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Knowledge Letter, Spring 2005 |
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Friends of the Bridgespan Group,
Just under a year and a half ago, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation asked Bridgespan to help answer a question both of our organizations have been puzzling over for the past several years: What challenges and opportunities do youth-serving organizations confront when they attempt to grow larger and expand their services?
To find out, Bridgespan examined the experiences of 20 youth-serving organizations that have successfully expanded their operations. What we discovered, while far from a full picture of the dynamics of growth, included several surprises. Among them: Any youth-serving nonprofit that attempts to grow so that it can serve more young people should be prepared for a roller coaster ride that at times might lead management to question why they started down this path. And just as important, we also found that any organization willing to navigate the "chutes and ladders" of growth can emerge larger, better staffed and structured, although still struggling to maintain sufficient funding to ensure their long-term viability.
This is just a first step toward a more comprehensive understanding of how growth occurs and the challenges growing organizations face. But we hope that by sharing these findings widely and inviting people like you and others to consider, discuss, and debate them, our society will be better prepared and better able to help high-performing nonprofits expand so they can serve many, many more young people who need their services.
As always, we invite your comments and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Nan
Stone
The Bridgespan Group
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IN THIS ISSUE
Data Point
New vs. Established Organizations: Where Are Funds Flowing in the Youth-Service Domain?
Bridgespan Perspective
Growth of Youth-Serving Organizations
Related Case Studies
Twenty case studies emerging from our Growth of Youth-Serving Organizations research
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DATA
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Click on chart to enlarge |
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New vs. Established Organizations:
Where Are Funds Flowing in the Youth-Service Domain?
Is the current flow of funds striking the right balance between fostering innovation and supporting what is already working? We analyzed a dataset (provided to us by the National Center for Charitable Statistics) which contained information from U.S. youth-serving organizations' IRS Form 990 documents. (For a complete description of our methodology, please refer to the Appendices (PDF) of the growth study.)
Total funds in the domain grew at rapid 11 percent annual rate, from $4.7 billion in 1997 to $8.0 billion in 2002. While much of this new funding was directed to established organizations, nearly one-third ($1.0 billion) went to newly created nonprofits. Does this trend point to a healthy spirit of innovation, or a diversion of scare resources away from organizations that are already positioned to contribute to the alleviation of the problems facing youth?
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BRIDGESPAN PERSPECTIVE
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Growth of Youth-Serving Organizations - White Paper (PDF)
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Bridgespan took an in-depth look at 20 youth-serving organizations that had experienced significant growth in recent years. This research produced a wealth of information about the experience and effects of growth in youth-serving organizations—far more than could be encompassed in a single document. As a result, we have chosen to present the material in two forms: a series of 20 case studies (see below for a complete list), which capture the particulars of each organization's growth story, and a White Paper (PDF), which calls out the observations that emerged most consistently across the interviews and data-gathering process. The Executive Summary (PDF) offers a brief synopsis of these observations.
For more information about the methodology of the study and for our related analysis of growth in the youth-service domain from a macro-economic perspective, please refer to the Appendices (PDF).
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RELATED CASE STUDIES
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After School Matters (PDF)
Managing rapid local expansion as a young organization
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The Big Sister Association of Greater Boston (PDF)
Growing rapidly while maintaining quality
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Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (PDF)
Slowing down to speed up growth
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Citizen Schools (PDF)
Creating a strong program locally as a basis for national expansion
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College Summit (PDF)
Balancing aggressive national expansion with centralized control
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Community In Schools of Atlanta (PDF)
Managing rapid local expansion
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Earth Force (PDF)
Building a national network while developing a new program offering and diversifying funding
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The East Bay Conservation Corps (PDF)
Evolving the service model while maintaining a clear and consistent mission
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Fullfillment Fund (PDF)
Managing programmatic growth
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Girls Incorporated of Alameda County (PDF)
Expanding a local service area and serving more beneficiaries with a high-quality array of programs
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Harlem Children's Zone (PDF)
Transforming the organization while scaling up in a tightly defined local service area
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Jumpstart (PDF)
Driving national growth with an evolving network structure
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Larkin Street Youth Services (PDF)
Creating a continuum of services to meet the evolving needs of homeless youth
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National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (PDF)
Building a scalable network to share its curriculum broadly
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The Posse Foundation (PDF)
Ensuring site consistency while expanding nationally
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Public Allies (PDF)
Building the infrastructure for growth
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The Steppingstone Foundation (PDF)
Expanding to new geographies while maintaining high-quality results
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Summer Search (PDF)
Increasing central oversight while expanding nationally
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Youth In Need (PDF)
Managing rapid growth through program diversification and regional expansion
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YouthBuild USA (PDF)
Achieving significant scale while guiding a national movement
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