Bridgespan 2018 Annual Report
Jeffrey L. Bradach
Managing Partner & Co-founder
Thomas J. Tierney
Chairman & Co-founder
We are pleased to share a few updates on Bridgespan’s work in 2018. We have again had the privilege of working with extraordinary leaders across the sector. They are a constant source of inspiration, and we are fortunate to serve them and support their work.
This report captures some of the ways we are working with these leaders and their organizations to produce enduring change in the world. For example, the stories of Blue Meridian-Youth Villages and Co-Impact-Last Mile Health highlight one of the most important trends we see gaining traction in philanthropy: collaboration among philanthropists to support leading organizations and initiatives with the potential to achieve true impact at scale. It is simply not possible to achieve the changes so many of us hope to see in the world if every philanthropist acts alone.
In turn, the stories of Leading for Impact (LFI) participants remind us where impact happens: on the ground, in communities around the world. In LFI, Bridgespan coaches local nonprofits as they address strategic questions and also trains their executive teams in management concepts and tools. This two-year program taps the insights of Bridgespan’s past 18 years in a way that enables local leaders to strengthen their organizations and achieve greater impact. Building on our LFI experience, in 2018 we launched a digital version—the Bridgespan Leadership Accelerator—so that we can support a much larger number of leaders. Accelerator pilot participants have had strong positive reactions, and we will be scaling this effort in 2019.
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Bridgespan also invested deeply in advancing racial equity in 2018—a must given our mission of breaking cycles of poverty and achieving a more just and equitable world. We simply cannot pursue this mission successfully without directly confronting the structural and institutional racism that stands in the way of progress on so many of the issues facing the United States. Without a persistent race-based look at who gets big bets, who receives capacity-building support, and who is invited to tables where decisions that influence community outcomes are made, we can easily set in motion (and historically may have set in motion) unintended effects that worsen inequities. We have much to learn, and we are sure to stumble, but we are committed to advancing racial equity across our work.
Last year also saw continued global growth for Bridgespan. Our motivation for becoming increasingly global has been threefold, and all three dimensions are playing out: 1) there are major opportunities for impact aligned with our mission across the globe, 2) we need to be global in order to harness the best thinking from around the world, and 3) an increasing range of philanthropic and social change strategies have a global focus. We launched the Bridgespan Mumbai office in 2015 and now have 20 colleagues working with leading NGOs and philanthropists in India. This investment has yielded rich learning on topics such as achieving impact at scale and elevating constituent voice—lessons that are increasingly informing our work in the US and other regions. Over the next decade we will continue to explore how Bridgespan can engage more deeply in different parts of the world.
As always, we would be grateful for any and all feedback. That is how we have gotten better in the past, and it will continue to be crucial to our learning and growth.
With gratitude,
Tom Tierney and Jeff Bradach
Read Less ∧
We are pleased to share a few updates on Bridgespan’s work in 2018. We have again had the privilege of working with extraordinary leaders across the sector. They are a constant source of inspiration, and we are fortunate to serve them and support their work.
This report captures some of the ways we are working with these leaders and their organizations to produce enduring change in the world. For example, the stories of Blue Meridian-Youth Villages and Co-Impact-Last Mile Health highlight one of the most important trends we see gaining traction in philanthropy: collaboration among philanthropists to support leading organizations and initiatives with the potential to achieve true impact at scale. It is simply not possible to achieve the changes so many of us hope to see in the world if every philanthropist acts alone.
Read More ∨
In turn, the stories of Leading for Impact (LFI) participants remind us where impact happens: on the ground, in communities around the world. In LFI, Bridgespan coaches local nonprofits as they address strategic questions and also trains their executive teams in management concepts and tools. This two-year program taps the insights of Bridgespan’s past 18 years in a way that enables local leaders to strengthen their organizations and achieve greater impact. Building on our LFI experience, in 2018 we launched a digital version—the Bridgespan Leadership Accelerator—so that we can support a much larger number of leaders. Accelerator pilot participants have had strong positive reactions, and we will be scaling this effort in 2019.
Bridgespan also invested deeply in advancing racial equity in 2018—a must given our mission of breaking cycles of poverty and achieving a more just and equitable world. We simply cannot pursue this mission successfully without directly confronting the structural and institutional racism that stands in the way of progress on so many of the issues facing the United States. Without a persistent race-based look at who gets big bets, who receives capacity-building support, and who is invited to tables where decisions that influence community outcomes are made, we can easily set in motion (and historically may have set in motion) unintended effects that worsen inequities. We have much to learn, and we are sure to stumble, but we are committed to advancing racial equity across our work.
Last year also saw continued global growth for Bridgespan. Our motivation for becoming increasingly global has been threefold, and all three dimensions are playing out: 1) there are major opportunities for impact aligned with our mission across the globe, 2) we need to be global in order to harness the best thinking from around the world, and 3) an increasing range of philanthropic and social change strategies have a global focus. We launched the Bridgespan Mumbai office in 2015 and now have 20 colleagues working with leading NGOs and philanthropists in India. This investment has yielded rich learning on topics such as achieving impact at scale and elevating constituent voice—lessons that are increasingly informing our work in the US and other regions. Over the next decade we will continue to explore how Bridgespan can engage more deeply in different parts of the world.
As always, we would be grateful for any and all feedback. That is how we have gotten better in the past, and it will continue to be crucial to our learning and growth.
With gratitude,
Tom Tierney and Jeff Bradach
Read Less ∧
Clients & Collaborators
In 2018, The Bridgespan Group had the privilege to work with over 300 mission-driven organizations, leaders, movements, philanthropists, and foundations through strategy consulting, philanthropy consulting, Leading for Impact®, and Bridgespan Leadership Accelerator engagements. A selection of these clients is featured below.
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The stories below represent a few of the remarkable projects, organizations, and individuals we are grateful to have worked with.
Bridgespan gave me the skills to be a productive part of the nonprofit sector, including teaching me how to start with the big picture and drill down to focus on an organization’s core.
Publications & Media
We collaborate with a broad range of social sector leaders to develop and share ideas, tools, and insights that can drive breakthrough social impact.
Publications
Newsletter Subscribers
Conferences & Webinars
"Four Pathways to Greater Giving" named Best Report by Inside Philanthropy's 2018 Philanthropy Awards
Bridgespan in the News
4 Ways to Make Giving Large Donations to Small Groups Easier
How Do You Deal With Succession?
Indian Philanthropists Donating More to Drive Social Change: Report
An article quoting Jeff Bradach’s take on how foundations without enormous assets can increase their impact.
Report Pinpoints How Small, Rural Towns Create Success for Their Youth
Jobs report: Black teen unemployment fell to 19.3 percent in September, lowest on record
Willa Seldon’s take on why unemployment for minority teens is at an all-time low.
What's New
In 2018 we launched our exciting Leadership Accelerator online programs, welcomed a new Fellow, and strengthened our organization with a wave of new talent.
Bridgespan Leadership Accelerator
Accelerator Participants by the Numbers
Nonprofit Organizations
Leaders
Countries
Investing in Future Leaders
Investing in Future Leaders
Achieving Strategic Clarity
We Welcomed a Fellow
Clara Miller
January - April 2018
In Memoriam
Ajit Mahadevan, our partner in Mumbai, passed away suddenly in October. Ajit joined Bridgespan in May 2018 after leading Acumen India for several years. In the process of interviewing him for Bridgespan, everyone came away struck by the depth of his commitment to making a difference in the world and to wanting to be in a place where others shared that passion. It was a reflection of his values that he was interviewing us as much as we were interviewing him.
Jeff Bradach recalls, “Sitting next to him at the last partner meeting in one of the breakouts about our strategy, I vividly recall being struck by how lucky we were to have him join us.”
We are deeply fortunate to have benefitted even briefly from Ajit’s ability to bridge for-profit and nonprofit worlds as well as US and Indian ideas and sensibilities. Ajit was kindhearted, thoughtful, and generous. He was serious about impact without ever taking himself too seriously.
He will be missed.
Culture &
Awards
“What I have come to appreciate the most about Bridgespan is that, as a team, we are so focused on helping our clients have real, significant impact on their clients and communities. We are not interested in abstract thought exercises or recommending strategies that our clients cannot implement and realize the intended results.”
Butch Trusty
Manager
“Bridgespan has been the most incredible place to start my career. I am able to learn from and with brilliant, passionate, kind colleagues and clients every day, while also feeling like I have a voice in shaping what we want future Bridgespan to be.”
Alex Williams
Senior Associate Consultant
“In the nearly four years I've worked at Bridgespan, I've gotten to be a part of some of the most moving, challenging, and thoughtful conversations I've ever participated in. It speaks to the openness, intelligence, and curiosity of my colleagues and the critical importance of the issues we work to address.”
Eliza Loomis
Consultant
“At Bridgespan, I am challenged to seek out and eliminate my blind spots. I’ve been encouraged to name my short-comings and given space, time, and resources to grow as an individual in a way no other work-environment has. Bridgespan sees the importance in personal journeys when it comes to improving the quality of our work as a whole team.”
Becca Anderson
Learning & Innovation Associate
“I’m constantly amazed by my colleagues: their commitment to impact, openness to both challenge and learn from others, and ability to do the work with a spirit of joy and empathy. We are tackling some of society’s toughest issues, and I feel lucky that I get to do this work with such an inspiring group of folks.”
Pamela Hung
Senior Associate Consultant
“At Bridgespan, I’m surrounded by colleagues who are incredibly passionate about the work that we do. I’m inspired by the way that we approach our cases, not simply as new projects, but as opportunity to make progress against pressing social issues and impact lives.”
Rachel Heredia
Consultant
“Bridgespan’s deep commitment to be responsive to the social sector’s needs is evident in how the organization invests in its own self-reflection and growth over time, demonstrating a willingness to adapt and change as a firm. I feel deeply grateful to be part of an organization that cares and invests in its people as much as it does with its clients.”
Lauren Shaughnessy
Manager
“I graduated from graduate school eager to develop as a strategist and gain deeper expertise about how to advance outcomes in the social sector. Working at Bridgespan has been an incredible opportunity to deploy and develop deep strategic problem solving skills while partnering with organizations and philanthropists striving to disrupt the societal factors that perpetuate intergenerational poverty.”
Jenelle Harris
Consultant
“I deeply value the opportunity to collaborate with such thoughtful colleagues at Bridgespan. It has been inspiring to learn from them and realize the impact we can have together.”
Britt Savage
Senior Associate Consultant
What Our Clients and Colleagues Say
"[They are] incredibly hard-working (do what it takes), thorough (want to get it right), easy to get along with (people I enjoy working with), talented (very skilled in asking the right questions, presenting, compiling lots of information in a concise manner, and utilizing technology), and most of all, they can help you (as a provider) think 'outside the box' and can walk you through strategic planning step-by-step. They make a very complicated process feel much easier!"
Catherine Smith
Managing Director, Business Planning & Policy
Youth Villages
"You guys did a great job. You left us with a working plan that was pretty much a monthly task list … You made us think, that is the biggest thing. We were rushing from issue to issue. You made us think about strategy rather than tactics. You generated an integrated plan against which we are making progress. Our plans were not clear until the project."
Dipak Basu
Board Chair (Former CEO)
Anudip Foundation
"What was most effective about the project, beyond the expertise and ideas, was the approach. It was our plan; even though we do call it the Bridgespan plan, it was a group effort. That’s the way to make things work. By the time we were done, we owned it."
Rick Singer
President and CEO
TGR Foundation
"Bridgespan delivers amazing value for money. The price tag looks big to some, but it is completely worth it. You all unlocked our gaps, secret sauce and helped us frame a future plan that—if we execute and adapt as we go—could change the game for us and for others. Worth every penny!"
Ned Breslin
CEO
The Tennyson Center for Children
