The John R. Gentille Foundation (JRGF) Internship Grants provide valuable support for student chapters, companies and interns. Chief among these is a program that assists in the identification and evaluation of potential full-time new hires through summer or school-year internships.
Internship programs enable the recruitment of talented students, giving employers a cost-effective labor force without a long-term commitment. Likewise, students who explore a career with a mechanical contractor while simultaneously finishing their degree tend to remain in the industry long-term and are more knowledgeable on day one of their full-time position. The mutual benefit of an internship ensures the industry’s human resource needs are met with a qualified and educated future workforce and is a win-win for the student and employer.
GRANT DESCRIPTION
Our internship grants are intended to offer support to mechanical contracting companies that are new to offering internships, small companies, or those that are looking to grow their internship program in the mechanical industry. Companies are notified of awards up to $1,000 by May 1, 2026.
GRANT ELIGIBILITY
- Interns may be from any 2 or 4 year accredited college of university.
- Minimum eligible internship duration is 8 weeks and may incur anytime during the 2026 calendar year (January – December, 2026).
- One application will be accepted per company location and one grant may be awarded per company (25 available).
- Internships must be in mechanical contracting industry.
GRANT PROCESS
- DUE April 1, 2026 (2026 Interns).
- Submitted by the Company.
- Reviewed by the Career Development Scholarships & Grants Sub-Committee.
- Following the internship, a photo (titled with the intern’s name) must be submitted to mhoffman@mcaa.org with the intern on the jobsite, at the office, by a company logo, or in company swag.
The application period for 2025 Employer Grants has ended.
Forms for 2026 will be available starting on September 22, 2025.
Contact MCAA’s Michele Hoffman with questions or to submit photos via email.
2025 Company Internship Grant – Legacy Program
Part 1 has been discontinued. Please see below for Part 2 (full-time new hires from 2025).
Part 2 (Legacy Program)
To allow for Part 1 2024 interns to be hired upon graduation in 2025, the Part 2 Legacy Program will remain active until December 31, 2025 and then will be discontinued.
For companies successfully converting an intern from their previous Part 1 list to a full-time new hire, a $500 check will be mailed to the company, to present to their new hire. New hire conversions are unlimited, but the name must be included on a Part 1 list from an MCAA member company.