Featuring William Foster
Bridgespan Group Senior Partner and incoming Executive Director of the Jacobson Family Foundation
Co-Sponsored by UpStart Bay Area, the Foundation Center,
and the Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund
View the event video HERE.
"Bringing to scale" is one of the hottest phrases in philanthropy. In an era of scarcity and competition, in which we rely on nonprofits to not just "do good" but "solve problems," many philanthropic and nonprofit leaders are focused on growing good ideas to a size where they can actually solve challenges. But what does "scale" really mean?
William Foster has written that reaching scale signifies "arriving at a particular point that achieves the nonprofit's vision of success...scale is not a catchy synonym for growth but really means something particular to the nonprofit's mission."
Building upon a decade of primary research and client work with Bridgespan Group, Foster will lead a dynamic conversation about what nonprofits need to do in order to achieve scale, how their program models relate to their funding models, and philanthropy's central role and common failings in helping nonprofits reach this elusive goal.
Join us for this illuminating talk, and, as always, enjoy a chance to mix, mingle, schmooze, and connect with other members of the UpStart community.
DATE: October 18, 2011
TIME: 12 - 2 pm
COST: $35 general admission; $20 social entrepreneurs / nonprofit staff members. A vegetarian lunch will be served.
LOCATION: The Foundation Center, 312 Sutter Street, 2nd Floor Conference Room, San Francisco, CA 94108
William Foster has been with Bridgespan Group for close to ten years, as a partner, head of the Boston office, and leader of the firm’s practice on nonprofit funding and capital. His recent clients include Harlem Children’s Zone, Youth Villages and Communities In Schools, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, and the AVI CHAI Foundation. His most recent writings are “Ten Nonprofit Funding Models” (Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2009), “When You’ve Made Enough to Make a Difference” (Harvard Business Review, January 2011), and “Finding Your Funding Model” (Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2011). He serves on several boards, including, Congregation Or Atid in Wayland, Mass. As of October, Foster will become the executive director of the Jacobson Family Foundation in Boston and will focus his energies on nonprofits working on issues related to the vitality of the Jewish community and the State of Israel.
