FAQs

Yes. While the primary purpose of CPJ’s internships are to be an educational experience, all of CPJ’s interns are paid an internship stipend that is based on the duration of the internship (number of weeks) and the number of internship hours per week.

Yes, mostly. CPJ staff and interns work in-person Tuesday through Thursday. On Mondays and Fridays interns and staff work remotely. CPJ has some staff members who are fully remote and can accommodate interns who need to be fully remote. However, we do believe that there is some in working in person if you are able to join us Tuesday through Thursday. We consider fully remote interns on a case by case basis.

CPJ offers three internship cycles over the course of the year. Our Spring interns generally work from January to May; Summer interns work anywhere from May to August; Fall interns work from September to early December. Start and end dates are flexible, but we will try to start all interns on the same day or week.

CPJ’s internships are open to undergraduate, graduate, seminary, and law students.

Our internships require the use of a laptop, headset/microphone, and cameras. Most interns prefer to use their own devices, but CPJ can supply laptops, headsets/microphones, and web cameras for those who prefer to use our equipment.

Fill out the form on the Internships page to receive an application.  We will send you all of the materials and information you need.

CPJ reviews internship applications on a rolling basis. The sooner you apply, the better. Typically you will hear back from CPJ within two weeks about whether or not you will move forward with the process. If you do not hear back from us after two weeks, feel free to reach out again.

If you are selected for an interview, one of our staff members, likely whoever would be your supervisor, will interview you. The interview will take about 45 minutes and be conducted over a video or phone call. After the interview, we will contact your references before making a decision. If you are not a fit for the position, but still might be a fit for CPJ, your application may be passed along to another staff member for an additional interview for another role.

Potentially. You will have to speak with your academic institution about whether or not CPJ’s internship qualifies for academic credit. We can work with you to provide the necessary information that your institution may need to confirm the credit.

CPJ does not ask interns to affirm all of the same theological and ethical statements that CPJ staff and the Board of Trustees agree to, but we do expect interns to have a demonstrably active Christian faith, and to be willing to assent to uphold CPJ’s community standards of conduct, which are provided by CPJ to qualified candidates for internships prior to an interview. 

Yes. Once you have been accepted for your internship, our team is happy to provide you with additional information on finding housing in D.C. or Northern Virginia. 

Please mail your donation to the Center for Public Justice, 1305 Leslie Avenue, Alexandria VA 22301.

Yes. To donate by phone please call the CPJ office on 202-695-2667 Monday to Friday between 9-5pm Eastern and CPJ’s staff can process your credit or debit card donation over the phone.

Yes. To set up a recurring or one-time donation directly from your PayPal account, please use this link to CPJ’s PayPal account.

Yes. To donate gifts of securities, please instruct your broker to transfer the securities from your account to CPJ’s account. The broker for the Center for Public Justice is RBC Wealth Management. DTC Number: 0235. Center for Public Justice Account Number: 350-19104. Broker contact is Lauran Palmer, 888-808-6032.  Please instruct your broker to notify Lauran Palmer of your name when making the donation of securities, as transfers between brokerage accounts typically do not include your name as the donor of the gift.

Yes. CPJ is a member of the Barnabas Foundation, and as a member benefit, all donors to CPJ qualify for free estate planning with Barnabas Foundation staff. To receive a no obligation referral from CPJ to the Barnabas Foundation staff, please contact CPJ at 202.695.2667 or inquiries@cpjustice.org.

Yes. For questions about your specific employer’s matching donation program, or to receive any needed documentation from CPJ, please contact CPJ at 202.695.2667 or inquiries@cpjustice.org.

Including the Center for Public Justice in your estate planning is easy. Simply name the Center for Public Justice as a beneficiary of your Will or Living Trust (a bequest). Here is sample bequest language that your attorney can use to establish a bequest for the Center for Public Justice in your estate plan:

I, _____[name], of [city, state, ZIP], hereby give/bequeath __________ [written amount or percentage of estate] to Center for Public Justice, a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Illinois, for its general purposes.

You may also name the Center for Public Justice as a beneficiary of your Individual Retirement Account (IRA). If you have included the Center for Public Justice in your estate plan, please contact our office at 202.695.2667 or inquiries@cpjustice.org so we can record your planned gift and thank you for your generosity.

Yes. To set up a recurring or one-time donation via e-check or ACH transfer please call 202-695-2667 and CPJ’s staff will be happy to assist you.

Yes. CPJ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible for IRS purposes.

A detailed checklist is included in the leader guide, which features tips for preparing for each session and offers a template agenda. You will have access to CPJ’s Outreach Coordinator via phone and email for any questions as you’re getting your group started.

The Political Discipleship Guide is available for free because of the generous donations that have been given by others. CPJ is a faith-based nonprofit that relies on the generosity of givers to make resources like the Political Discipleship Guide freely available. If you are moved to make a donation, please follow the links to donate, either here on CPJ’s website or by the other methods described on the website.

CPJ has done this with other groups. If your church or ministry is interested in adapting this Guide to fit your organizational needs, please email CPJ at inquiries@cpjustice.org to start a conversation.

The evaluations are very important. CPJ is constantly looking to improve the guide and the experience for participants. CPJ asks leaders and participants to complete feedback surveys while using the Political Discipleship Guide.

At any time, group leaders may contact a member of CPJ’s team at inquiries@cpjustice.org to talk through your group’s progress, and address any hurdles related to recruitment, group dynamics and more. The accompanying leader guide provides complementary content to the participant guide, offering helpful tips for moderating group conversation and decision-making.

No, Political Discipleship is not rooted in any particular partisan framework. Political Discipleship is intended to be used by groups of Christians. As a resource from the Center for Public Justice, it is based in a public justice framework, which is a Christian political framework and understanding of God’s good purpose for government. Read more about this framework here.

Political Discipleship is for the Christian who feels called to faithful citizenship. The settings in which the Guide may be especially relevant include for members of a church, or Christians from across several churches in a convenient geographical area. It has also been used by colleagues in a faith-based workplace or parachurch ministry. The Political Discipleship is well-suited for both high school and college student groups. Group members need not have the same political views – in fact, groups are encouraged to include members with a variety of political perspectives. Part of the group’s practice is to learn from one another, and see the value in diversified experiences, which enriches the overall experience of the group.

Not necessarily. Some groups meet weekly while others meet regularly on a different frequency (bi-weekly, monthly).

The Center for Public Justice is an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to policy research and civic education. Our mission is to equip citizens, develop leaders, and shape policy in pursuit of our purpose to serve God, advance justice, and transform public life. Shared Justice, which runs The Hatfield Prize, is the Center for Public Justice’s initiative for Christian 20- and 30-somethings.

The Hatfield Prize is named in honor of the late Senator Mark O. Hatfield, who served as a United States senator from Oregon for three decades, and was known for his principled Christian faith and for his commitment to working across difference to find common ground. Read more about Senator Hatfield here.

You will receive an email confirming receipt of your application. The Center for Public Justice will review applications and conduct interviews with finalists via Zoom. Award recipients will be notified in December.

Your research should examine a domestic social policy in the context of the community that your campus is located in. This can include a particular town or city in close geographic proximity to your campus, or the county in which your campus is located. For examples, see the “Engage” sections of the 2021 and 2022 reports.

The Hatfield Prize requires a significant time commitment from both students and faculty advisors. Applicants should view the time commitment as comparable to that of an independent study. Unlike a report or paper submitted for a class, students will be required to make several rounds of revisions on their reports. Students should also anticipate spending a significant amount of time in the community interviewing relevant stakeholders.

To apply, students must be a sophomore, junior, or senior with a GPA of 3.0 or above at a four-year college or university and must be enrolled as a full-time student in the spring 2023 semester. Students of all majors are invited to apply. The Hatfield Prize is written from a distinctly Christian perspective and student applicants must be Christians.

Unfortunately the scope of this research project is limited to the United States.

The Center for Public Justice will work with students to identify appropriate venues and conferences for presenting their research. Past Prize recipients have presented their research in a variety of settings, including but not limited to: The Christians in Political Science Conference, The Henry Symposium on Religion and Public Life, and the Texas Hunger Initiative’s Together at the Table: Hunger & Poverty Summit.