Who Are We?

CMF is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to building trust and effectiveness in Congress by working directly with congressional offices to enhance their operations and interactions with constituents, as well as educating and training advocacy groups on how Congress works. The results are a Congress more accountable, transparent, and effective; and an informed citizenry with greater trust in their democratic institutions.

For over 40 years, we have focused on improving congressional operations and enhancing citizen engagement through research, publications, training, and management services. We are a cross between an applied think tank and a management consultant firm, and our work lies at the intersection of politics, technology, advocacy, and management. To learn more, you can access our most recent annual report here. 

Students interested in government, management and/or citizen engagement will gain a unique perspective on the inner workings of Congress. We treat Research Assistants (RAs) as valued members of staff and they work closely with senior staff on a variety of our projects. While this spring we are continuing to offer a remote internship due to Covid-19, we will endeavor to make the experience as interesting as an in-person internship. We are a small friendly, group who are all involved in the professional development of our interns.

We require a commitment of 30 hours per week during your internship (we have regularly hosted interns who work 4 days a week with us in order to fulfill course obligations on the fifth day, but we are open to other hours as well). Our spring internship will run approximately January through April/early May (we can be flexible about start/end dates). We offer a stipend of $3,000 on completion of the program.

What Will You Do?

We try to ensure that our RAs work on at least one substantive piece of work during their time with us that will enhance their resume. You can see some testimonials here! RA assignments may include assisting on:

Democracy Awards

Now entering its fourth year, CMF's Democracy Awards program recognizes outstanding public service in House and Senate offices across four categories: Constituent Service; Innovation and Modernization; "Life in Congress" Workplace Environment; and Transparency and Accountability. Potential assignments may include helping to compile nominations, taking notes or observing office interviews, and assisting in promoting the program.

Member-Constituent Engagement

CMF will be releasing reports in early 2021. As our RA will need to review and proofread these, you will need a good eye for detail. There will also be an opportunity to create blogs and social media posts on the report content, so writing skills are also required. In the same field, there will be a research project on legislative modernization.

Modernization of Congress

CMF has been helping the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress think about the ways congressional operations, infrastructure, and process can be updated to strengthen the institution and democracy. Our RA will support CMF's work in providing what the committee needs and helping to implement the committee's recommendations.

General Administrative Assistance

We will also require general admin assistance. This includes producing a daily digest of relevant news stories for dissemination to staff, taking minutes at regular staff meetings, and some data entry using SalesForce. Our work with advocacy groups means that our senior staff frequently give webinars to our partner groups, which you would attend.

Why You?

We are looking for motivated, professional, and proactive junior/senior college students for a semester. Applicants should have great writing and analytical skills and be proficient with all Microsoft Office programs. Experience with Salesforce and Asana would be useful, but training will be given.

How to Apply

E-mail cmf at congressfoundation.org a cover letter, resume, and writing sample (2-3 pages) with the subject line "Attn: Intern Coordinator". Please make sure to include the dates you are available.