage our website. This can include creating an intern page, updating newsarticles, and adding calendar events.
■Identify and apply to grants.
■Manage our social media accounts, which have a 20,000-person following.These are Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
■Generate a weekly community newsletter.
■Bolster Cambridge City government relationship efforts. This would include SmallBusiness Advisory Committee meetings.
■Create a spring shopping guide. For reference, our winter holiday shopping guideis here.
■Amplify and create content for the CLF Community Membership drive.
■Bolster community engagement, specifically with students at Harvard and MIT byidentifying channels for partnership.
■Prepare programming for May’s Small Business Week.
■Manage a #MyLocalYear campaign.
■Update our membership directory.
■Bolster CLF’s relationships with other independent business alliances around thecountry. In the past, these have included Portland Buy Local, Local First Utah,Spokane Independent Metro Business Alliance, Southeast Michigan SustainableBusiness Forum, Stay Local New Orleans, and JP Local First.
●This internship is unfunded, and we encourage you to seek funding from your universities. We can work with you to identify funding streams at your universities.●
This internship is remote.Required qualifications:
●Majoring in public policy, business, or a related field.
●Be willing to commit 10-40 hours per week.
●Have good organizational skills and a commitment to detail.
●Have good communication skills.How to apply: Email a cover letter and resume to Theodora Skeadas(theodora@cambridgelocalfirst.org).
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