Current DEI Programming

JEDIs for Democracy Fellows

The United States and other parts of the western world are undergoing massive demographic shifts. In his latest book The Great Experiment, Yascha Mounk states “Never in history has a democracy succeeded in being both diverse and equal, treating members of many different ethnic or religious groups fairly. And yet achieving that goal is now central to the democratic project in countries around the world.”

We need space, time and safety to explore options for co-creating our future. We need to pilot ideas and practices that could strengthen our commitment to democracy. The 2-year cycle is currently designed to keep us in an endless loop about elections. What our nation needs is more imagination, creativity and experimentation. We need functional governance. And in this time of increasing political violence, how might we avoid or minimize harm with a future vision of inclusion and belonging – for all people. All. People.

To make this a reality, we need advocates for Justice, Equity, Dignity and Inclusion, or JEDIs for democracy.

August 2022-July 2023, Bridge Alliance will convene to advance The Great Experiment of the United States by supporting a group of 30 JEDI fellows, containing a BIPOC majority as a representation of the future of our nation. These JEDI Fellows will actively engage around deepening relationships, sensemaking and solutions to sticking points in our current system; receive leadership development and a foundation on which to draw for the rest of their careers. They will have deepened and lasting relationships across multiple sectors and locations in addition to an improved skill set for movements and changemakers. Convening partners considered.

In August 2022 Bridge Alliance established a group of 30 JEDI fellows, containing a BIPOC majority as a representation of the future of our nation. These JEDI Fellows actively engage around deepening relationships, sense-making and solutions to sticking points in our current system; receive leadership development and a foundation on which to draw for the rest of their careers. It is through deepened and lasting relationships across multiple sectors and locations in addition to an improved skill set that further movements and change makers.

“To make diverse democracies endure, and even thrive, we need to create a world in which our ascriptive identities come to matter less—not because we ignore the injustices that still characterize the United States and so many other countries around the world, but because we have succeeded in addressing them.” Yascha Mounk

Bridge Alliance Catalytic Leaders Initiative

Our community reaches from national nonprofit leaders to local social entrepreneurs but due to the pandemic there has been a hardening of mindsets into the ”silo” mentality of each person’s work being the most important work. Our work, with partner communities, will allow us to reignite the togetherness and true sense of community needed to turn ideas into action. The Catalytic Leaders Initiative will help us to connect with select leaders who are most engaged in the social cohesion work in their local communities.

The strength of our initiative’s model is in partnering with regional anchors like community foundations and/or intermediary organizations. These strategic partners offer valuable resources as well as eminent presence in targeted communities. Each partner’s mission commits to sustain perpetual impact within their communities. This forward-thinking partnership design serves as a critical pipeline of human capital and monetary resources towards promoting sustainability and solvency. Partnering entities strongly advise and support identifying and resourcing place-based leaders; specifically BIPOC+. Participants are selected through an application process and vetted by our collaborative partners and stakeholders in context.

The program consists of six (6) learning modules examining the “core intelligences" of catalytic leadership and organizations for greater social impact. It is a six-month to 8-month cohort learning experience curated for uniquely diverse entrepreneurs, practitioners, advocates and creatives that are civic and/or socially engaged. This form of praxis is built upon a collection of strategically-designed instruction, discussions activities, as well as networking regional and national content experts and leaders. A hybrid learning design was adopted to ensure responsiveness to varied course altering dynamics. This personal development experience is built upon with alumni groups that allow for follow-up networking and bridging between local and national cohorts.

This initiative reaches from national nonprofit leaders to local social entrepreneurs but due to the pandemic there has been a hardening of mindsets into the ”silo” mentality of each person’s work being the most important work. Our work, with partner communities, will allow us to reignite the togetherness and true sense of community needed to turn ideas into action. The Catalytic Leaders Initiative will help us to connect with select leaders who are most engaged in the social cohesion work in their local communities.

The program consists of modules examining the “core intelligences" of catalytic leadership and organizations for greater social impact. This cohort learning experience is curated for uniquely diverse entrepreneurs, practitioners, advocates and creatives that are civic and/or socially engaged. This form of praxis is built upon a collection of strategically-designed instruction, discussions activities, as well as networking regional and national content experts and leaders. A hybrid learning design is adopted to ensure responsiveness to varied course altering dynamics. This personal development experience is built upon with alumni groups that allow for follow-up networking and bridging between local and national cohorts.

The Diversity Report

The Bridge Alliance Education Fund Annual Diversity Report is designed to measure the progress of identity representation within the Healthy Self Governance Movement in comparison with the general population of the United States.

Each year, Bridge Alliance collects information via research and survey results to take a count of age, racial/ethnic, geographic, ideological and gender diversity among our member organization executives and board members. This information is published side by side with census bureau statistics for a direct comparison of our demographics and the demographics of the nation we are working to revitalize.

Our goal is to keep track of the state of representation in the Healthy Self Governance Movement and raise awareness of steps that can be taken related to all DEI work with the hopes of having the movement be more reflective of the demographics of the country and of Bridge Alliance members specifically representing diverse viewpoints.

This report is a call to enlarge our understanding that we are a diverse nation and to thrive as a people we must provide room for more diverse perspectives. Bridge Alliance will continue to offer programs to members and invitations for membership to increase the diversity of our member organizations. Opportunities for people to connect, engage, and develop authentic relationships will expand. As our network grows, our “operating system” will naturally become more diverse, equitable and inclusive.

View our archived projects here.