Episode 13: The Startup Accelerator for Democracy: How Bridge is Changing Texas Nonprofits

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This week, have an exciting conversation with Drew from Bridge, an organization that focuses on democracy and justice initiatives.

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Awesome, thank you so much for joining us on Beyond Giving, Drew. I’m super excited to help our listeners learn more about Bridge and the amazing impact you guys are creating. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Yeah, Zac, thank you for having me and thank you for everything that you’re doing at Nonprofit HQ, man. It’s uh like really great stuff. know, empowering change makers is what it’s all about for us. And so  coming across or having the opportunity to bring on a change maker that creates other change makers is like,  is amazing.

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So what actually is Bridge? Can you kind of walk us through what your  organization is, what your mission is and how you’re creating that change? Yeah, I joke with folks that Bridge is a startup starting startups,  right? know, because we’re only about four and a half years old. But we’ve accomplished a lot in that amount of time. And,  you know, the way that  Bridge got started was  I was an executive director  of  a civic engagement uh nonprofit.

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here in Texas and I was lucky to have really good mentors and folks that I could lean on. um But, you know, uh several years into  scaling that organization,  I  had other organizations, other like founders and people who wanted to start their own.

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civic engagement nonprofits come to me and was like, how are you fundraising? How are you,  you know, like managing your finances? How did you scale from $90,000 a year to 3.5 million in five years? Right.  And, um,  and what I found is there wasn’t like a lot of spaces for those like early stage nonprofits that are doing democracy and justice work. And, um, so  when I, uh, when I stepped away from move Texas and, uh, handed it over to the,  the staff that’s leading it now,  um, that is when.

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I was like, I want to create this space and I don’t want it to be, uh know, where it’s  like just temporary consultant type stuff, right? It’s like we are a home for these organizations where  when they’re  at their smallest and at their most vulnerable to when they’re, know,  millions of dollars of annual budget and that kind of thing. so  Bridge empowers civic engagement organizations to build stronger teams and  grow sustainable revenues and

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and really scale their impact. And we do that uh for  democracy and justice organizations across Texas. That’s awesome. Cool. And so you’re taking these, uh they start with you,  the journey, I guess, of these organizations through Bridge. They start pretty young, right? Go through your uh incubator program and then graduate onto the accelerator program. Yeah, we have like a whole pipeline now  for organizations. we,  you know,

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we interact with organizations that could be just like a concept, right?  Like just an idea. And  that’s on the earlier stage of our pipeline through like uh orgs that are like, hey,  we’ve done great work for several years. We have one or two staff members, but  we just need the,  you know, the revenue and the know-how to be able to scale this work. so, um know, our  programmatically, we have uh startup school, which is our like,

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resource hub.  So that’s open for anybody in the democracy and justice space in Texas  to uh get  resources and tools and things like that to like, how do I even start an organization? How do I file of  C3? uh What is fiscal sponsorship? All of that stuff.  Our next program is called Launchpad. And that’s really where we are beginning to give

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Promising organizations access to legal support, financial support, and in the future, fiscal sponsorship. So  saying like, hey, here  is a solid foundation for you to like uh lay your plans in place and get going.  And then, um you know, our next program is Incubator. That’s a 15-week program. It comes with a $5,000 grant. these are typically for,  this space is typically for volunteer-led organizations. But we…

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uh really meet those organizations where they’re at and help them,  you know, like  get clarity on who they are as an organization, what they do.  And then um our last few programs, Accelerator is our flagship. That’s what we’re most known for. uh It’s a 50,000 direct funding to be selected into that. It’s highly competitive. We also uh run  a $50,000 plus supported fundraising campaign with those folks and they  exceed that almost every time. uh

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And, but we really focus on scaling organizations in that space. So,  so that’s, you know, fundraising and strategy and, you know, human resources and management and things like that.  Once they graduate from either incubator accelerator, they go into our alumni program, which is called collective, and they continue to get support from us  throughout, uh you know, as we go along. And then  the other thing,  our last program is called rest residency. And we know that like,

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the nonprofit sector is burning out leaders. so we have a, we’re developing a facilitated sabbatical program so that like founders who often don’t have the access to sabbaticals, like they can say, okay, I’m going to take, I’m going to take a month off. going to take two months off. And then our staff helps support their organization. And so that they don’t have to worry about like, is stuff getting, you know, like what if

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that somebody has a question or whatever or they’re getting bugged while they’re, uh you know,  and they can really fully step away. They can fully rest and then our folks help their organization. That’s such an interesting concept and one that I haven’t heard anywhere else in like all the different uh areas that we touch in the nonprofit space because that’s so true. Nonprofit leaders are constantly burned out, right? They’re putting everything into their organization.

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And they often don’t have a moment to step back, to clear their mind, to think about something else and kind of reset. So that’s, that’s interesting. One of the things you said  you had mentioned was in one of your programs was that the incubator program, you said you meet them on their terms. You understand what it is they need. um Can you kind of expand on that a little bit? Because that’s also, I think a pretty unique characteristic in what would differentiate an organization like Bridge from others that are that quick. Here’s a thing box checked, move forward, right? Yeah, we’re.

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highly tailored to each individual organization. um And  that’s all of our programs, but especially we are to sort of, uh you

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growth programs, which is Incubator and Accelerator.  so leaders that are selected for those programs,  they get  executive coaching, right? And that is like weekly conversations about like, are your goals? What are your intentions? Like, this program is  creating these outputs. Is that what you really want? Right? And so we’re very deliberate about um

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you know,  helping them understand like what their impact is on the ground and how does that show up,  you know, for  like their mission, vision and value.

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And, you know, and some, so for some groups, they come into Accelerator and they’re like, I just need to raise money, right? um And we’re like, okay, great. Like let’s put wood on the fire and go from there.  And then some groups will come in and say like, I need to really solidify,  you know, um the  operation side of the organization, or I need to really  learn how to budget and manage my finances.  you know, fundraising isn’t that  much of a priority. And so we really just take

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that to each organization so that when they leave,  they have their own like accomplishments and their own metrics and that kind of stuff. And we don’t really define that for them. We believe that organizers on the ground know  like what their community solutions are and we’re just there to amplify it. That’s so cool. Cause you’re right. Like the organization knows what it is that their goals are, how, where they should get there and they just need some support to get to that end goal. So that’s really cool that you guys tailor it that way. What are some of the most common needs that you find for

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organizations coming through your program? it mostly you know bookkeeping and finances? Is it mostly fundraising? Is it like compliance? Like where is it all of it? um You know we have a wide range of like  things that folks come to us to help  to help with but  our number one is obviously fundraising right you know um and uh often we see organizations who come to us and they’re like we have a fundraising problem right and so we when we actually

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dive into it and look at it. It’s not necessarily like a fundraising problem. It’s more of a programmatic identity. There’s some way that they’re either talking to funders about the organization or the way that they’ve structured things or maybe they’re using a lot of jargon or something like that. And so once we can kind of go in and clean up some of that and help them reshape that, then the fundraising stuff takes off. And we also have a

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component of our fundraising training program called Money Mindset, which is like  the way that you and I think about money is the way that our parents and grandparents thought about money, right? And so like really trying to  help leaders.

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you know,  reshape that, right? Like, you know, I grew up in a very rural,  low income part of Georgia, right? And, um and then now most of my job is talking to millionaires and  them to give money to causes that we care about. Right. So  that’s a much different thing and has taken me time to sort of like navigate that. And so like helping leaders navigate that um and  be able to show up in those donor conversations, conversations, confident  and, and make courageous.

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ask. That’s so cool like some resources and support like that especially for people that dedicate their lives for making positive change in their communities is amazing.  I want to change direction just a little bit and talk about your background Drew. What did you do before all of this uh and how did you land in your current seat at Bridge?  I um joke with like students that I go to colleges and talk to because I’m like uh there you know I’m a perfect example of like not having it

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figured out.  I have a very like serpentine career path. um You know, when I was  I grew up in rural Georgia,  I, uh you know, grew up on a farm loved nature loved animals. um And,  you know, really wanted to kind of be a farmer  whenever I was going through high school and what kind of farmer I wanted to grow wine actually I wanted to grow. Oh, okay. grow grapes and there’s no

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there at least at that time, there’s no great vineyards in Georgia and that kind of thing. so, um,  so I was like, I’m going to, uh, like go to Europe and,  you know, I was too young to get into viticulture school in the United States, too young to go to culinary school.  And so, um, so  I, um, sat down with my parents one morning and was like, I bought a one way ticket to Heathrow and I’m going to go to England and study wine.  And, uh, my mom thought she’d never see me again, you know, um,  but, uh, but yeah, the next week I was.

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flying to London. Over a week or two, I found a job at a pub and that paid the bills. And then during the day, I was an assistant sommelier at a… uh

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you know,  Michelin uh restaurant and hotel in Hyde Park.  And so I learned wine during the day and I practiced like, you know, uh the business of spirits and, and, and everything in the evening. I did that for a year or so, and then came back,  went to the Coney Institute of America  and graduated from there in Hyde Park, learned how to cook, learn even more about wine.  And so I spent 10 years in the wine business. um You know, I worked mostly in retail  and that’s what actually brought

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me to Texas.  When I landed in San Antonio, my now husband and I found out  that we could be evicted from our apartment  and our kids if  the landlord didn’t want to rent to a gay couple. um And this was 2011 and it was pre- Not even that long ago. That’s crazy that that was a thing so recently. um so we found organizers who were organizing for a non-discrimination order.

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and plugged in there and  did some of that. uh in 2013 when that passed, I was like, this is what I should be doing.

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And so  I pivoted out of the private sector into the public sector. uh I did a White House internship  in the Obama administration and  the  Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation  and came back to UT Austin at the Annette Strauss Institute for a year uh and really studied like what does civic life look like in Texas and what does that look like for young people?  And then  after a year there, I landed at MOVE Texas and spent five years uh at that phenomenal

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organization  and, uh you know, grew that  from,  you know, one city when I got there was San Antonio and now  they’re in  six, seven cities and, uh you know,  just doing incredible impact. We registered 120,000 voters during the time I was there  and, uh you know, trained, you know, hundreds of incredible organizers that are doing great work across the state and nation now.  And, uh and so that’s, you know, after I left, uh like I said, after

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I founded Bridge and I’ve been doing that for four and a half years now and it’s like the most impactful work of my life. I get to work with passionate folks who have a real love of whatever issue they are fighting for, whether that’s democracy or climate justice or racial justice or any of those things. And I’m able to sort of like make a small contribution to their

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growth. That’s crazy. So farmer to small, a to chef to  political change maker.  And I also own a bonsai nursery now. I’m uh nice. It’s a full circle story. Absolutely. That’s crazy. So what were some of the challenges that you, as you transitioned  into the space where bridges and like you did your white house internship and all of that, what were some of those challenges that you kind of

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discovered or encountered along that way because that’s quite a career transition, right? Quite a change in path. Yeah, you know, I I internship I interned with County Commissioner here in Barrett County and you know, I was I was this my very first internship. I was I was.

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going to school for public administration at UTSA. so, but I remember telling him one day, was like, I loved commissioner’s court so much. I loved everything we were doing there. And I was like, I I lamented to him. was like, I’ve wasted 10 years in the retail sector. And he looked at me and said, all politics are retail. Like it’s every, you being able to build a relationship with somebody, whether that is a voter,

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or whether that is a customer or whatever um is like so important. And that just like turned a light bulb on for me. It was one of those things of I immediately was like these skills that I’ve spent uh a decade plus um honing.

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are transferable, right? um And so, um so,  so yeah, so I,  I feel like  the things I learned back in the wine industry, uh you know,  inform me every single day uh at Bridge, you know, I,  you know, in the wine industry, I would take care of folks, right? I would help them  pick the best wine for their Thanksgiving meal or pick the best uh stuff for their,  for their daughter’s wedding, right? um And, and match it with their food and that kind of thing. And  at Bridge,

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we have that same sort of service mindset of like,  I am here to help that founder, that team be successful. And, uh and that’s,  we sort of bring that to that space. And so,  so yeah, so, you know, while I have all of these different,  uh, you know, um

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nerdy skills.  They all are sort of like, uh you know,  transferable in some ways and continue to my work today. Definitely. Yeah, I think in everything you do, regardless of what direction you go with your career, um everything you’ve done previously creates those transferable skills and really sets you up for  whatever it is that you want to do next. Now, ah with Bridge specifically, you founded the organization, right? And so you bring kind of that unique perspective of

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creating an organization, building it, scaling it, creating, driving the programs and the different things that you do now. So how does that translate into or inform the programs and the support that you provide the organizations that come through Bridge programs? Yeah, that’s a great question. um When I’m teaching somebody how to fundraise, I  have been in their shoes where it’s like, um I’ve gotten the nose from funders, or  we’re close to payroll.

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And we need to raise money right now so that we can make payroll in four weeks or  four months or whatever that is.  And um so I understand the pressures  of  that um really demanding uh side of the work. um When we think of all of the just like incredible organizations  in  the nonprofit sector, they all started out at this same space, right? They all started out with one or two people or a group of people’s concept.

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and were sort of built out by that group and then added to and added to and scaled. um And so  the thing that uh I really appreciate by doing this work is that  we believe that strong leaders build strong movements  and that by teaching things like systems and clarity, that unlocks impact um in organizations and that.

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know, progress isn’t just a political idea, it’s like an actual practice.  So there are things you can do to move your organization, your work forward, and it’s very  sort of tangible um and  requires focus, requires prioritization, right? Requires decision making and things like that.  it uh is one of those things that I believe that, you know, m we have uh centered ourselves

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in that work. um And  when I started Bridge, you know, there was  not really that  many spaces like this, right? um We were the first state-based accelerator program for democracy and justice startups in the United States. um And so we work within  this giant state that is Texas, you know, you could fit six Ohio’s here, right? but because of that, you know, like there are places in East Texas that have no

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you know, organizations that are registering voters, right? Now they do because we helped an organization called Estee Potera start up there, right? You know, and there’s places in West Texas that don’t have anybody fighting for climate justice, right? And there are those,  those groups there now, right? And, um and so we’re able to  really like look at the 30,000 foot view and see where there are gaps  and then sort of help them start and then get integrated into the entire ecosystem. So  they’re

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working in tandem beside the larger organizations and in coalition work and things like that. Do you ever just like  step back and see, even if it’s like dots on a map, right? All of these organizations and initiatives that you guys helped start that came through your program and you’re just like, damn, we did that. Yeah, it’s, in four years we’ve helped 36 organizations start or scale, right?  And so, last year alone, uh 9 million of new money.

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to the state via our network. uh so that is,  know,  whenever we have a summit once a year where we get all the alumni together, which we call collective.  And so at the collective summit,  I really stand in the back and sort of almost tear up because it’s like, look at this room that wasn’t here four years ago, right? um And that, you know,  there are now organizers in Beaumont, you know, doing climate justice work there, or there are organizers in the Rio Grande Valley.

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doing high school voter registration, or there are folks in the north part of Dallas that are  doing get out vote work. And so it’s really super rewarding. And  I have an incredible team.  We’re up to 17 members now, which is great. Congratulations. Thank you.  But I get to work with incredibly smart, talented, and passionate people that do the support of this network on a day-to-day basis.

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So 36 organizations supported, $9 million in new money into Texas. If we rewind a bit to the first days of Bridge, what did that look like and how did you bring in your first cohorts and your first organizations to your programs and really even establish what programs you needed to provide?  like, okay, I’m asking a ton of questions right now, but let’s just go back to the beginning of Bridge. What was that like?  Yeah,  you know,

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All of my executive director friends told me they’re like, you should take some time off after you leave, move, take six months off and just kind of relax at home.  And I’m a bad vacationer. You vacation with your MacBook.  So I got like 15, 20 days into that and I’m like, I gotta find something to do, right? uh

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You know,  I had already been sort of had a white paper on like what I thought Bridge could be and that kind of stuff. And, um you know, Robert Revar and a few others found out about like what I was uh talking about and doing, and then it sort of hit the news. So I was like, well, I got to go. Right. And, uh and so um that was, you know, May, June of 2021. We, um I knew that an accelerator was going to be our sort of, you know, core piece of like, how do we.

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help organizations figure out what they need and how to get them to grow. um And  that was, uh so that’s where we started at,  was our accelerator program. And our very first cohort had two San Antonio orgs and a Dallas org. uh so, but we met  here in San Antonio uh every six weeks.  We worked side by side with them. At that point, it was just me. And I had a couple, uh like,

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contract coaches. um but we, you know, really helped those two,  those three organizations just  flourish. um And we learned a lot of things of like  what they needed and what they didn’t need and what they  needed, but they didn’t know  they needed. um And, uh and,  you know, so it, uh taught us uh a lot, um lots of failures in that first year or so, you know, I think that it was,  you know, we, um we had to tell a donor

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that donors weren’t used to, right? Which is like, hey, we are this  organization that’s helping these organizations grow.  And so donors are like, well, why do we need to give to you if we can just give directly to them, right? uh And so  it’s like, well, know, and so explaining like how we  nurture those organizations, also encouraging them to give directly to those organizations um and why the ecosystem mattered. And so… um

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You know,  the very next year we did Accelerator 2 and Accelerator 3. uh And this year we are currently in Accelerator 7. uh we’ll do, uh we did three incubator classes this year. We’ll do another, another new incubator was just announced for January  for greater Houston.  And then next year will be a lot of like support work on the ground uh for a

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So  it you know, we’ve learned so much every single program  iterates on top of the next one um based on feedback and and listening to  folks on the ground and what they need and uh and then also  Helping them,  you know helping them  find out what they don’t know. Right? Yeah  I think that’s probably one of the biggest challenges to have  of the various different people that start nonprofits, right? um

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They  are often very motivated by the impact they’re creating, whatever that mission is, and that’s really important.  But they also don’t know  what they should know or how they should do things on the business side of that, right? Compliance, um how you manage those finances, how you create that donor narrative, how you even clearly describe what it is that you’re trying to do, right?  So I think that’s pretty cool. But we’ve talked a lot about how Bridge supports kind of those  organizations as they’re coming up through your program.  But you’ve mentioned a few times your alumni support as well.

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And I know earlier you mentioned that it’s not a, this is a problem we’re solving here. When they’re brought into your portfolio or your network, they have long-term support. So what does that kind of look like for organizations that went through all the Bridge programs that are out there? They’re scaling. What kind of support are they able to still receive from Bridge and then maybe even give back to that Bridge network?  Yeah, we call our collective space a community of practice because we don’t see ourselves as a table. We don’t see ourselves as like some sort of

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or that kind of thing,  we really look at ourselves as like, we are a community that are practicing different things altogether.  And we’re learning together,  we’re strengthening each other together,  and  they are teaching us just as much as what we’re teaching.

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um And  so  we have uh lots of opportunities, you know, from our collective summit, which is  once a year, everybody gets together from all across the state and,  you know, has two or three days worth of workshops  and trainings and  fellowship time together, rest. um But then also, ah you know, we have uh year-round leadership coaching. um We  also do things like  what  we call intensives.  So  we will pick a theme like this.

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year was fundraising, right? And so  alumni groups will apply to that program and then we  go really deep with those groups and into their fundraising strategy. And so this year,  during that program, we had some alumni that, you know,  draft dramatically diversified their donor base,  you know, by adding additional major donors or individual donors or institutional donors. And  we had one group that um came up with an entirely like new  alternative revenue model  where they  set up a co-working space and

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started charging other organizations, you know, like reasonable fees to kind of work together, right? And so that creates additional revenue for them that they don’t have to go fundraise for and stuff like that. so.  That’s such a cool and  sorry to interrupt there, but I just want to, I want to highlight that because what you pointed out is something that a lot of nonprofits kind of miss, right? They think they can’t charge for anything. They can’t like bring in these additional streams of revenue. uh Why is it so important that they do that?

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Because it’s  one, you know, like they are the experts on the ground, right? So like they are the ones that are out there,  whether it’s on a college campus or in high school or in a community center that are talking to folks every single day, right?  So yeah, so they should be  sharing that information with… um

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coalition members or that kind of stuff, but they should also like charge for that, right? You know, they should also,  they are spending  money, time, resources to go get that information. It should also be,  you know, shared and  resources should be shared, right?  And so there’s lots of different ways to sort of like  operate, operationalize that.  Whether that is, you know, shared space together, um event space, know, consulting resources.

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back office  support,  all of those things. There’s lots of different ways to do that. And so we helped that organization sort of build that  model,  which they have now grown and they’ve opened  an adjacent art gallery. Wow. So they have this whole like sort of like space within McAllen, Texas, where,  you know, they can invite people and have them, you know, interact with them in a much more deep, meaningful way, get ticket sales for it. That’s so cool.

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local artists and that kind of stuff.  then we also within that space help organize donors too, right? um you know, uh donors are like, I want to support an organization in, you know, um in South Texas or greater Houston, and that does this work. And we’re able to like point them to the organizations in our network that do that  and uh help  prepare the leader to have that conversation with the donor, help the donor get as much information as they need to. And then, you know, hopefully there’s a match.

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Yeah, that’s pretty cool.  And so you guys have already created so much legacy, so much impact through Bridge. What’s next? What’s the next maybe five years or 10 years at Bridge look like? Yeah, I think that we’re really thinking  very intentional and deliberate about where  like where the state is right now um and uh and what are the issues that are most important regionally and to

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to the state in the future. Obviously,  we do a lot of democracy work. this year we saw redistricting and a mid-year cycle, um And  so 2030 is right around the corner. There’s a new census. There’s a redistricting  possibility there.  And so we’re preparing political organizations and civic organizations to get ready for that. We’re also,  I feel like the two sort of uh themes of my year as I’ve traveled around the

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state  this year have been organizational discipline and donor diversification. It’s been an  incredibly difficult fundraising year for most nonprofits, but especially civic and political nonprofits. m so, you know, um teaching them to focus on a core set of issues or a core set of things like activities, programs, and then also, you know, broaden your donor base as much as like  use.  We teach fundraising as an organization.

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organizing  like a concept. it’s like, you know,  I’m an organizer  at heart, right? So when I knock on somebody’s door and invite them to come out to vote, or  when I talk to somebody on a college campus and ask them to register to vote, you know, I’m inviting them into that space. um And uh really fundraising is the exact same thing. You’re,  are, when you’re talking to a funder, you are,  you know, you are giving them the information and then just asking them, like, do you want to join us? Right. And so we teach fundraising as

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as an organizing concept as well. And so in that, what would you say if you had to narrow it down, and you do have to narrow it down, ah there’s like so many important things about fundraising and when an organization thinks about fundraising or approaching a donor, what would you say is the most important? The practice of fundraising is the most important, right? um I think a lot of folks think that, a lot of leaders think if I have…

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great programs or if I, uh if,  you know,  I can have like the best work on the ground and that kind of stuff. And, uh and,  but why, why, why am I not raising money? Right. And it’s like, well, you know, often the first thing I do is like open your calendar and show me, show me where you.

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fundraise, show me like your work blocks and there’s often no work blocks um or there’s maybe  one hour where they’re sending emails, right? And it’s like, um you know, fundraising is a full-time plus plus job. uh so teaching founders that like, hey, when you start the organization, you’re probably really programmatic dominant, right?

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out in the field, you were talking to people, that kind of stuff.  But as the organization scales, especially as the organization scales, uh strategic work and fundraising work becomes  front and center.  so getting them to say, okay, I’m going to dedicate 10 or 15 or 20 hours this week to fundraising is the  hardest part, but also the most rewarding because when you see them actually do that work and  get over the

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of making an ask right or having a donor meeting or that kind of stuff,  then when they’re just there talking about the work and being passionate, like donors just light up and  you know, and money comes and that kind of stuff. And so being  very intentional about the practice of fundraising, I think is  the key part of that. Definitely. And do you find that  leaders kind of

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more often than not struggle making that transition when they get to that part to focus more on like say the fundraising and less on the programmatic side  or is it usually an easy transition or what do you guys find through your experience? It’s usually not an easy transition right because they got into the work because they love  talking to voters right or they love  registering students.

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schools or whatever, right? And so  they didn’t come to this work to uh write grants.  so  it’s a little bit of a mindset shift, right? um But  you know, like donors want to talk to…

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the executive director, the co-executive directors, the founder, right?  So they  want to have that conversation. So often  we see some founders who are like, I’ll just outsource that. Right.  But  you know, there’s usually mixed, mixed results on that because the donor is like, well, I just want to talk to the person who started the organization, right? Or I just want to, who’s leading the organization or has the vision. Right. And so, um so yeah, so,  you know, convincing them to dedicate that time and that that work is just as important.

34:27

as being out in the field and talking to folks and  that kind of thing is um sometimes a struggle, but like it’s part of the growth process. It’s part of them uh evolving in their own role as the organization evolves around them.  Definitely. Awesome. And so thinking about Bridge and the community, how can people support? What does Bridge need from the community? How can people get involved?  Yeah. um

34:52

That’s a great question. So first of all, you can find us. have two websites because we have two entities. We have a oh 501c3 entity called Bridge Infrastructure Fund,  and you can go to bridgeinfrastructure.org  to find out all of our  how we support um 501c3  democracy and justice organizations all across the state. um We also have uh 501c4, and that is called Bridge Movements Fund. And so if you go to bridgemovements.org, you can find all of our C4 organizations that we support there. um

35:22

And  so please give directly to those organizations. When you click on their name, it’ll take you directly to their website, right?  And we would also love if you  donate to us too. um And you can find those links directly on our website. The thing that we often are asked for the most is um volunteers uh from…

35:44

the philanthropic sector, people who are program officers at foundations or maybe nonprofit leaders themselves to help volunteer an hour, a quarter, a couple hours, a quarter to just visit with founders and hear their pitch, right? Give them some feedback on the way they’re talking about the organization or the way they’re thinking about something or that kind of stuff. And having those, the opportunity for them to talk

36:14

to a wide variety  of mentors and volunteers  is really great. So you can reach out to us directly on the website if you’re interested in volunteering that capacity and supporting organizations uh or you can follow us on social media. We’re at at Bridge Movements  on all the platforms and uh you know just keep up with our work.  You know we’re  a fast growing network and uh in the space  and we just have some

36:41

really incredible leaders that are going to be,  you know, the future,  you know, governors, lieutenant governors, city council members,  all across Texas that are, that are building and  building movements right now. That’s amazing. Um, we’ll have all that information in the show description and the show notes as well.  So our listeners can connect with Bridge. Uh, thank you so much for coming on the show, Drew.  Um, I really enjoyed the conversation learning about the impact that you guys are creating, and I’m super excited to follow along and see where you guys go from here.

37:11

Well, from one founder to another, thank you for what you do as well, Zac. I know this work is really difficult and just really grateful for  you creating this space for nonprofits to learn about each other and from each other and  everything you’re doing to connect uh nonprofits  and their  folks together. So appreciate you. Awesome. Thank you so much.