In a recent edition of the Essential Bulletin, an article written for nonprofit organizations titled, "Would College Interns Help your Nonprofit," raised some questions and points. The article can be found here, and below, we've included some of our reader's feedback. If you're interestd in providing feedback to any of our articles, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

• Many internship programs exploit students/unemployed workers by having them do work that the organization would otherwise pay workers to do.

• Only students/”volunteers” with other means can participate in unpaid/low-pay internship programs. People who need to work to pay for their books and living expenses are forced to work in jobs that pay often minimally while their financially better-off colleagues whose families can subsidize them are able to take resume-building internships.

• Interns/”volunteers” are not generally protected by many workplace regulations and standards.

• Nonprofits should lead the way to ensure that students and other workers are fairly compensated for the valuable work that they perform. While true volunteers have a place in some nonprofit organizations, organizations should make an effort to provide salary or at least a stipend to students/unemployed workers.
  
  
• Exceptions can be made for students who are getting academic credit for the internship or are otherwise prohibited from getting compensation.

Recent Updates: Labor expert Miljoner explains paid, unpaid internships, featured in Newsday. Special thanks to Diana O'Neill from LIVE for sending us the update!

What do you think?