Hello! My name is Eva Fraser and I’m an incoming senior at Oberlin College studying English and Cinema and Media. This summer, I am working with The Women’s Fund of Central Ohio through the summer fellowship at The Columbus Foundation.

My first week at The Women’s Fund has been a rewarding, whirlwind introduction to nonprofit work!

The week began with an orientation at The Columbus Foundation, where I got to meet everyone in the fellowship program. Dr. Lomax led the orientation, and had us do a self-portrait activity where we all got to learn more about each other’s passions, interests, and career goals. This very first part of the week anchored me in a community that will share in summer nonprofit experiences similar to my own. Being surrounded by people who were so excited and invested in their work made me feel a greater sense of purpose.

At The Women’s Fund this week, I observed and then dove right in. I started the week by familiarizing myself with The Women’s Fund’s software, brand, and materials, and in the morning of my second day I sat in on the team meeting. I then began to meet with each team member to discuss their roles and get to know them. I have already learned so much from everyone: Jenna, Drew, Arielle, Sierra, and Kelley. Each meeting presented opportunities for me to learn from them and grow my skills over the summer. I specifically enjoyed meeting with Arielle and talking about her grant making and advocacy work. Each person working at The Women’s Fund contributes so much to the nonprofit, and I am looking forward to supporting what they do by plugging in to some of their existing projects.

In my first couple of days, I designed a thank you card with their new logo and the quote has already been sent to the printers. I also helped out with a “Women For Women Wednesday” post, part of a weekly social media series that highlights The Women’s Fund’s grantees.

In the latter half of the week, I had an official meeting with Drew, Jenna, and the other intern, Morgan, to talk about it. They are plugging us in on several projects, and Morgan and I have already met to coordinate our work on them. Right now, I am working on reaching out to more organizations for Women for Women Wednesdays, planning my interview process and set up for the summer party, and most importantly working on a research project (my main project for the summer) in collaboration with The Columbus Foundation. It focuses on women’s involvement in the social sector and their pivotal role in creating the nonprofit world in Columbus. I look forward to doing more research and beginning to reach out and brainstorm for potential interviews. Arielle and Jenna, the two point people for this project, have given me a lot of choice in this project already, letting me pick two potential media formats I think would be fitting for this project.

In general, I have really enjoyed this close-knit and supportive work environment. In our meetings, each person has asked me what I’m looking to learn and grow in, and helped me take steps to realize my goals. For example, when I said I wanted to learn how to better come up with graphics and organizing official reports, Jenna showed me the annual report and how to make compelling and engaging graphics in Canva. Sierra even showed me how to mail merge just because it is a useful skill to have in my career. When I said I wanted to do more with videography, Drew encouraged me to do an interview booth at The Women’s Fund’s upcoming summer party.

This first week has left me feeling confident and ready for more.

Excitedly,

Eva