Term: Summer intern(s) to begin in May or June 2010

Internship Summary:

Founded in 1987 as The CompuMentor Project, TechSoup Global (“TSG”) is a recognized leader in bringing technological empowerment and philanthropy to social benefit organizations across the world.  TSG is a non-profit organization that serves other non-profits (in the US and globally) by making technology more accessible.  TSG works closely with Microsoft, Cisco, Symantec, and other donors to create programs where non-profits and NGOs can qualify with TSG (as a clearinghouse), and then receive donated software for a nominal administration fee.  Since its founding, TSG has helped to distribute over 1 billion dollars in software and hardware to global nonprofit and NGOs. 

TSG also helps companies and foundations optimize their philanthropic impact through its Web sites, events, and community-building initiatives.  Recently, TSG was awarded the right to host a new international grant making repository-database.  Through this repository, large foundations (such as Kellogg, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Ford, Bill and Melinda Gates) can rely upon TSG’s determinations of international NGO's as being 501c3 equivalent organizations and use that information to give tax deductible grants. 

We currently have more than 170 staff members and an annual budget of about $23 million. In the process, TSG has been growing its legal department, which currently consists of 2 attorneys.  We are looking for at least one enthusiastic legal intern to join our team.

This internship is unpaid.  If your law school can provide academic credit, this complies with our internship program guidelines. Interns must have an ability to communicate with staff, and a desire to assist the department in accomplishing its projects, as listed below. This internship reports to the Eligibility Manager, Global Networks Team.

Major Internship Duties:

We anticipate that a Legal Intern will:

• Complete general in-house counsel type work for our organization, such as reviewing and drafting contracts, working with pro-bono counsel on international matters, and researching international law dealing with tax and non-profit organizations
• Handle intellectual property and trademark work, such as doing trademark searches and analysis
• Work on the NGO repository to understand 501(c)(3) tax law and equivalency internationally, and then work on basic qualifying

You may also get involved with other aspects of the organization, such as business planning and project management, depending on your interests and project availability.

Internship Qualifications:

Education and Experience

Any combination of education and experience providing the skill and knowledge for successful participation and learning in the internship would be qualifying. Typical qualifications would be equivalent to:

• Must be actively and presently enrolled at an ABA accredited law school.
• Completion of 1 year of law school required; completion of 2 years of law school preferred.
• Background and/or coursework in international, tax, and tax exempt organization (non-profit) law preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities  

Knowledge:

• Social networking and previous non-profit interest preferred
• Interest in working at an innovative, international social enterprise

Skills:

• Microsoft Office
• Diplomacy and teamwork. 

Abilities:

• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Interact in a professional manner with a wide variety of people.
• Available to be an intern at least 24 hours a week; 40 hours a week preferred.

Other Requirements:

Physical Demands & Internship Environment: The physical demands and environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an intern to successfully perform the essential functions of this internship.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified interns with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the internship.

Physical Demands:

• Prolonged telephone duties using handset, headset and computer located at the TechSoup Global facility
• Prolonged keyboard duties
• Access, input & retrieve information from a computer to produce typed copy, free of errors, without the assistance of another person
• Willingness and capacity to work in a cubicle environment at a workstation, and to come and go repeatedly throughout the day as is necessary, to perform various responsibilities
• Capacity to communicate and enunciate adequately, in person or via telephone, in a manner which can be understood by those with whom the employee is speaking
• Capability of dialing or otherwise using a telephone to place calls
• Capacity to pick up, leaf through and read books, files and other materials
• Willingness and capacity to sit/stand for minimum periods of two hours at a time
• Capacity to reach forward to a high of 48 inches, to a low of 15 inches, to the side 54 inches and to the low side 9 inches above the floor
• Ability to lift and/or move up to 20 pounds
• Ability to load discs and to change settings, devices, fixtures, etc., on various equipment used in and around TechSoup Global

Environment:

• While performing the duties of this job, the intern may be exposed to various components of an office environment such as florescent lighting, pollen, dust, recycled air, cooling fans, VDTs, semi-enclosed areas, central heating, seasonal warmer temperatures and office noise

Application Procedure:

Email required cover letter and resume to legalinternships@techsoupglobal.org.

The following materials are also required:

• Writing sample (less than 10 pages)
• References
• Transcripts

If you will have finished 1 year of law school, then please also provide your undergraduate transcripts.

Visit our website at: http://www.techsoupglobal.org/ to review internship eligibility, to view other available internships, and to learn more about TechSoup Global, as well as our staff!  Please also view our NGO Repository press website at: http://iaa.com/ngorepository.html.

No phone calls, please.

About TechSoup Global:

Founded in 1987 as The CompuMentor Project, TechSoup Global is one of the most comprehensive nonprofit technology assistance providers in the world, employing a staff of 170 and deploying a budget of US$22 million. It conducts a range of major programs on the international, national, and the local level, including the operation of its nonprofit technology Web site TechSoup and its distribution service for technology product donations, TechSoup Stock. TechSoup’s newest programs are the NetSquared initiative to help nonprofits worldwide use new Internet-based tools such as blogging and podcasting to extend their reach and impact and the TechSoup Global Network, its program aimed at building NGO capacity worldwide.

TechSoup Global is dedicated to creating and supporting an environment of openness, trust, and fun where people's differences are valued and respected, and where people of diverse backgrounds participate fully in our organization. We believe that the diverse cultures and perspectives of our staff will help us better serve our clients. TechSoup Global is an equal opportunity agency and will not allow discrimination based upon race, color, creed, religion, sex, marital status, domestic partner status, ancestry, national origin, weight, height, physical or mental handicap, pregnancy, medical condition, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship, veteran status, AIDS/HIV status, or age, or socioeconomic background.