We first found Better World Books when we were looking for non-profits jobs to write about for One Day, One Job (in case you were wondering, here are non-profit internships). We quickly realized that they weren’t a non-profit, but a “for profit social venture.” That means that Better World Books operates with the goal of profitability, but they donate all profits to non-profit organizations such as Books for Africa, Room to Read, and the National Center for Family Literacy. It’s a really cool model that seems to be working well for them.
What really interests us about Better World Books is that their entire business has been built with a college mindset. The company was founded by three college friends and gathers most of its books from college book drives. These books are then sold or donated to certain non-profit organizations. Any book that is not suitable for use or sale is recycled. Better World Books never throws away a books, which means that they have kept 10 million pounds of books out of landfills so far.
The profits of Better World Books’ efforts (whether they be in the form of books or money) are then donated to organizations that promote literacy. Success is measured by both monetary profits and how much change can be enacted through Better World Books’ donations. No time is wasted fundraising, because there is always a flow of income to fund the literacy and education projects that Better World Books selects.
After we wrote about Better World on our sister site, we were graciously given the opportunity to offer a 20% discount to our readers for any purchases from Better World (since expired). So many people used the discount that Better World Books contacted us again and asked us to continue to work with them through an affiliate program (Yes, we get a commission. No, that’s not why we’re writing about them.) We’re in the process of putting a book store together with our picks for career related books, but until then you can browse Better World on your own. Your purchases will go towards funding literacy programs, shipping is free in the US, and Better World Books buys carbon offsets. We also have to say that the people at Better World Books are awesome. They’re nice, they’re friendly, and they’re helpful. It seems pretty clear that their employees are happy, and that’s why we think that it’ll be a great place to intern.
Better World Books’ Jobs and Internships page shows 3 openings for this summer. They are in Internal Auditing (Alpharetta, GA), Online Marketing (San Francisco), and Acquisitions (Alpharetta, GA). Each internship has a detailed description, and there’s an easy online application system. Clicking through to apply does give a warning about a security certificate’s being out of date, but we don’t think that’s a problem. The compensation section of the job descriptions says “based on skills and experience,” so we think that means that these internships are paid, but don’t quote us on it. Hopefully someone from Better World can stop by and leave a comment with more details.
All three of these internships look excellent, but the Online Marketing position looks especially interesting. Since it reports directly to Justin Brandon, who is our contact at Better World and an all around good guy, there’s a good chance that you might be working with One Day, One Job / Internship. It doesn’t get any better than that! The application deadlines are May 23rd for the two positions in Georgia, and May 31st for the internship with Justin. You actually have some time to apply, but don’t drag your feet just because you can - applyin early can only help you.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
You should really buy your text books from Better World and put your money to good use twice over?
Do I Know Anyone at Better World Books? - Check LinkedIn | Check Facebook
Tags: acquisitions, auditing, California, Georgia, Internships, marketing, social venture
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Thanks for the post Willy. I’m not sure what is going on with the security certificate but we will get that fixed asap. And to make sure it’s clear, the online marketing internship in San Francisco is a paid position. We’ve got some exciting projects on the horizon and we are looking forward to filling the position soon!