Meyer Foundation Partners with The Bridgespan Group to Launch Leading for Impact – DC Region

Innovative, five-year initiative brings Bridgespan expertise to leadership teams from 50 of the region’s leading nonprofits as they work to scale programming and accelerate impact

WASHINGTON, DC — The Meyer Foundation announced today that it has partnered with a group of private donors and The Bridgespan Group, one of the nation’s leading nonprofit consulting and advisory firms, to launch Leading for Impact – DC Region, a new program that will provide training, coaching, and consulting support to the leadership teams of 50 organizations over the next five years.

This initiative is being launched in conjunction with the Meyer Foundation’s recently announced strategic plan, which includes an expanded commitment to capacity building as a strategy for increasing the sustainability and impact of nonprofit organizations working to build a more equitable region.

Through Leading for Impact – DC Region, executive leadership teams from 50 locally-focused nonprofits will have an opportunity to hone their strategic and organizational management skills and then immediately apply those skills to projects that have an impact on the community.

Each team will receive project-consulting support, leadership capacity building, and counsel from Bridgespan senior consultants over a two-year period. They will gain access to these services with a minimal investment, thanks to grant support from Meyer and a group of local funders that includes Lisa and Josh Bernstein, the Case Foundation, Wendy Goldberg, Donald Graham, Rob Stewart, Frank Williams, Mary Menell Zients, and an anonymous donor.

According to Bridgespan chairman and co-founder Tom Tierney, “Leading for Impact is unique in that it is designed for nonprofit CEOs and their executive teams to learn together and build increased alignment on strategy. This enables the team to drive continuous performance improvement over time.” Organizations apply to participate in the program. “Through the application process, our goal is to identify a group of ambitious organizations and leaders eager to refresh their skills, apply new tools to the challenges they’re facing, and exchange ideas with their peers,” says Tierney.

The eight organizations accepted into the first cohort of Leading for Impact – DC Region are: AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation, Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, CentroNia, Chavez Schools, Identity, Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, Northern Virginia Family Service, and Urban Alliance. A second round of participants will begin the program in September, with additional cohorts launching in 2017 and 2018.

Nonprofits interested in applying for the program can learn more at the Leading for Impact — DC Region website or by contacting Bridgespan at leadership@bridgespan.org.