Student Name: Zoe
Pathway Programme: Pathways to Charity and Development (2026 Cohort)
Internship Role: Fundraising and Marketing Intern
Internship Employer: Step One Charity
Summary of Organisation: For over 85 years, first as St Loye’s College and now as Step One, our charity has been dedicated to supporting people across Devon with mental health challenges, learning disabilities and neurodiversity. Our mission is to support people to build a pathway to independence, live a fulfilling life, and reach their own potential through a range of specialist mental health and wellbeing services. Each year, we support around 1,000 people on their journey to improved wellbeing, resilience, and a brighter future.
We are a diverse organisation, with a workforce that covers Exeter and surrounding areas, Newton Abbot and Torbay. The internship role was within our Creative Services Team, which works out of our head office on The Quay in Exeter. The student reported to the Communications and Fundraising Manager and work closely with the wider marketing and fundraising team. The team work collaboratively together in a mutually supportive environment; it is busy department and the internship provided a wide range of learning opportunities for the student
Please briefly outline the project/tasks/responsibilities you worked on during your Professional Pathways internship:
“During my internship, I was part of the small but mighty Fundraising, Marketing and Communications team at Step One charity, and dipped my toes into a wide range of their day-to-day tasks during the week. I collaborated on marketing and social media campaigns, which involved: redesigning a newsletter and a staff update template; completing a review and edits of website pages; and creating visuals and writing copy for social media posts. On the fundraising side, I had the chance to sit in on some meetings discussing longer-term strategy as well as an upcoming fundraising raffle campaign. For this, I completed some independent research and idea generation and fed this back to collaborate further. Finally, I was responsible for researching and writing a fundraising grant application during the week- something particularly exciting to be able to do as an intern, and exercise creative and persuasive writing skills!”
How has the Professional Pathways programme helped you in taking the next steps in your career?
“Looking to the future, the week was invaluable in immersing me in a real, functioning work environment within the sector. I met with colleagues from all areas of the charity, and spoke to them about every role from volunteer management to being a CEO. This broadened my understanding of jobs available, and how to showcase skills needed for them, as I heard directly from staff. In terms of what I have learnt, it is expansive- I received what was effectively 1:1 mentoring about the roles of fundraising managers and marketing positions within a charity. Moreover, I now have skills in Canva, digital design, grant writing, copy writing- and more importantly, how to specialise all of these for the needs of a charity organisation. This week will provide real evidence (and lasting positive memories) of my experience in this sector for my career. Even if you don’t think you want to work in fundraising and marketing (as I didn’t!), the internship is still so valuable as you learn so much from being in the office and meeting a wealth of staff, volunteers and service users- and I believe the role is much more varied than the title lets on.”
What advice would you give to a student who has to complete an internship via remote or hybrid working?
“I was originally planning on doing a full in-person internship, however had to change to hybrid due to personal circumstances. However, though I thought I would not gain as much from my 2 days at home, this was not the case at all, and was a learning experience in terms of being able to get on with independent tasks and manage multiple teams meetings in a day. Despite having experience from remote school, working from home as an intern or professional is quite different, and I surprisingly enjoyed the set up because of the following things. Firstly, make sure to have at least morning and end-of-day catch ups, even if they are 5 minute check ins. These help you feel connected and offer a chance to chat or tell your manager what you’re planning on doing. Secondly, wherever you can have your camera on. This really does make it much less intimidating and encouraging when in meetings. And finally, have enough to be getting on with and ask for more if not! As an intern, I wanted to be using my skillset and produce usable outcomes for the charity, and working from home was where I did most of this, as colleague meetings were less feasible in this time.”