What We Do / Build
Building initiatives and partnerships
From cross-sector partnerships to multi-funder initiatives, we leverage our experience in nonprofit, private and public sectors to bring projects and people together.
Understand shared needs and goals. Overcome differences. Forge a common vision for success. These are the cornerstones needed to build successful ventures. BWB Solutions works with foundations, nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies to collaborate in extraordinarily effective partnerships. We bring a broad range of constituencies together, and then:
- Identify opportunities and additional potential partners
- Find common ground
- Negotiate roles and relationships
- Develop and shape funding streams
- Create an efficient management and organizational structure
- Facilitate project launch and provide management guidance
Some recent projects include:
Living Cities: a national response to the foreclosure crisis
21 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions have come together to create Living Cities, a collaborative effort to reinvest in and re-engineer America’s cities. BWB Solutions helped to create and co-manage a Living Cities pilot program to mitigate the negative impacts of mass foreclosures. In just six months, we led a planning group of 15 funders and staff through the process of crafting a grant program, choosing sites, and awarding $5 million in grants to pilot programs across the country.
The National Home Safety Partnership
BWB Solutions was engaged by Travelers Property Casualty, State Farm Insurance, and NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit organization focusing on housing and community development issues, to help create the National Home Safety Partnership. This new coalition of homeownership insurers, city agencies, foundations, and community-based organizations developed tools and approaches to make homes safer and to reduce insurance losses in 29 cities across the U.S. Activities include safety education, free home inspections, and long-term, low-interest loans for home repairs.
Workforce Innovation Networks
BWB Solutions helped U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and Jobs for the Future to create Workforce Innovation Networks (WINs). WINs is a national program linking small businesses, community colleges, and high schools. WINs improves the workforce development system to better meet the needs of employers for an entry-level workforce, and the needs of non-college bound youth for family-supporting jobs with career ladders. BWB helped the three partners to design the program and find funding; it is now being implemented in 25 cities around the country.
An analysis of shared service alliances for the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Shared services alliances provide a range of ‘back-office’ support for early childhood education organizations. These alliances offer the benefit of scale and cost efficiencies without losing the advantages of running independent, autonomous organizations. Our planning team identified potential stakeholders, organized a national conference for providers and funders interested in exploring alliances, and developed a comprehensive set of tools designed to help organizations start their own alliances. In collaboration with the Casey, William Penn, and Merage Foundations, we’re currently working in several cities around the country to create new alliances.