Standards for Excellence ®

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Has your organization decided to apply for the Standards for Excellence Seal? Are you having trouble getting started?

You should apply to participate in the Nonprofit Excellence Internship Program. The Excellence Internship Program connects undergraduate and graduate level interns from colleges and universities across the state of Alabama with select non-profit members of AAN that are striving to improve their organizational health and sustainability. Interns will be trained in Standards for Excellence, and will work with their partner non-profit for 12 weeks to assist them in completing the organization’s Standards for Excellence application. AAN staff will oversee the interns to help them with the application process.

The goal of this program is twofold: to assist our members in applying and receiving the Standards for Excellence Seal, while training future non-profit leaders on best practices in the sector.

Preamble How to Apply for a Seal
How to Get an Intern

In order to be eligible for partnering with an AAN intern, nonprofit organizations must:

  • Be a member of the Alabama Association of Nonprofits
  • Give interns access to all organizational information, staff, and volunteers necessary for completing the Standards for Excellence application.
  • Provide intern access to a computer and a workspace when they are onsite.
  • Allow AAN to use all documents for educational purposes provided that any identifiable information is redacted.
  • Assign a staff liaison who will be actively involved and accessible to the intern during their time on site.
  • Be Flexible***
  • Retain Board Support for applying for the Standards for Excellence Seal in the form of a Board vote.

If you think your organization should participate in the Nonprofit Excellence Intern Program, then email AAN’s Program Coordinator, Kelsie Overton at Kelsie@alabamanonprofits.org.

Do you want to learn about how to run a Nonprofit? Apply for the Nonprofit Excellence Internship!

Excellence Interns will be taught the best practices for non-profit success then paired with a pre-selected non-profit organization. The Excellence Intern's primary purpose will be to improve the organizational health of their partner non-profit throughout this intense 12 week internship. Interns will take on the task of completing the Standards for Excellence application on behalf of their partner non-profit with the help of the AAN staff. Through working on this rigorous test of organizational health, interns will be allowed to work closely with a diverse group of leaders within their partner organization as well as learn what it takes for a non-profit to be healthy and sustainable.

If you would like to apply to be an Excellence Intern, then email your resume, cover letter, and two references to AAN's Program Coordinator, Kelsie Overton at Kelsie@alabamanonprofits.org.