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Nonprofit social sector capability planning

At Bain we work to increase the capabilities of our partners in the social sector. While we do that on all of our social sector assignments, we have also created some other innovative programs to make a big difference to charities and social enterprises.

External partnerships and collaborations

  • The Bridgespan Group (US): Incubated at Bain & Company and incorporated in 2000 as an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, the Bridgespan Group's mission is to build a better world by strengthening the ability of nonprofit organizations and philanthropy to achieve breakthrough results in addressing society's most important challenges and opportunities. Bridgespan offers multiple professional services for nonprofit organizations and philanthropy including management consulting, executive search services, philanthropy advising and leadership development. And it broadly shares knowledge gained across all engagements with the social sector. Bridgespan's creation is a proof point for Bain's innovation and desire to build capacity in the social sector. As independent organizations, Bain and Bridgespan continue to collaborate through joint cases and case support, intellectual property development, joint worldwide training sessions and a robust externship program. Since 2000, Bridgespan has served nearly 450 clients with many Bain externs supporting their work. Bain and Bridgespan are both immensely proud of our symbiotic relationship and are excited about what the future holds for both firms.
  • Australian Charities Fund (Sydney): The Australian Charities Fund was incubated by Bain & Company Australia in 2003 when a team of consultants recognised that the lack of an easy, tax-efficient way for employees to give was hampering generosity to charities and social causes. Since then the group has worked tirelessly to achieve their vision to see significant social impact through employers and community organizations working together. This includes workplace giving, but also consulting on corporate community engagement, skilled volunteering, knowledge sharing and research. ACF is still hosted in Bain's offices, with employees of all levels actively getting involved in board membership, pro bono projects and every-day volunteering.
  • Sounding Board (London): This innovative program teams our partners and managers with CEOs of UK charities for informal mentoring. In addition, we offer the group seminars where we explore how Bain consulting ideas and tools can be applied to nonprofits. We work with almost 20 of the leading charities in the UK such as The Prince's Trust, Private Equity Foundation, Impetus Trust, Brook the sexual health charity, Right to Play and others.
  • Social Ventures Australia (Sydney): Social Ventures Australia (SVA) focuses on helping social sector organizations increase their impact. Similar to Bridgespan, they offer consulting services to nonprofits through SVA Consulting, which has a strategic partnership with Bain Australia to share training, coaching, externship opportunities and joint case work. SVA also invests in nonprofits and works on initiatives to help foster sector development and innovation.

Externships

While Bainies can get actively involved in social impact work as part of their day-to-day experience, many choose to take advantage of our externship program to spend 6-12 months working with a nonprofit or social enterprise of their choice. We find that these externships not only fulfill a personal passion, they also build valuable skills which are highly relevant to their work as a Bain consultant as well.

Our #1 externship partner is Bridgespan, which has over the years had over 100 Bain employees rotate through their ranks. People have enjoyed nonprofit externships at many other organizations, for example:

  • Carbon Trust
  • ASHOKA
  • World Childhood Foundation
  • Voice for Global Change
  • Acumen Fund
  • FINCA
  • Clinton Foundation
  • Apollo Philanthropy Partners
  • Gramshree
  • Achievement First
  • Grace at Fort Clarke
  • City of Atlanta
  • African Leadership Academy
  • Unitus
  • Civic Consulting Alliance
  • Teach for America
  • Ugandan American Partnership Organization
  • Teens Turning Green

In addition, for MBA hires we offer as part of our January Enrichment Program an opportunity to do a paid placement with a nonprofit prior to joining Bain.

Alumni

Bain can also be a spring board for those who are passionate about a long-term career in the social sector. We boast many alumni at large, prestigious nonprofits and even more leading organizations they founded themselves. These executives are leveraging the Bain toolkit to transform lives, communities and our world.