Reform for Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public interest group that conducts research and advocates reforms to promote public participation in government, address the role of money in politics, and encourage integrity, accountability, and transparency in government.

RFI is seeking graduate and undergraduate candidates who are interested in gaining communications experience in a nonprofit setting. Interns will also develop skills in event planning/fundraising, research, website and CMS management. Interns play an integral role at RFI. Our small staff size offers interns the unique opportunity to make meaningful contributions to the organization and gain in-depth experience.

Scope of Work Fall 2019 

Our organization changed it name in 2018 from the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform to Reform for Illinois. While we have started to reestablish our new name and brand among stakeholders, this is an ongoing task.  Interns will have an opportunity to focus on assessing and growing our social media imprint and overall communications strategy. This will involve:

• An analysis of our current communications methodology.
• The creation of a best practices document to build and sustain our brand recognition and visibility in the advocacy and policy civic spheres.
• The design of up to 4 specific social media campaigns that raise awareness on RFI’s research and  civic education events and projects, as well as our policy platform. 
• The goals of each social media campaign are as follows:
  • Maximize Visibility
  • Increase Name Recognition
  • Promote Policy Messaging
  • Increase Event Attendance

The Communication Intern will work closely with our organizational leadership to:

• Collaborate with Policy and Research Team to develop content and phrasing consistent with our brand and mission. 
• Shape the policy conversation, stay on message, and convey key data points in a controlled, dynamic, and interactive medium.
• Develop  media strategies consistent with our messaging, platform, and objectives.
• Craft high-impact, engaging posts in RFI’s “voice.”
• Increase visibility our policy platform via posts and images on social media. 
• Implement into new social media tactics to support our event attendance, voter education, and overall civic engagement.
• Seamlessly integrate social media into our existing marketing and public relations platforms

Interns may also assist in the following areas: 

• Donor outreach
• Event marketing
• Grant and funding-related research
• Processing donations
• Securing expert panelists for events
• Crafting organizational responses to current political news topics
• Producing infographics and charts for publication with research reports

Interns may also have an opportunity to support our research focus areas including but not limited to the following:

• Analysis of current Campaign Finance Laws on state and national level.  
• Conduct a survey on contribution caps and campaign finance disclosure laws (other large states and states similar to Illinois).
• Analysis of Legislative Rules in the IL General Assembly.
• Election/voter reform and policies to improve voter access and voter turnout in IL. 

This role requires a high-level of attention to detail, excellent time-management skills, and a strong work ethic.

RFI offers flexible hours and is willing to work around obligations that our interns may have. 

Applications submitted without a cover letters & one writing sample will not be considered.