Description

The Clean Energy Fund of the Carolinas (CEFC) is seeking a Finance Intern to join its growing team of mission-focused clean energy and financial professionals. CEFC is a nonprofit financial institution with a mission to accelerate investment in clean and efficient energy solutions and increase climate resilience in the Carolinas, particularly to promote climate and economic equity.  We partner with public and private investors, foundations, and other non-profit and community organizations to deploy sustainable financing solutions that will create long-lasting environmental, economic, and social benefits and fill gaps in the financial market, especially for traditionally underserved communities.

Position Summary

The 2026 Clean Energy Finance Intern will conduct market research to refine our understanding of gaps in the marketplace for financing energy efficiency, electric mobility, water conservation, and renewable energy. They will focus on sectors that often lack access to capital for such projects: small businesses, nonprofits, low-income and rural areas, congregations, and small cities.

In addition to the defined focus areas listed below, the intern will have the opportunity to explore a topic that they select that is of relevance for their own professional development and fits within the bounds of CEFC’s mission. 

They will report directly to the Director of Commercial Lending and work closely with the Co-Executive Director of CEFC.

Responsibilities

• Research Loan Products to Fill Market Gaps

Intern will research and identify 3-5 potential market gaps that CEFC could fill with a new commercial lending product. After consulting with leadership and the Commercial Lending Director, they will narrow down the options to one or two products. An example might be a working capital loan for small and rural HVAC contractors or a credit enhancement that would allow other community lenders to serve the sector. 

The intern will research the prospective product through interviews with prospective borrowers, gathering information about their capital needs, and current market impediments. The intern will model possible loan products, including potential repayment schedules and collateral packages, test various interest rate scenarios, and typical expected loan losses. They will evaluate and make recommendations for potential pilot programs that could be created to fill market gaps. 

Depending on timing, there may be the opportunity for the intern to support implementation of the loan product. Throughout, the intern will have access to leadership for feedback and input to guide their work.

• Craft Success Stories

Using information gathered from varying research projects, create, edit and produce 1-2 case studies or white papers to show the importance and impact of various products currently offered by CEFC or other mission-oriented lenders. Impacts could include greenhouse gas reduction, delivery of funds to low and underserved markets, grid resiliency, or other related impacts. 

•  Program Support

Other tasks will be defined as needs arise. Examples might include creating process flows for intake and loan processing or supporting portfolio management. Where feasible, the tasks will be selected to align with the intern’s interests – we love to learn from our interns’ skills.

Proposed Start – End Date  

May 18, 2026 – July 24, 2026 but flexible based on availability and the university calendar.

Stipend

$1,000 weekly for 10 weeks consisting of 40-hour work weeks. 

Clean Energy Fund of the Carolinas is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (Including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.  CEFC believes that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success, and we seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.

Requirements

• Must be a currently enrolled graduate student or have graduated in the past 6 months.
• Experience with financial analysis, business finance or similar.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to effectively interact with staff, borrowers, and external stakeholders.
• Intermediate-Advanced Proficiency with Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word.