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The Bridge Alliance

The Bridge Alliance is non-partisan, non-profit organization with more than 80 member organizations. (http://www.bridgealliance.us/ourmembers) Its stated mission is “to transform the political process, from elections to governance, so the American people are heard loud and clear.” (http://www.bridgealliance.us/our_work) Specifically, its member organizations are involved in work on Civic Engagement; Governance and Policymaking; and Campaigns and the Election Process. Between its members, the Alliance has over 3 million supporters. (http://time.com/5109800/political-divide-republicans-donald-trump/).

The Bridge Alliance is nonpartisan and has conservative, liberal, and independent member organizations.

Structure

The Bridge Alliance is a 501(c)(4). It is led by David Nevins (President & Co-Director) and Debilyn Molineaux (Co-Founder & Co-Director).

The Bridge Alliance Education Fund is a 501(c)(3) that is closely affiliated with the Bridge Alliance. Its stated goal is to “promote and provide educational materials concerning nonpartisan civic engagement on governance, public policy matters, and and election processes.”

Between the member-based organization Bridge Alliance and the public education based organization Bridge Alliance Education Fund, activities include providing funding for collaborations of member organizations, increasing media attention for member activities and backbone services to members like peer-peer learning, convenings and weekly updates.

The Four Principles

In order to join the Bridge Alliance, an organization must agree to the Four Principles: (http://www.bridgealliance.us/ourmembers)

(1) Alliance members believe that our country is stronger when our leaders work together constructively to meet the challenges we face. (2) Alliance members advocate a stronger voice for citizens in the political and social process. (3) Alliance members believe that respectful, civil discourse is necessary for genuine problem-solving to address our great challenges. (4) Alliance members are committed to exploring learning from each other and aligning efforts in mutual support, as appropriate, for raising the collective visibility and impact of all member organizations.

Member Organizations

The Bridge Alliance has over 80 member organizations. They can be found here.

Bridge Action Grants

In 2017, the Bridge Alliance awarded $525,000 in Round One Bridge Action Grants to encourage member organizations to collaborate on political reforms at the local, state and national levels. The Grants were awarded to two dozen organizations that worked on ten different projects in the Bridge Alliance’s three areas of reform -- Governance, Civic Participation and Engagement, and Campaigns and Elections.

The Bridge Alliance Leaders Council The Bridge Alliance also announced the formation of the Bridge Alliance Leaders Council in 2018. The Leaders Council (or BALC, for short) consists of over two dozen leaders of the democracy reform movement, each representing a Bridge Alliance Member Organization. The goal of the BALC is to convince the politically philanthropic donor community to divert their money from individual candidates and campaigns to reform efforts. Strategic Partners In addition to its member organizations, the Bridge Alliance also has several strategic partners that coordinate with it on various projects and assist the Bridge Alliance with collaboration and providing assistance to Bridge Alliance members. Links https://ivn.us/2018/02/17/unrigging-the-system-reformers-civic-groups-take-action-following-historic-summit/ https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/17/american-democracy-four-pillars-activism-arlie-hochschild http://time.com/5109800/political-divide-republicans-donald-trump/ http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3631227 http://www.smerconish.com/interviews/build-political-bridges-divided-america/