Senior-level Job Board Hits 1,000 Postings

Boston, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 11/30/2006 --Bridgestar, a nonprofit initiative of the Bridgespan Group dedicated to attracting, connecting and supporting senior leaders for the sector, announced today that it has reached a significant milestone: its 20,000th member. Launched nearly three years ago in Dec. 2003, Bridgestar provides talent-matching, content and tools to help organizations build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. The organization has doubled its membership over the past 15 months.

Bridgestar also announced that its job board, which lists only senior-level positions with nonprofit organizations around the country, hit its own milestone: 1,000 postings since its launch. Current postings include positions for executive directors, CFOs, COOs and other senior jobs in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont. The success of the job board, which has included 500 postings this year alone, is due to growing awareness of the site and of Bridgestar’s niche in offering only senior leadership positions.

Established in part because Bridgespan recognized there will be a leadership deficit in the sector – now estimated at 640,000 senior positions over the next decade – Bridgestar serves as a resource for learning both how to find talent and how to apply that talent. The organization offers recruiting and talent-matching services, content, connections and other tools for organizations and individuals.

Members include individuals interested in pursuing nonprofit leadership and board positions; and nearly 1,750 organizations and foundations spread across 49 states and Washington, D.C. and worldwide.

Organization members operate across a range of service areas including the environment, human services, elder services, human rights, and youth services, and include: American Red Cross, Omidyar Network, Skoll Foundation, Share Our Strength, The Boston Foundation, Michael J. Fox Foundation, Robin Hood Foundation, Children’s Aid Society, and others. Bridgestar also maintains strong relationships with business schools, universities, and other academic institutions including Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School and the Kennedy School of Government, Boston University School of Management, the Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Pace University, Baruch College, The Wharton School, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and many others.

“Doubling the number of members in 15 months is an important achievement, one that validates Bridgestar’s mission. What’s even more significant is our members’ involvement in Bridgestar’s offerings. Organizations rely on content like Bridgestar’s popular and recently expanded Hiring Toolkit and the COO resource center to help them think about how to scope and recruit for senior positions. They closely read ‘Leadership Matters,’ our monthly newsletter. They come to us for talent-matching and other recruiting services, including free postings on our job board,” said David Simms, Bridgestar Managing Partner.

Bridgestar also offers many resources for individual members, whether they currently hold positions in nonprofit organizations or are considering “bridging” from business into the nonprofit sector.

“The Bridgestar job board, which posts senior leadership positions, is an invaluable resource for members planning their careers,” Simms added. “The initial response to our new online COO resource center has been extremely positive; our COO LISTSERV® is growing. Members currently in business or serving on boards tell us that they value our ‘Guide to the Nonprofit Sector,’ a section of Bridgestar.org that offers insights and tools for exploring paths into the nonprofit sector and finding board and senior leadership opportunities, and members have been introduced to board opportunities through our relationship with boardnetUSA. In addition, several of our “bridger” seminars in Boston and New York City have been oversubscribed.”

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

Talent-matching
Members find senior leadership positions and/or recruit senior executives through Bridgestar’s flexible menu of recruiting services and free job board. Bridgestar conducts searches for organizations across the country, and has completed more than 100 talent-matching engagements. Using the job board, individuals can browse and apply for nonprofit senior leadership positions, and manage their resumes and other documents. Members can also apply for board of director openings or identify board candidates through Bridgestar’s partnership with boardnetUSA.

Access to content
Bridgestar offers leading-edge management perspectives and advice, including prevailing and innovative practices as well as original research, surveys, reports, and findings from the Bridgespan Group. Designed to help organization and individual members alike, the content is available on Bridgestar.com and through it monthly newsletter, “Leadership Matters.”

Each month "Leadership Matters" picks a different recruiting- or career-related theme designed as a conversation about how to build and sustain effective nonprofit organizations. Previous issues have offered the comprehensive “Guide to Navigating the Hiring Process” and “Guide to Bridging,” and have featured articles on the role of the nonprofit COO, flexible work arrangements, and business planning for nonprofits.

Networking and community events
Members can also connect to other leaders to learn from others, to share their expertise, and participate in peer groups, roundtables, online discussions, and all-member gatherings. Past Bridgestar community events have included: Independent Sector’s Diana Aviv discussing how to improve nonprofit accountability and "Good to Great: Lessons for the Social Sector" a presentation by best-selling author Jim Collins, who discussed how to build great, sustainable nonprofit organizations. Members also participate in informal networking groups and the COO LISTSERV®.

About Bridgestar
Bridgestar, an initiative of the Bridgespan Group, is a nonprofit organization providing talent-matching services, content, and tools designed to help organizations build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. Bridgestar’s goal is to attract, connect, and support senior talent, leading to greater organizational effectiveness and social impact.