Diversity is the Operating System
Healthy Self-Governance
Given the imperative for the healthy self-governance field to become more equitable and inclusive, Bridge Alliance Education Fund is leading an effort for community-based organizations and leaders to build relationships with more established organizations and foundations within our network. Bridge Alliance Education Fund is committed to coalition building across sectors in order to provide community leaders and organizations with equitable resources, not normally available. The combined efforts of members and the coalition partners will provide modeling for the democracy reform space to be responsive to community issues, thereby expanding the number of people involved in social, cultural and democratic reforms. As we increase the diversity of who is “in the room” for collective action, we become more representative of the nation we are working to improve. We launched our first cohort in late March 2020.
Leaders MasterMind Cohort (click to meet members)
Spring - Summer 2020
A NEW-OLD WAY TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS AND ADVANCE GOOD WORK
As the nation reels from multiple crises, we are called upon to respond, connect and be resilient. It is also a time of great opportunity to reset and remind ourselves of the American dream, where everyone has an opportunity to succeed. As we upgrade the social contract and operating system of our country, we should do so with equity and inclusion as a foundation for the future.
Bridge Alliance Education Fund continues to bridge efforts of social entrepreneurs and spiritual leaders in local communities with national efforts to strengthen democratic practice. In this time of significant investment in the upcoming election and in the pandemic response the Bridge Alliance Leaders MasterMind Cohort is an investment of time, energy and talent not impeded by financial constraints. There are no costs to participate.
The Leaders MasterMind Cohort is a 6 week program in which community and organizational leaders convene weekly to share ideas, concept plans, projects or research.. This peer review style of individual and collaborative project development is designed to generate a diversity of opinions and develop relationships among leaders with common goals in an environment of creativity, imagination and constructive feedback. Leaders will present ideas, challenges and progress on their own initiatives. Personal coaching is also offered and encouraged by cohort leaders, and other thought partners.
We are limiting this program to 10 leaders, who are strongly encouraged to attend all six meetings and actively participate. Bridge Alliance will support individual initiative development through an explorative process that includes learning from others who do similar work, face similar challenges, and have diverse experiences. The MasterMind Cohort provides an opportunity to advance their work by engaging with cross-partisan leaders in strategic group work; receiving personalized coaching; and participating in special expert learning workshops. The aim is to strengthen each individual’s resilience by building bonds of trust and affection within the cohort while providing mutual aid.
OUTCOMES
MasterMind is a cohort-based program that provides an opportunity for social entrepreneurs and spiritual leaders to improve their effectiveness as leaders and, in turn, their organizations, adding to sustainability and scaling through a mutual-aid strategy of collaborative learning and peer coaching. Additionally we encourage community-based organizations and leaders to build relationships with more established organizations and foundations within our network.
SAMPLE AGENDA
Week 1: Introductions and explanation of MMC/Q&A
Weeks 2-4: Project Highlights: Participants will explain their concept including the stage of development and ultimate goals.. Cohort members offer resources, connection and feedback.
Week 5: Expert Speaker-TBD. As requested by the cohort members, experts in professional development, fundraising and other related topics can be invited to share their knowledge.
Week 6: What’s Next?: After perfecting the proposal and making proper connections, participants can share how their projects have evolved and offer insights in how the Leaders Master Cohort process has helped them so the process for future sessions can be improved.
NEXT STEPS
If you would like to apply for a future cohort, you may do so here.
HISTORY
As we looked around our inaugural summit in 2018, we noted that our participants were not representative of the nation as a whole. We needed more diversity in several key areas, namely ideological, ethnic/racial, faith, age, geography and more.