Bridgespan Group Receives $4 Million for Nonprofit Leadership Program

August 14, 2020

The Bridgespan Group has announced commitments totaling $4 million from Harris Philanthropies and the Pew Charitable Trusts to bring its nonprofit leadership programs to organizations in the greater Philadelphia area.

Commitments of $2 million each from Harris and Pew will help fifty nonprofit executive teams participate in Bridgespan’s Leading for Impact (LFI) program and another fifty nonprofits enroll in Bridgespan Leadership Accelerator (BLA) programs. LFI is a two-year consulting program in which participants pursue strategic opportunities and build their capacity with the help of Bridgespan’s expertise. BLA is a series of online programs offered over twelve to sixteen weeks that includes instruction, video-facilitated bi-weekly workshops, and coaching support.

Both programs will be launched in the region, including Camden, New Jersey, in 2021, with a focus on nonprofits working in the health and human services and education sectors as well as the arts and culture. The first LFI cohort of eight or nine nonprofits will begin their engagement with the program in February, with new cohorts joining them every six months over the next five and a half years; the BLA program will launch in September 2021. Over the next few months, Bridgespan will begin identifying and interviewing a diverse range of applicants, with an emphasis on those led by people of color and/or engaged in direct service delivery in underresourced neighborhoods. Consistent with the way the programs work in other cities, the funding from Harris and Pew will cover 80 percent of participants’ costs.

“Now more than ever, nonprofit executive teams need the tools and skills to help their organizations strategically navigate evolving conditions and continue to provide critical services to those who need them most,” said Bridgespan partner Bob Searle, who will lead the program. “We are thrilled that Harris Philanthropies and the Pew Charitable Trusts have chosen to help us bring our programs to the Philadelphia region to strengthen the local nonprofit ‘management muscle’.”

Originally Published on Philanthropy News Digest.