The Bridgespan Group is a global nonprofit organization that collaborates with mission-driven leaders, organizations, philanthropists, and investors to break cycles of poverty and dramatically improve the quality of life for those in need.

Our services include consulting to nonprofits and philanthropists, leadership development support, and developing and sharing insights—all with the goal of scaling social impact. What we learn from collaborating closely with social sector leaders, complimented by rigorous research, we share broadly to advance social change.

The "bridge"​ in Bridgespan denotes our ability to connect and learn from the social and business sectors, donors and grantees, and ideas and practice. We pursue this work with humility, rigor, and focus on impact; and with a staff that is both exceptionally talented and deeply experienced in the social sector.

The Bridgespan Group is a global nonprofit that strives to make the world more equitable and just. Since 2000, we have had the privilege of advising and collaborating with many of the world’s most extraordinary social change leaders including philanthropists, nonprofit and NGO leaders, and impact investors.

We are passionate about helping social change leaders find solutions to economic and social barriers that perpetuate inequities and prevent individuals, families, and communities from having access to opportunities they need to thrive. We use rigorous research to gain insights that help our clients solve problems and achieve their goals.

Our services include strategy consulting and advising, sourcing and diligence, and leadership team support. We take what we learn from this work and build on it with original research, identifying best practices and innovative ideas to share with the social sector.

We work to build a better world by strengthening the ability of mission-driven organizations and philanthropists to achieve breakthrough results in addressing society’s most important challenges and opportunities.

Collaboration

We work as a team within Bridgespan and with our clients. We share what we know and try to align our efforts with those of others who are dedicated to acheiving social impact.

Respect :

We listen to and learn from our clients, funders, and one another. We value diverse perspectives and strive to incorporate them in our work. We act with Humility, certain we have as much to learn as to contribute.

Impact:

We value performance and results. We set and hold ourselves accountable for high standards.

Candor:

Good choices are grounded in good information.We value facts ans feedback, speak your minds, and understand that hard choices and difficult tradeoffs are often necessary.

Passion:

We are commited to making a difference through our work. We seek to understand what can be, not simply what is.

As a mission-driven organization, Bridgespan understands the importance of our clients' values and beliefs. Our people are deeply passionate about the work they do and the opportunity to create a better world.

At Bridgespan, our vision for a society characterized by equity and justice manifests as a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Racial equity lives at the center of this commitment, given the intersections of race and racism with inequity and injustice in the US and globally. This commitment increases the impact we have with our clients, strengthens our teams, and aligns with our values. 

Impact: Take an intentionally anti-racist approach to our work

Collaboration: Seek proximity to, partner with, and learn from experts and communities

Candor: Locate ourselves within systems and be self-aware of our own role as an organization and individuals in perpetuating racism

Respect: Take an asset-based approach to our work with communities of color

Passion: Relentlessly focus on a vision of justice, and be brave to pursue this vision

In the United States, the systems, policies, practices, and beliefs that seek to serve children and families are rooted in a history of racism, and not designed to create a society that is characterized by equity and justice. Worldwide, similar histories of bias and inequity by gender, caste, income and a host of other dimensions of identity yield the same marginalization.

Through our work, we seek to confront issues of structural discrimination and inequity and collaborate with mission-driven leaders, organizations, philanthropists, and investors to ensure such practices are addressed in service of unlocking the equitable impact that our clients seek.

Questions We Help Clients Address

Understanding and addressing the effects of structural racism as it relates to your organization’s goal can be a complex endeavor. We work with clients that are not already addressing structural inequities in their work to help ask questions that lead to higher-impact answers. We also work with organizations already guided by racial equity approaches in service of scaling equitable impact:

• Centering on equity: How does structural racism contribute to disparate outcomes related to your organization’s goals? Or globally, how does ethnicity, gender, and caste, contribute to disparities? And how does the intersectionality of identity further contribute to and exacerbate inequities?
• Examining the role of race and racism: How does your organization incorporate an understanding of race and racism into strategy development? This includes interviewing an inclusive range of stakeholders, disaggregating data on outcomes by race, and identifying the root causes of inequities.
• Understand the implications of choices for communities of color: How does your organization ensure that its work benefits communities disproportionally affected by structural racism and other forms of systemic inequity?

Active, equity-aware leaders can set positive examples for the firm and create a more inclusive environment that encourages retention. To that end, we invest in educating our management team around topics of racial equity.

External Trainings

To further advance leadership knowledge and understanding of racial equity, we encourage all management team members to attend at least one external training from organizations such as Racial Equity Institute, Race Forward, and the National Equity Project. Over the past year, 70% of our management team members have attended an equity-focused training. Internal data reveal that 100% of our leadership feels accountable to uphold our commitment to creating an inclusive culture.

Leadership Presentations

In addition to developing our own knowledge, our leaders model learning and growing with others through external presentations.

We are committed to ensuring our organization–at all levels–reflects the diversity of the broader community, with a critical mass of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous colleagues in the U.S., and with a critical mass of colleagues from all castes in our India office. We believe this is key to creating an inclusive community and avoiding othering. Focusing on these communities helps us address persistent, systemic inequities and be proximate to the communities that our clients serve.

We seek to support and appreciate all our team members and clients for the breadth of their identities.

Our “right team” strategy focuses on three dimensions: recruiting, retention, and community.

Recruiting

In the past few years, we have taken critical steps toward our commitment to increase the number of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous colleagues in our U.S. offices and colleagues from all our castes in our India office. Currently, 20-percent of Bridgespan staff identify as Black, Latinx, or Indigenous.

We continue to refine our recruiting, selection, and hiring processes to mitigate unconscious bias. Additionally, we interview candidates on their experience and expertise in confronting issues of structural discrimination and inequity.

To support our mission to increase the representation of diverse talent, we collaborate with The Consortium and MLT, in addition to attending recruiting conferences and events focused on Black, Latinx, and Indigenous hiring.

Retention

We want to ensure that all colleagues feel equally welcome to remain and succeed at Bridgespan. We monitor our overall retention rates and those of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous staff to identify if members of particular groups depart more frequently, and we use these data to help us address any gaps that emerge.

As part of our retention efforts, we also have a mentorship program for incoming Black, Latinx, and Indigenous staff to promote a stronger professional development experience. DEI Mentors are experienced leaders and managers who take on a hybrid role of mentor and advocate.

While we always strive to improve, we are proud of our track record. A few highlights include:

• 75-percent of colleagues of color who have been at Bridgespan for six months to two years agree there are supports in place to encourage their growth and long-term success
• Of new hires with tenure less than six months, 100-percent agree there is someone at Bridgespan who cares about their success and is looking out for them

Community

We are committed to building community, relationships, and support among our colleagues from underrepresented backgrounds.

Community Dialogues: Many of our colleagues participate in Community Dialogues, a voluntary 10-week program that invites staff from all levels to talk about issues of identity and how it affects their personal and professional lives.

Annual retreats: We host an annual API, BABs, and LATBA summit that coincides with the annual Bain & Company BABs and LATBA summit and biannual BGLAD summit to provide an opportunity for members of affinity groups to come together to build community and learn from one another. Additionally, our leadership meets annually with all staff of color at Bridgespan to understand their felt experience.

Identity-based affinity groups: We offer affinity groups for staff in each of Bridgespan’s offices and at all levels of the firm. These forums provide opportunities to build community and receive mentorship be mentored and support from peers. Click here to learn more about our affinity groups.

Women at Bridgespan

Women at Bridgespan (W@B) identifies, celebrates, and continues to provide an environment where women thrive. W@B welcomes all people who identify with women’s spaces, including cis and transwomen and non-binary femmes. W@B has several priorities:

• Explore the unique challenges women face professionally and personally
• Advocate for the individual and collective needs of women
• Continue to advance Bridgespan’s racial and global equity goals by incorporating an intersectional approach to gender and race
• Elevating women of color to leadership positions within Bridgespan

Mobility at Bridgespan

Mobility at Bridgespan (M@B) is a community forum for Bridgespan staff to engage with topics related to and the lived experience of economic and social mobility globally. The group works toward this vision through three priorities:

• Staff Retention: Providing mentoring, programming, and institutional support for staff who come from underprivileged socio-economic backgrounds and/or have experienced financial hardship
• Staff Recruitment: Pursuing outreach opportunities to encourage individuals with low-income backgrounds to apply to Bridgespan and supporting candidates with additional coaching given our understanding of the systemic barriers faced by candidates who have experienced financial hardship or have low-income backgrounds
• Ongoing Learning: Applying insights and research about social mobility to improve how Bridgespan supports its employees, conducts its operations, and engages its clients

We use trainings, dialogue, the engagement of external leaders, and other approaches to create a culture where everyone feels equipped to engage on issues of race and racial equity.

As leaders engaged in social justice work, each of us at Bridgespan is on a journey to resist, combat, and heal from the effects of racism. This personal racial equity journey looks fundamentally different for people who have been the targets of racism than it does those who have benefited from and perpetuated it. We provide a variety of resources and forums to support all Bridgespan employees in their racial equity journeys.

Racial Equity Working Group

The Racial Equity Working Group (REWG) promotes a racial equity mindset at Bridgespan, both internally and in our work with others. The REWG supports all staff on the journey of expanding their knowledge and improving their ability to discuss issues of race and racism.

The REWG:

• Builds awareness of the ways that race and racial equity play out in key areas of our work through guest speakers, book clubs, and other opportunities
• Nurtures a community of practice among staff to study, analyze, and discuss issues of race and racism in a safe and productive environment
• Provides role models who demonstrate how to have productive conversations and build conscious community around issues of race and equity
• Keeps a pulse on potential opportunities or barriers to developing a racial equity mindset in each office
• Collaborates with leadership to define our core beliefs about racial equity
• Supports recruitment and retention of people who can contribute to our community of practice
• Provides space for staff to grieve and process relevant current events

India Equity Working Group

The India Equity Working Group (IEWG) promotes the adoption of a gender and caste equity mindset within our Mumbai office. The IEWG supports all staff on the journey of expanding their knowledge and improving our ability to discuss issues of gender and caste.

White Accountability Learning Collective

The White Accountability Learning Collective (WALC) is a dedicated space for white employees to continue their racial equity learning journeys without burdening colleagues of color. WALC participants meet in small groups of five to six people for one hour per month to discuss a topic related to racial equity, with a particular focus on the role of white privilege, including power dynamics in multiracial dialogues, microaggressions, white identity politics, and cultural appropriation. WALC designs these groups to be relevant for people at all stages of their racial equity journeys. Group members commit to meeting regularly for at least nine months to allow time for accountability and personal growth.

Inclusive Culture Committees

The Inclusive Culture Committee (ICC) in each office leads efforts to promote the more inclusive culture that is critical to our racial equity strategy and global mindset work. Specific efforts vary by office, but we have four consistent, key goals:

• Create greater buy-in and shared understanding around office norms to produce more inclusive behaviors where every staff member, regardless of role, feels valued and seen
• Improve feedback across lines of difference to ensure under-represented groups receive equitable and asset-based opportunities for growth
• Translate our commitment to racial equity into action in our day-to-day interactions
• Create team environments that are engaging, psychologically safe, and build relationships and connections among team members