Application Deadline is January 5, 2026
Columbus, OH (November 24, 2025)— The Columbus Foundation is seeking college and graduate students and recent college graduates who have an interest in the nonprofit sector to apply to the 2026 Summer Fellowship Program. Launched in 2010, the Summer Fellowship Program is an immersive 10-week paid fellowship that provides Summer Fellows with an opportunity to develop their professional and leadership skills while supporting the work of local nonprofit organizations.
Fourteen central Ohio nonprofit organizations have been selected as host sites for the 2026 program. Selected Summer Fellows will be placed with a nonprofit based on interests, skills, and each nonprofit’s specific projects, needs, or objectives. They will work with that organization from Monday, June 1, to Friday, August 7, and are required to attend five professional development sessions culminating in a mandatory end-of-summer presentation. Each Summer Fellow will receive a stipend of $6,350 for their work.
“The Foundation’s Summer Fellowship Program provides emerging professionals with meaningful, on-the-ground experience in the nonprofit world, all while advancing programs and initiatives that strengthen our community."
Dr. Mark A. Lomax, II, Director of Arts & Generational Grantmaking at The Columbus Foundation.
The deadline to submit a student application online at columbusfoundation.org is Monday, January 5, 2026. To qualify for the 2026 Summer Fellowship, applicants must be a college junior or senior, a May/June 2026 graduate, or a graduate student in the Fall of 2026 and have graduated from a Franklin County high school; or are attending a Franklin County college or university.
The nonprofit organizations and fellowship projects selected for the 2026 Summer Fellowship Program are:
- Besa—To increase volunteer engagement by researching, designing, and implementing strategies to optimize volunteer recruitment.
- Children’s Hunger Alliance—To support the development team with the Taste to Remember fundraising event, donor engagement, and volunteer coordination.
- Columbus Museum of Art—To work with the Assistant Curator of Public Programming to research and develop a viable student engagement strategy.
- Franklin County Agricultural Society—To work with the marketing team to create a digital storytelling strategy that increases awareness of the organization’s mission and support staff with stakeholder engagement.
- Homeport—To support the marketing team to manage social media accounts, research and write impact stories, develop content for the newsletter and website, and perform other marketing tasks.
- Human Services Chamber—To support the organizations’ capacity-building services, public policy analysis, and data projects for health and human services nonprofits.
- Ohio Association of Food Banks—To work with staff to recruit, promote, and launch the Healthy Harvest Corps program.
- Open Door—To work with creative team, actors, and community partners to launch the new Summer Performance Series.
- Otterbein University—To elevate the mission awareness, increase donor engagement, and support planning of the 50th anniversary celebration of The Westerville Fund.
- SEA Change—To create a digital marketing strategy focused on elevating awareness and understanding of social enterprises.
- Star House—To work with marketing and development staff to create and implement a social media strategy for 2027.
- Tech Corps—To support the Tech Corps program manager by coordinating delivery of K-12 tech summer programs across several sites.
- The PAST Foundation—To support the PAST Foundation’s media and communications team in capturing, curating, and sharing summer program stories across the organization’s social media platforms.
- The Women’s Fund—To work with the marketing and development team to plan events, and to develop and implement a social media strategy focused on the 25th anniversary.
The Summer Fellowship Program is made possible by the generosity and vision of many Columbus Foundation donors. To learn more about the program, including eligibility and the application process, visit columbusfoundation.org/students/summer-fellows.
About The Columbus Foundation
The Columbus Foundation, one of the top 10 community foundations in the United States, serves thousands of individuals, families, and businesses that have created unique funds and planned gifts to make a difference in the lives of others through the most effective philanthropy possible.