Charity & NGO Support Internships in Dublin
In Ireland, many charities form an essential part of the country’s infrastructure and are partially funded by the state, to assist with the provision of social services for enhanced health and wellbeing. Diverse charities serve communities to provide advice, information, advocacy and support. NGOs also work to advance various causes, related to environment, human rights, animal welfare, health, education, or other. Internships provide insight into the challenges and rewards of this field, working to generate positive change for communities and future generations.
Internship Highlights:
- Deepen your understanding of how diverse societal issues can be addressed to generate change.
- Learn about the logistical and administrative requirements of charity and/or NGO operations.
- Acquire hands-on experience related to impact-driven projects within different communities.
Type of host organizations:
- NGOs
- Charity organizations
- Foundations
Internship details
Charity & NGO Support interns collaborate with institutions, to support and improve social and environmental infrastructure for communities. Come prepared to put your passions into action, as you learn about the daily operations of organizations which strive to make a difference. Gain an understanding of effective ways to help communities. To excel in this sector, broadly transferable soft skills are essential - interns have excellent scope to build upon cultural intelligence, communication skills, and administrative prowess.
This is an in-country internship, with accommodation and select meals included. You can explore remote Law & Human Rights Support internships, if you are looking for an internship program that you can undertake from home.
Charity & NGO Support internships in Dublin provide insight into how the specific needs of communities may be supported and addressed. Practical activities for interns can be related to assistance with donations, vocational training programs, fundraising, reporting, administrative support, and content creation for campaigns and promotions.
In all cases, interns should expect that the first week of your experience will focus on settling in and gaining some introductory knowledge, as you will not “hit the ground running”. Rather, you should start with learning about the placement to gain an understanding of what you can build upon, develop, learn, and contribute. Ensure that you ask questions and provide feedback during the introductory period, so that your supervisor(s) understands how you’re progressing. This will help them to better understand important details, such as how quickly you learn, what you find challenging, what you find interesting, etc.
Understand that individual internship experiences vary, as the specific placement that you’re assigned will depend on review of your resume and your current level of studies and experience. Therefore, if you’re at a more introductory level, you should reasonably expect a more introductory internship. Likewise, if you’re interning for a shorter duration, you will have a different experience from someone who is interning for a longer duration. Placement preferences are considered but always subject to availability.
Career Benefits
Charity & NGO Support interns learn from a qualified and experienced supervisor, and can be involved in:
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Developing outreach strategies for seeking grants, funding, and other types of support.
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Raising awareness of diverse societal issues affecting communities.
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Supporting logistical and administrative operations, including fundraising, reporting, and awareness campaigns.
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Contributing to generate content for social media platforms, newsletters, or other digital communications.
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Supporting educational and vocational initiatives.
Professional development opportunities:
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Learn from diverse perspectives related to best practice.
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Develop essential soft skills for different types of careers in the sector.
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Assist organizations that strive to generate lasting changes.
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Increase your cultural intelligence, interacting with people from different walks of life.
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Gain practical skills and boost your employability, with guidance from Intern Abroad HQ’s Experiential Learning Curriculum to support your learning and cultural intelligence.
Are you eligible for this internship?
Submit a free application so we can confirm your eligibility and check availability for your preferred dates.
Not sure which program to join?
Ireland photo gallery
Academic credit available for all internships
Gain course credit from your college or university and meet your academic requirements when completing an internship abroad or remote internship program with Intern Abroad HQ.
Learn about course creditProgram fees
It’s free to apply for this internship. Once we have reviewed your suitability and accepted you onto this program, you’ll need to pay a deposit of US$499 to confirm your place. The remaining balance of your Program Fee (less your initial US$499 deposit payment) will be due no less than 60 days before your internship start date.
Duration |
Program Fee (USD) |
---|---|
4 weeks | $3,800 Equivalent to $135 /day |
5 weeks | $4,178 Equivalent to $119 /day |
6 weeks | $4,581 Equivalent to $109 /day |
8 weeks | $5,337 Equivalent to $95 /day |
10 weeks | $6,148 Equivalent to $87 /day |
12 weeks | $6,904 Equivalent to $82 /day |
- Airport pick-up
- Daily breakfast and dinner (except for Tourism Operations internships)
- Accommodation
- 24/7 in-country support
- Program orientation
- Dedicated support before, during, and after your internship
- In-country guidance for social and tourist activities
- Sourcing and securing your internship placement
- Personalization of your internship plan
- Coaching from your supervisor
- Documented portfolio of your experiential learnings
- Academic credit facilitation
- International reference letter
- Certificate of Internship Completion
- Meals
- All in-country transportation
- Visa (if required), flights, travel insurance (mandatory), vaccinations, criminal background check
- Transfer back to the airport at the end of your internship program
- Personal spending money for snacks, drinks, public transport, laundry, and leisure activities during your free time.
- A deposit of $499 (approximately 499) is required to secure your internship
- Balance of your Program Fee is due 70 days before your internship start date. The Program Fee payment can also be completed in installments through our Zero-Fee Payment Plan. Learn more.
- All payments attract a 5% transaction fee to cover international banking fees and currency charges.
- Terms and Conditions apply.
Activities and tourism
During the weekends, free time is available to relax, engage in tourism activities and explore other parts of Ireland. Dublin’s history goes back thousands of years and there is a lot to explore! You’ll find museums, castles, theatres, parks, festivals, art galleries, cafes, and pubs abuzz with various happenings, year-round.
The city is sometimes described in quarters, comprising of the “Medieval Quarter” (including Dublin Castle, Christ Church, St Patrick’s Cathedral and the old city walls), the “Georgian Quarter” (including the area around St Stephen’s Green shopping mall, Trinity College, and Merrion Square), the “Docklands Quarter” and the “Cultural Quarter” (around the Temple Bar district).
Make sure you get “The Dublin Pass” which is a must-have sightseeing package. It grants free entry to over 25 top attractions, museums and monuments, as well as a free 24-Hour hop-on, hopp-off bus tour. You can choose from 1, 2, 3 or 5 day passes and it’s free to pick up the pass if you collect it from Dublin collection desks, located within the city, or - have it sent straight to your smartphone.
If you want to get some exercise and fresh air outside of the city, there are plenty of activities that’ll help keep you fit (you’ll need to bookmark these ideas, to ensure you burn off your Guinness and fish n’ chips). You can go kayaking in Dalkey, kite surfing in Clontarf, or hike around the Hill of Howth. Dublin Discovery Trails offers a series of self-guided walking trails, or rent a bicycle to cruise around the city. If you want more cardio, check out Ticknock Mountain Bike Trail to ride the 8km loop within the Dublin Mountains.
Arrival and Orientation
Internships in Dublin begin every Monday and interns may choose to spend a minimum of 2 weeks, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. (Exceptions to start date availability may occur when start dates are closed due to public holiday disruptions or if the program has already reached capacity).
Airport pick up and accommodation are included in the Program Fee. The accommodation is covered from the Sunday night before the Monday start date. Interns are asked to arrive on the Sunday before their Monday start date only. Extra nights of accommodation in advance of the start date are not available, so if you do arrive in Dublin prior to this date, you will need to make alternative accommodation arrangements, prior to checking in on the Sunday, before your scheduled to start the internship on the Monday.
All participants fly into Dublin Airport (DUB), in order to receive their airport pick up and be transported to the accommodation by a pre-arranged driver. Upon arrival at the homestay accommodation, interns are met and greeted by their host family, who will assist with settling in. (If you are planning to spend time in Dublin prior to your internship and will not require an airport pick up, we can arrange an alternative pick up from another location within the central city.)
Orientation takes place - usually on your Monday start date - and covers important details for the internship, including introductions, information about culture, customs, rules, expectations, safety, language lessons, cultural excursions, and more. You will be contacted via WhatsApp, prior to the orientation, to confirm plans directly.
The last night of the accommodation is the Saturday night of the final week, leaving interns free to depart on Sunday. Extra nights of accommodation outside the program dates are not available. Return transportation to the airport is not included in the internship program fee but local staff can assist you to make arrangements.
All participants are advised not to book flights until they have first registered to confirm their internship placement.
Check what’s required to visit Ireland
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Accommodation and WiFi
Interns in Dublin are hosted in friendly and welcoming homestay accommodations. In the event that home-stay accommodation has reached maximum capacity, interns may be offered alternative accommodation in student dormitories (but meals are excluded in these circumstances).
Due to the layout of Dublin city, host families are usually based in suburban areas outside of the capital. Host family accommodation assignments are always made in consideration of the internship placement location, making efforts to ensure that any commute time to the placement is as convenient as possible. Nevertheless, it is wise to anticipate an average commute time of up to 45 - 60 minutes via bus or Dublin Area Rapid Transit system (“DART” is an electrified commuter rail railway network, which serves the coastal and city center of Dublin).
Interns can purchase a weekly Dublin bus pass (LEAP card), which allows interns to ‘top up’ and enjoy unlimited travel on city center forms of transport. Expect to budget approx. €40 (approx. US$47) per week for this. Homestay accommodation includes a light laundry service and single room.
It is important to note that extra nights of accommodation are not available with homestay accommodations. The Program Fee covers the accommodation from the Sunday night before the Monday start date and interns are required to depart by the Sunday morning of their last week. If extra nights of accommodation are required for an earlier arrival or later departure, they must be booked independently.
Please note that the accommodation pictured in the photo gallery of this webpage is provided as an example. Since we work with more than one option for accommodation, the exact accommodation that you’re assigned may differ from the photos. However, you can expect a similar standard and similar amenities, to what is shown.
Meals
Homestay accommodations include meals, provided by the host family. This consists of breakfast and dinner, served Monday through Sunday.
It is important to be aware that vegetarian and other dietary requirements must be communicated in advance. There is an additional weekly surcharge if a gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian or vegan diet is requested. This is in order to provide specialty grocery items, which are often more expensive (e.g. soy milk, gluten free bread/pasta, protein supplements, etc). Once you have confirmed your internship participation, you can book and pay for this weekly surcharge in advance.
In all cases, we advise interns to budget independently for their own lunches, snacks and treats. You’ll find the meals to be sufficient but likely different from what you’re used to eating at home. If there are special snacks you like to have, please budget for them and take care of your own preferences independently. A weekly budget of approximately US$100 should be sufficient for covering extra snacks, treats, and drinks, as a supplement to what’s already going to be included for you.
Keep in mind that, depending on your own spending habits and lifestyle choices, personal budgets can vary enormously. Dublin is very active and there is a lot to see and do, so it’s important to plan your budget carefully. A meal at an inexpensive restaurant may cost approximately US$25. If you want to frequently purchase beverages, such as coffees (approx. US$5), then you’re definitely going to need a higher budget over the course of a week or month. You can manage your budget by buying snack food for your lunches, such as fruit or sandwiches, from markets, rather than dining at restaurants.
Essential country information
Capital | Dublin |
Population | 4.77 million |
Languages | English, Irish, Ulster Scots |
Currency | Euro (EUR) |
Time zone | UTC+00:00 |
Weather and climate:
Ireland has a mild, temperate climate with warm summers and mild winters. However, the weather likes to keep you guessing, so you’ll probably experience a little of everything - four seasons in one day! So be flexible and pack for all seasons. You just never know what you might get! In Dublin, the warmest months are June through September, with an average daily high temperature above 62°F (16°C). It is cold and wet from November through March, with an average daily high temperature below 51°F (11°C). Varying degrees of wind, rain, and cloud cover can be expected year-round.