Sand Hill Philanthropy Fellowships: Autodesk Foundation - Summer 2026
Through the Sand Hill Philanthropy Fellowships, a Cardinal Quarter opportunity, Stanford undergraduate students can spend the summer working in full time positions with Bay Area grantmaking foundations and philanthropic organizations that are prearranged by the Haas Center.
The Sand Hill Foundation Fellowship in Philanthropy was created in spring 2000 to honor the memory of Tom Ford, a member of the Haas Center’s National Advisory Board and a former Stanford University Trustee. Throughout his life, Ford strongly believed in sharing with the community and in the immense potential of young people. With the generous support of Susan Ford Dorsey's Sand Hill Foundation, the Sand Hill Foundation Fellowship is modeled after this philosophy. The goal of the program is to bring more young people into philanthropic work by providing students with intensive summer experiences.
Each Philanthropy Fellow receives a base stipend of $7000 to cover most of the essential costs associated with an unpaid service experience. Financial aid and supplemental funding are available to students who qualify.
Three summer fellowship positions are available with the Autodesk Foundation.
Description of Organization:
The Autodesk Foundation supports the design and creation of innovative solutions to the world's most pressing social and environmental challenges. We invest in nonprofits and startups helping to de-risk innovation and bring industry-transforming solutions to scale. By facilitating a blend of funding, technical training, and expertise, we can bring early-stage innovations to market to advance a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable world.
Fellowship Position #1 - Grantmaking and Impact Investing Team
Description of Projects:
This internship is an invaluable opportunity to learn about impact investing, venture philanthropy, and pressing global issues through hands-on, real-world experience. You’ll work alongside the Autodesk Foundation team to:
- Support deal sourcing and network building so we can learn about great impact organizations we may have otherwise overlooked.
- Perform research to deepen our understanding of the impact potential of organizations we're considering for funding. Past examples include: researching the impact of concrete production on greenhouse gas emissions; job loss and economic hardship in rural North Carolina; and safe water access in Rwanda. Research topics will be based on the fellow's interests and what organizations we are evaluating for funding at that time.
- Special projects based on the fellow's skills and interests. Past examples include: building helpful resource toolkits for our portfolio organizations, data analysis and visualization, and creating a grantmaking 101 training.
Desired Skills, Experiences, and Qualities:
- A passion for impact investing, social justice and sustainability.
- Commitment to demonstrating values that reflect diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Strong communications skills, both written and verbal.
- Work experience, academic exposure, or demonstrated interest in at least one of our impact opportunities: climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, workforce development.
- Bonus: experience in any of the following: working at an early-stage startup, using Autodesk products, familiarity with construction, manufacturing, impact measurement, or hardware product development
Work Arrangement and Start Date:
This will be a fully virtual position. The tentative start date is June 15, 2026.
Fellowship Position #2 - Impact Measurement & Management Team
Description of Projects:
This internship is an invaluable opportunity to learn about impact investing, impact measurement and management (IMM), venture philanthropy, and pressing global issues through hands-on, real-world experience. You’ll work alongside the Autodesk Foundation team to:
- Support the IMM function to ensure we are investing in the most impactful companies.
- Perform research and benchmarking to deepen our understanding of the social and environmental impact of organizations we're funding/considering for funding. Research topics will be based on the fellow's interests and what organizations we are evaluating for funding at that time.
Special projects based on the fellow's skills and interests. These may include:
- Analyzing impact data from organizations in our portfolio to help inform our investment and IMM strategy.
- Engaging with leading industry groups on topics related to IMM
- Evaluating developments in IMM frameworks and metrics to identify potential enhancements to the Foundation’s IMM practice
- Developing impact narratives and case studies that highlight the impact created by organizations in our portfolio
Desired Skills, Experiences, and Qualities:
- A passion for impact investing, impact measurement and sustainability.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Strong communications skills, both written and verbal.
- Work experience, academic exposure, or demonstrated interest in at least one of our impact opportunities: climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, workforce development.
- Bonus: experience in any of the following: working at an early-stage startup, using Autodesk products, familiarity with construction, manufacturing, impact measurement, or hardware product development.
Work Arrangement and Start Date:
This will be a fully virtual position. The tentative start date is June 15, 2026.
Fellowship Position #3 - Software Donation Program Team
Description of Projects:
This internship is an invaluable opportunity to learn about corporate software donations, impact measurement, corporate philanthropy, and data connectivity through hands-on, real-world experience. You’ll work alongside the Autodesk Foundation team to:
- Audit current software donation data systems and processes for our global program
- Recommend best practices for streamlining data collection and reporting across programs
- Recommend standardization and automation of data reporting across programs where possible
- With a focus on impact measurement and geographic dispersal, recommend best practices for capturing and telling impact stories using program data
Desired Skills, Experiences, and Qualities:
- A passion for corporate impact and software donation programming
- Experience with program data collection and analysis
- Fluency in data collection and analysis tools
Work Arrangement and Start Date:
This will be a fully virtual position. The tentative start date is June 15, 2026.
Eligibility:
For complete eligibility requirements, please review our program policies in its entirety.
Applicants must be:
- enrolled at Stanford for the winter and spring quarters of this academic year (2025-26);
- be in good academic standing and not on suspension; and
- enrolled as a first-year, sophomore, or junior (from all academic disciplines), or a senior who will be returning for a co-term program during the following academic year
Graduating seniors are only eligible for Round 2 opportunities if funding is available after the February deadline, and the Round 2 deadline may be in early April. Students who have begun their coterm programs are not eligible to apply. Priority will be given to students who have completed fewer than two previous Cardinal Quarter opportunities.
Requirements:
Selected fellows are expected to begin their fellowship following the completion of spring quarter classes and no later than July 6, 2026. All fellows are required to work with their community partners 35-40 hours/week for nine consecutive weeks.
Please review the complete program policies for additional requirements. Other commitments include the following:
Spring Quarter
- Complete and online program orientation
- Complete the Engaging in Ethical and Effective Service in-person workshop or worksheet.
- Identify and meet with an on-campus mentor at least once.
- Design a personal learning plan and share the learning plan with the site supervisor and on-campus mentor.
- Complete all required pre-orientation forms.
Summer Quarter
- Submit a brief preliminary report
- Submit a final report, complete a program evaluation, and correspond with fellowship donor(s) as requested by fellowships program staff.
Fall Quarter
- Meet with on-campus mentor at least once
-
Participate in outreach activities to share the experience and help publicize the program
Selection Process:
For those who seek assistance, advising is available through the Haas Center to help students develop their applications. Please reach out to a Cardinal Quarter Peer Advisor or email cardinalquarter@stanford.edu for an advising appointment with program staff.
This fellowship is intended for individuals whose application, references, and interview demonstrate
- an integration of the fellowship experience with the applicant’s academic, personal and/or career goals
- prior demonstrated interest or involvement in the subject area, including related coursework
- a compelling match between applicant’s skills and interests and an organization’s work and needs
- strong potential for the fellowship experience to deepen a candidate’s understanding of an identified community issue or challenge
Complete applications are screened, finalists interviewed, and fellows selected by the host organizations with the intention to award fellowships within six weeks of the application deadline. Applicants are responsible for checking their Stanford email (including Spam folders) and responding promptly to interview invitations. Failure to respond to an interview invitation will result in withdrawal of the application.
Applicants must respond promptly (within 48 hours) via email to a fellowship offer, or the offer will be rescinded. Once an applicant accepts a fellowship offer, the student should promptly notify all other Stanford and non-Stanford programs to which they have applied that they have accepted another offer and to withdraw their candidacy.
