The Samueli Foundation is partnering with The Bridgespan Group to help Orange County nonprofit organizations boost their effectiveness and amplify their impact

The Leading for Impact (LFI) and Leadership Accelerator program provides scholarship-supported access to coaching, leadership development, and peer learning for nonprofit organization executive teams. Through workshops, team-led projects, and executive coaching, LFI equips leaders with the tools to strengthen their organizations, drive sustainability, and expand community impact. Participating organizations share a portion of the program cost, ensuring mutual investment in their growth.

Leading for Impact® Program

Overview

Leading for Impact® is a comprehensive experience for nonprofit executive teams that helps them strengthen their overall leadership skills while also making progress on a specific strategic goal. The program can be particularly beneficial for organizations with new leadership or that are seeking to strengthen their leadership pipeline.

Key Components:

  • Classroom Workshops: Participants join cohorts of 6-8 nonprofits for a mix of in-person and virtual executive team workshops on strategy, organization, and team effectiveness.

  • Project: Executive teams also complete a team-led project, in which they apply strategic management concepts to their most critical priorities with extensive Bridgespan coaching. While projects are tailored to each organization, common project topics include: Setting and Leading Strategy, Making Strategic Decisions, and Leading a Strong Organization.

Leadership Accelerator Program

Overview

Bridgespan’s Leadership Accelerator is series of programs that help nonprofit leaders make progress on a specific strategic or organizational challenge. They are best for executive teams with a focused strategic need, or those who do not have the time or capacity to participate in a more comprehensive experience.

Each Accelerator program is divided into a series of “milestones.” Each milestone takes ~2-3 weeks to complete and has three key components: individual self-study, team working sessions, and group and individual coaching with a Bridgespan expert. There are four Accelerator programs for participants to choose from: Achieving Strategic Clarity, Investing in Future Leaders, Strengthening the Executive Team and Creating an Adaptive Plan.

Program Logistics & Eligibility

As we look to strengthen and support Orange County nonprofit organizations, we are looking at the following eligibility criteria:

  1. Your organization be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, not classified as a private foundation or have a fiscal sponsor that has 501(c)(3) status and provides written authorization confirming its willingness to act as the fiscal sponsor, or fall into one of the following categories:

    • Government entity (non-501(c)(3)): U.S. federal agencies territories and commonwealths, state agencies and departments and political subdivisions (including cities, counties, municipal agencies)

    • School: All K-12 public or nonprofit private schools, charter schools, community/junior colleges, state/private colleges, or universities. Institutions must have a NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) number or 501c3 tax status

    • Church or other faith-based organization with a proposed project that benefits the community at large, such as food pantries, soup kitchens and clothing closets

  2. Your nonprofit organization must serve Orange County communities.

  3. Your nonprofit organization must be based in Orange County.

  4. Your nonprofit organization must be aligned with the Samueli Foundation's mission and values.

Cohorts launch twice a year from 2025-2027.

The Samueli Foundation is providing a scholarship of ~80% of the cost for teams to participate in these programs. Organizations contribute a modest co-pay based on their organizational budget:

  • For LFI, the co-pay is $8,000 for organizations with <$5M in budget, $13,000 for $5-10M, and $18,0000 for organizations over $10M. (This is an eligible request for the Breakaway Fund. Learn how to apply.)

  • For Accelerator, teams contribute $2,000 per team regardless of budget size.

Interested in Learning More or Ready to Join?

Please complete our Interest Form, and we will follow-up with you and your team to learn more about your interest and organization's goals.

Program Overview Brief Interest Form