• The JPB Foundation (JPB) sought Bridgespan’s help to develop an innovative model for how a funder might support the advancement of a field of practice around antipoverty work. JPB’s efforts focused on the Center for Community Change (CCC) and a “hub and network strategy” that builds the capacity of low-income people, especially those of color, to improve their communities and public policies. JPB provided CCC with significant financial support and worked with it to identify and support a set of important poverty fighting organizations that would complement CCC’s work.

Multiyear Initiatives.  Four years ago, we decided that along with our ongoing research and publishing work, we needed to focus on a narrower set of issues and stay with them for multiple years if we were to see real change. We launched three multiyear initiatives—Big Bets, Pay What It Takes (focused on the nonprofit starvation cycle), and Transformative Scale—around which we have done extensive advisory work,  idea development, and engagement of a broad community of leaders grappling with these issues. We recently added a fourth initiative, Impact Investing.  There is a tremendous amount of buzz about the potential of impact investing to unlock large new pools of money for social benefit. Too often, the “investing” side of the equation swamps the “impact” side. Our focus is on how to ensure that the impact intended in such deals is actually realized.

India. Bridgespan now has been in India for more than three years and assembled a talented team of 15 people. We have had the privilege of working with some of India’s leading philanthropists and NGOs, giving us the opportunity to contribute to Indian’s social sector and to learn from it. Indian organizations hold many lessons for leaders in the United States and around the world. Take, for example, the issue of scale. Some of the largest and most effective nonprofits in the world are in India, and we can learn much from them (see “Why Indian Nonprofits are Experts at Scaling Up”). Our research initiatives in India on leadership development and “bold bets” also offer insights that inform practice outside India, and at the same time, benefit from the work done in the United States on those issues.

We never cease to be inspired and awed by the extraordinary leaders in the social sector that are committed to making the world a more just and equitable place. At Bridgespan, we count ourselves lucky to be able to help them advance their crucial work. And we are deeply grateful to the clients, funders, and team members who make our work possible.

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Leading for Impact. When we think of leaders, we often think of an inspirational single individual at the top of the organization. But in our work, we frequently advise leadership teams. Our Leading for Impact® program embodies this approach. Leading for Impact® is a two-year consulting program that helps executive teams from ambitious nonprofits pursue strategic opportunities and build capacity to improve their performance. We provide the teams coaching and training in strategic management concepts and tools. In five cities over the last several years (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Washington, DC), we engaged more than 1,100 leaders from almost 200 nonprofits. In an effort to improve the performance of even more organizations, we have launched an initial set of online courses: Investing in Future Leaders and Achieving Strategic Clarity.  During these courses, executive teams engage when they’re ready with online lessons and guided team activities.

Strategic Advisory Work. In this 2017 annual report, we feature three extraordinary organizations we have had the privilege to serve.

• Upstream, a young nonprofit co-led by Mark Edwards and Peter Belden, has the potential to change the lives of millions of women by enabling them to plan their pregnancies through access to better contraception. In 2017, the Blue Meridian Partners donor collaborative committed to invest $60 million in Upstream’s efforts.
• The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has played a crucial role in many of the social justice fights of the last 50 years. While the organization’s mission is more important than ever, ADL had begun to suffer from a diffusion of effort and sprawl, with 27 regional offices and 2,000 board members. Bridgespan supported the ADL leadership team with a plan to shift to a more focused and coordinated set of programs.
• The JPB Foundation (JPB) sought Bridgespan’s help to develop an innovative model for how a funder might support the advancement of a field of practice around antipoverty work. JPB’s efforts focused on the Center for Community Change (CCC) and a “hub and network strategy” that builds the capacity of low-income people, especially those of color, to improve their communities and public policies. JPB provided CCC with significant financial support and worked with it to identify and support a set of important poverty fighting organizations that would complement CCC’s work.

Multiyear Initiatives.  Four years ago, we decided that along with our ongoing research and publishing work, we needed to focus on a narrower set of issues and stay with them for multiple years if we were to see real change. We launched three multiyear initiatives—Big Bets, Pay What It Takes (focused on the nonprofit starvation cycle), and Transformative Scale—around which we have done extensive advisory work,  idea development, and engagement of a broad community of leaders grappling with these issues. We recently added a fourth initiative, Impact Investing.  There is a tremendous amount of buzz about the potential of impact investing to unlock large new pools of money for social benefit. Too often, the “investing” side of the equation swamps the “impact” side. Our focus is on how to ensure that the impact intended in such deals is actually realized.

India. Bridgespan now has been in India for more than three years and assembled a talented team of 15 people. We have had the privilege of working with some of India’s leading philanthropists and NGOs, giving us the opportunity to contribute to Indian’s social sector and to learn from it. Indian organizations hold many lessons for leaders in the United States and around the world. Take, for example, the issue of scale. Some of the largest and most effective nonprofits in the world are in India, and we can learn much from them (see “Why Indian Nonprofits are Experts at Scaling Up”). Our research initiatives in India on leadership development and “bold bets” also offer insights that inform practice outside India, and at the same time, benefit from the work done in the United States on those issues.

We never cease to be inspired and awed by the extraordinary leaders in the social sector that are committed to making the world a more just and equitable place. At Bridgespan, we count ourselves lucky to be able to help them advance their crucial work. And we are deeply grateful to the clients, funders, and team members who make our work possible.

Read Less ∧