Institute of Politics

Organization Description:

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is a nonprofit rural housing intermediary and a certified community development financial institution (CDFI) that has been helping build affordable homes, local capacity and national visibility in and for rural America for 50 years. HAC emphasizes local solutions, empowerment of the poor, reduced dependence, and self-help housing strategies. HAC maintains a special focus on high-poverty groups and regions: Native American lands, the Lower Mississippi Delta, farmworkers, the Southwest border colonias, and Central Appalachia.

HAC’s work generally falls into the areas below:

• Lending – HAC is a certified community development financial institution (CDFI) and makes short-term loans at below market interest rates to local nonprofits, for-profits and government entities developing affordable housing for low-income, rural residents.
• Technical Assistance/Training - HAC staff delivers thousands of hours of technical advice each year to organizations and developers improving low-income rural housing. HAC also sponsors intensive training workshops across the nation, emphasizing housing development, financing, construction and nonprofit management.
• Research and Information - HAC is the nation’s leading source of information on rural housing. With a library of over 150 studies and reports on a wide range of topics related to rural housing, HAC’s research and information products and services help inform sound housing policy as well as share knowledge with rural housing providers.
• Rural Policy - HAC keeps rural communities informed on public policy issues related to affordable housing and serves as a non-partisan and respected information resource for federal policymakers.

Internship Summary:

The summer of 2025 will be an exciting one for HAC. We will be in preparations for the biennial National Rural Housing Conference and promoting HAC’s decennial report Taking Stock. As the respected voice in rural affordable housing, HAC is well-connected in the affordable housing and community development sector. The Policy and Communications Intern will have the opportunity to network and engage with our peers, policymakers, and funders. Because HAC is a midsize nonprofit, the intern will have the opportunity to engage with and learn from all of HAC’s program areas and staff. In addition to network building in the affordable housing sphere, the intern will gain skills in policy, research, writing/editing, and communications.

Responsibilities:

• Conducting research and tracking/analyzing legislation on rural housing topics.
• Drafting policy briefs and fact sheets on emerging rural housing issues.
• Creating content for social media and other communications materials in support of HAC’s Taking Stock report and other efforts, as needed.
• Attending meetings, congressional hearings, and other events related to rural and housing policy and subsequently briefing relevant HAC staff.
• Assisting with various planning activities for a large national conference.
• Other similar duties as assigned.

Preferred Qualifications:

• An interest in affordable housing and/or rural issues;
• Strong time-management, organizational, verbal, and written skills;
• Ability to digest and condense complex information into a concise format;
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team;
• Communications skills are preferred.

About The Supervisor:

Your supervisor will be Samantha Booth.Samantha has worked as the Government Relations Manager at the Housing Assistance Council since 2019. Prior to her time with HAC, Sam was the Policy Director at the Community Development Bankers Association and spent five years working in the U.S. Senate for Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), John Walsh (D-MT), and Heidi Heitkamp (D-MT). She lives in Bozeman, Montana.

Location, Modality, Commute:

1828 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Start and End Date:

Summer internships will take place during the period of June 9 - August 29 with specific dates to be determined by the employer partner and intern during the interview process.