Democracy Corps Fellowship

Office of Student Success

The Democracy Corps Fellowship offers short-term internships to CCNY undergraduate students who are interested in issues pertaining to the social, economic, and political wellbeing of New York City. The Spring 2023 program will place fellows with the New York City Civic Engagement Commission (CEC) so they can educate voters in the lead-up to New York City’s June 2023 primary elections and participatory budgeting process. Fellows will build skills, gain work experience, and get paid while also strengthening the City’s democratic processes.

Internships will run from May 29 until June 30, 2023, during which fellows will work 80 hours in total. The fellowship is open to full-time undergraduate students from CCNY in any major, regardless of year. Graduating seniors are eligible.

The deadline to apply is May 15, 2023.

About the NYC Civic Engagement Commission

In November 2018, New York City voters approved a ballot initiative establishing the New York City Civic Engagement Commission. The Commission focuses on promoting civic engagement across all of City government and making New York City decision making accessible to all New Yorkers. Specifically, the Commission is charged with running a citywide participatory budgeting program, providing poll site interpretation services, providing technical assistance to community boards, partnering with community-based organizations and civic leaders to increase awareness of City services, and assisting City agencies in developing civic engagement initiatives. Originally announced in 2018 as a mayoral initiative aimed at increasing voter registration and participation in NYC, and pursuant to Mayoral Executive Order 88 in 2021, Democracy NYC became a program of the CEC, thereby incorporating voter education and voter registration into CEC priorities.

Program Contact

Fellowships and Student Success Program Coordinator

Christine Garmendiz

Program Contact

Director of Fellowship Programs & Office of Student Success

Debbie Cheng

Internship Description

Reporting to the Chief Democracy Officer, Democracy Corps Fellows will conduct community outreach to support voter education for the June primary and voting in New York City’s first citywide participatory budgeting program. Through this fellowship, you will:

Receive training in outreach tools and resources, including by attending train-the-trainer training sessions.

Support in-person canvassing, tabling, and/or teach-ins
Participate in text- and phone-banking
Help raise awareness of language assistance services. This work may include participating in virtual days of action prior to the election, which consists of targeted virtual community canvassing to inform New Yorkers of multilingual resources that are available.
Conduct online research. Review community-based organizations and digital communities that serve or connect with communities of limited English.
Distribute flyers and brochures to community organizations in the lead-up to the election
Share resources through online community groups and social media
Assist with election outreach during early voting and primary day

Eligibility Criteria

In order to apply, students must be:

A current, full-time City College undergrad (Spring 2023 grads qualify)
Committed to interning for 80 hours between May 26 and June 30
Passionate about civic engagement and strengthening democracy, preferably demonstrated through school, volunteering, or prior work
Strong in public speaking, writing and editing
Available to attend in-person events in NYC during the internship

Support

Each fellow will receive a $1,500 stipend if they successfully complete their internship.

Priority Criteria

We are specifically seeking students who are:

Fluent in one of the following languages: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), French, Haitian Creole,
Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Urdu, or Yiddish
Familiar with tech collaboration tools such as Mobilize,
Reach, or VAN, though students will be trained
Familiar with Google Suite, Microsoft Suite, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Airtable or other project management platforms

Application Deadline & Questions

All applications must be submitted by May 15

Email questions to cpsfellowships@gmail.com

This is a non-partisan program.
The Democracy Corps Fellowship is not associated with
any political party or platform.

Office of Student Success