Read the actual assignment behind the nonprofit title
Candid's proposal guidance connects the need, proposed work, organizational evidence and budget. CDC's evaluation framework connects program activities with intended outcomes. Those are useful starting points for interpreting a posting, not universal job descriptions.
Grant-writing work might involve funder research, proposal sections or budget explanations. Evaluation work might involve defining measures, improving records or analyzing results. In a nonprofit, development can mean fundraising. Ask whether the internship is donor administration, proposal support or program analysis.
Example: a $7,400 program needs a $5,400 request, not another $7,400
A fictional workshop plans to serve 30 students. Assume the table includes all project costs and an existing donor has committed $2,000 in cash specifically for it. The remaining funding gap is $7,400 − $2,000 = $5,400.
| Item | Calculation or assumption | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Instructor | 60 hours × $50 | $3,000 |
| Materials | 30 students × $40 | $1,200 |
| Room | Fixed | $1,000 |
| Transport support | Fixed in this exercise | $1,600 |
| Evaluation | Fixed | $600 |
| Total | $7,400 |
Keep hoped-for support separate from committed funding. Also check a prospective funder's eligible activities and costs before drafting: polished wording will not make an excluded cost eligible.
Twenty students do not automatically cost two-thirds as much
Assume only materials change with participation. Reducing enrollment to 20 saves 10 × $40 = $400, so the program still costs $7,000. Planned cost per student rises from $246.67 to $350.
With the same committed $2,000, the funding gap becomes $5,000. That is the revised request under these assumptions. Ask whether instructor, transport or room costs can actually change before treating them as fixed in a real proposal.
Attendance, completion and measured improvement are different claims
Suppose the 30-student workshop runs, 24 complete it and 18 provide both an initial and final assessment. Completion is 24 / 30 = 80%. Paired-assessment coverage is 18 / 30 = 60%.
If those 18 students' average score rises from 50 to 70 out of 100, report an observed 20-point increase for that measured group. The result does not establish what happened to all 30 students or prove that the program caused the change.
At an assumed actual cost of $7,400, cost per completion is $7,400 / 24 = $308.33. That is not a cost per demonstrated long-term outcome. The denominator is part of the claim.
Write the funding case and the results note separately
For a work sample, prepare the proposed activity and budget, the lower-enrollment revision and an evaluation plan specifying what is measured, when and for whom. Use a fictional funder with stated practice rules rather than inventing terms under a real funder's name.
Then write a results paragraph using the 30 enrolled, 24 completed and 18 paired assessments. State the missing coverage. Do not strengthen that paragraph into a claim that every student improved when adapting it for fundraising.
Ask the internship manager which documents you would own, what data you may use and who reviews the work. An accurately labeled course or volunteer project can demonstrate these skills without claiming a grant award or program evaluation that never happened.