This summer, I am interning at United for a Fair Economy. United for a Fair Economy is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that supports social movements working towards a resilient, sustainable, and equitable economy. United for a Fair Economy addresses the social issues of economic inequality and the uneven wealth distribution that deepens the racial divide, tears communities apart, and corrupts democracy. The organization uses popular economics education, trainings, and creative communications to address these issues. United for a Fair Economy works closely with communities and specifically uses three programs to help support their mission: Economics for Everyone workshops, the Responsible Wealth Project, and the Inclusive Economy Project. Economics for Everyone workshops use the popular education methodology to engage movement leaders to democratically and collectively develop political analysis. The Responsible Wealth project engages business leaders, investors and people who fall within the top five percent of income/wealth in the U.S. to advocate for tax fairness policies. The Inclusive Economy project uses the Living Wage Network to connect and uplift employers who pay a living wage, and Raising Wages NC–a coalition of working people, unions, community organizations, faith leaders, and policy advocates–to help advocate for raising the minimum wage to a living wage for vulnerable communities.
I choose to work at United for a Fair Economy because I agree with the mission and understand the importance of economic inequality and its detrimental relationship towards upward mobility. Having experienced how economic injustice and unfair policies negatively impact lives, I am passionate about economic justice and would like to continue to work towards social justice in the nonprofit sector. I value education, community building, and political advocacy as important pathways too. I found UFE to be a model nonprofit organization that holds the same values that I do. I admire the organization’s work and how they put great emphasis on working with communities. I believe that through an internship with United for a Fair Economy, I can learn more about the development and planning it takes to work towards economic justice.
This summer, I am the development intern working closely with the fundraising and operations associate, Morgan Cowie-Haskell, and the resource mobilization director, Sara Sargent. I am primarily tasked with managing the database and tracking donations, making thank-you calls to donors, writing blog posts, and assisting with website updates. My work this summer will help further the organization’s mission because, as a nonprofit organization, donations and visibility are extremely important to operations. As I help increase visibility for UFE and help with database and donations, I help UFE better organize their operations and fundings.
I enjoy working alongside all the team members and learning more about the workplace environment. I am excited to continue working with United for a Fair Economy this summer!
Thank you Brandeis University’s World of Work fellowship for allowing me to do this work!
-Jermeelah