Summer Internships

First Book’s Mission

• First Book is an international nonprofit organization that provides children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books.

• First Book plays a role in transforming the quality of preschool and after-school programs nationwide.
• First Book focuses on the power of the private sector on public change

About the Internship:
First Book has an exciting opportunity for entrepreneurial individuals who share a passion for our mission, have a wide array of personal qualities and talents, and possess superior written and verbal communication skills. A good match for this position will be someone with a nonprofit heart and a corporate mindset; someone who is collaborative and independent, thrives in a fast-paced environment, is flexible, and has a sense of humor.

First Book offers interns the opportunity to work flexibly within its teams:

• Development: Assist in achieving the revenue goals of the organization and should possess superior writing, research, and interpersonal skills. Provide support for the full range of fundraising activities, including prospect research, individual giving, and special events.  

• Information Technology: We are undergoing a Technology Transformation to improve the applications we use and general infrastructure to support the organization. Join us to take part in projects related to Infrastructure as well as applications to support eCommerce, Business Intelligence and CRM.

• Strategic Alliances: Implement cause-based marketing campaigns for some of First Book’s corporate partners. Examples include Cheerios, Build-A-Bear Workshop, and Baskin-Robbins. Develop new business leads for corporate partnerships and cause-marketing campaigns for First Book, a leader in both philanthropy and public-private sector partnerships, focused on children’s literacy.

• Accounting: Reconcile various accounts payable, basic accounting needs 

Cool projects you will work on:

• Monitor Marketplace customer account details for non-payments, delayed payments, and other irregularities.
• Research and resolve payment discrepancies.
• Communicate with customers via mail, phone, and email in an effort to collect and settle outstanding accounts.
• Reconciliation of aged receivables for both marketplace activities and deal pipeline revenue.
• Provide support for validation of sales tax exemption certificates through the online tool CertCapture.
• Fill out vendor or other required forms by First Book Members.
• Assist with the creation of acknowledgment letters and other mail merges for corporate donations.
• Assist by entering payables/invoices in the accounting system.
• Reconciliation of aged payables and vendor statements.

• National Engagement: The User Experience team is responsible for spreading the word about First Book to grow our Network of educators and helping them get resources through the First Book Marketplace. A good match for this position is someone creative with an eye for visual design, who loves to follow trends in marketing and social media, isn’t daunted by details, and is flexible in a fast-paced environment.

Cool projects you will work on:

• Create assets for Facebook and Instagram ads
• Support programs like reading celebrations, educator referral campaigns, and e-commerce campaigns that get books to kids through the First Book Marketplace.
• Assist with building research opportunities like focus groups and surveys that collect feedback to inform First Book’s next resources and programs

• Marketing and Communications: Update and maintain social media presence including Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Pinterest, and others as applicable. Designing flyers, graphics, editing movies, and other marketing material.

Cool projects you will work on:

• Partnership support for companies like LEGO, Audemars Piguet, Pizza Hut, New York Life Foundation, and many more
• Corporate positioning and branding projects for First Book
• National media pitches and press releases
• First Book content marketing blog writing
• First Book's social media accounts

• First Book offers eCommerce interns the opportunity to work flexibly within its teams. Although you may indicate which team(s) you are most interested in, this internship is for the entire eCommerce department, and you will be expected to work independently and cooperatively across all teams as needed. 
  
  Possible tasks within each team include:
  Concierge Services  
  • Research book data (e.g., ISBN, format, pricing, relevant topics, etc.) for new and prospective books for special order customers. 
  • Support special orders by performing stock checks, drafting purchase orders for publishers, and updating tracking information for the order. 
  • Suggest titles or direct members to relevant categories on the First Book Marketplace for small special orders. 

 Marketplace Operations 

• Audit data on product attributes in Magento and update to correct values. 
• Publisher invoice processing and approval. 

 Merchandising 

• Research product data (e.g., product images, format, pricing, taxonomy/categories, etc.) for book and nonbook items on the First Book Marketplace. 
• Attend eCommerce department meetings and interdepartmental meetings to understand the organizational flow of business decisions, projects, merchandising, marketing, and social media. 
• Contribute ideas on how to merchandise products on the First Book Marketplace. 
• Organize in-house library as new books arrive from our warehouse or from publishing partners. 

 Title Selection 

• Read books under consideration for purchase, write detailed and thoughtful opinions, and discuss them in Read & Report meetings. 

 Vendor Relations 

• Analyze sales data and customer purchasing trends to produce reports. 
• Conduct marketing analysis and research for business decision-making and sales optimization. 
• Test products to make informed purchasing decisions and for quality assurance. 

Opportunities for professional development: 

• Program-specific training (e.g., Excel, Salesforce, Magento) 
• Brown Bag lunch meetings covering topics like leadership, social media, networking, and job searches 
• Attendance at book-related events in the DC area, such as the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, DC luncheons, and Library of Congress events.  
• Capstone project related to publishing industry/children’s literature 
• Participation in phone or in-person conversations with authors, illustrators, and members of the publishing community 
• Networking opportunities with other First Book interns and staff 
  
  
  

Cool projects you will work on:  

• Assisting in making culturally relevant, high-quality, and affordable children’s books and educational resources available on the First Book Marketplace.
• Participating in curation and title selection processes by reading and evaluating children’s literature.
• Researching a topic that intersects your own interests and issues important to First Book, culminating in a Capstone Project presentation at the end of the semester.

**In addition to an hourly wage, First Book will pay commuting costs throughout the internship**
In addition to your resume, please submit a cover letter that details which department you are interested in working within.

Potential interns should be college students with strong communication and writing experience, the ability to juggle multiple projects, and excellent interpersonal skills. Candidates should have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 and possess a strong interest in a career in the nonprofit sector coupled with private sector experience, knowledge, or interest. 
 

Salary : $16 - $0