BRIDGE Incubator Class 3 is intentionally designed for early stage civic engagement and advocacy projects based in the Rio Grande Valley. For more information on eligibility, see details below. 


BRIDGE Incubator Class 3 Program Dates: April 5, 2024 to June 30, 2024

Final Application Deadline EXTENDED: Friday, March 8, 2024 at 11:59 pm CST

Application Review: Rolling interviews beginning on February 12, 2024, so apply early!

Decisions Announcement: Week of March 11, 2024

About BRIDGE:

An acronym for Building Resourced Infrastructure for Diverse Grassroots Engagement, BRIDGE connects, empowers, and celebrates a progressive community of grassroots organizations and changemakers across Texas. Through education, strategic support, and trust-based funding, we're transforming diverse visions into collective impact for a more just and inclusive state. Progress starts here.

At BRIDGE, we know the best solutions to our most challenging issues are already in our communities. Most of these new ideas and projects are led by Black, Latine, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and young people. Yet as startup nonprofit organizations, coalitions, or concepts, many of these leaders and their transformational work are often under-funded and under-resourced. 

BRIDGE is changing this dynamic across Texas, one democracy and justice startup at a time. BRIDGE’s unique programs are perfectly designed to serve founders and new community organizing work from Day One.

About BRIDGE Incubator:

BRIDGE Incubator is a space for early stage civic engagement and social justice projects in Texas to learn, grow, and thrive together. 

We provide unrestricted seed funding. We connect you to other civic engagement organizations, funders, movement leaders, activists, and political representatives to expand your networks. Through restful weekend retreats, we transform whole leaders, not just nonprofit professionals.

At the end of the Incubator program, you will celebrate your organization's growth since beginning the program. You will also remain connected to the wider BRIDGE community, with unique benefits like continued coaching sessions, opportunities for organizational support, and personal growth experiences. 

During Incubator, BRIDGE provides:

• $5,000 in early unrestricted funds to provide extra support as leaders establish their organizations and grow their programmatic impact quickly;
• 3 weekend retreats to work closely with BRIDGE staff and coaches and hone their mission, vision, and values, craft their organizational storytelling, improve their programmatic performance, and plug into the broader progressive community in Texas;
• Weekly coaching sessions with BRIDGE on executive strategy, programs, organizing, data, advocacy, leadership development, and organizational culture, with some fundraising, operations, finance, and more throughout the program;
• Access to our innovative Legal Coaching Program;
• Exclusive leadership dinners with current and former executive directors and founders, coalition leaders, major donors, and movement leaders;
• Talent bank access for hiring top-tier organizers, advocates, fundraisers, nonprofit professionals, and consultants across the state; and,
• The opportunity to participate in BRIDGE Collective, our alumni space shaping the future of Texas.

 Who Should Apply?

BRIDGE centers its work on building a diverse, multiracial network of grassroots organizations, projects, and coalitions led by organizers, activists, storytellers, and data nerds from across Texas. 

• Rio Grande Valley Exclusive Opportunity: At BRIDGE, we recognize the need to strengthen democracy and justice equitably. Incubator Class 3 is intentionally designed to support projects and organizations based in the Rio Grande Valley. All Incubator Class 3 applicants must have active civic engagement and/or social justice programs in one or more of the following counties to qualify: Cameron County, Hidalgo County, Starr County, and Willacy County.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: BRIDGE enthusiastically encourages Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, queer, and trans-led and-serving initiatives to apply to all of our programs.
• Project Stage: We welcome applications from concept, strategy, experimentation, and startup stage projects. The most successful applicants often have raised less than $100,000 in funding and are led by volunteers, a founder, and/or a co-founder team. Here is how we define those stages:
• Concept: "We have a big idea"
• Strategy: "We have plans"
• Experimentation: "We're doing some work with volunteers"
• Startup: "We're doing work every day with paid staff and volunteers"
• Entity Formation: If formally incorporated, the initiative must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. If you have not filed for entity formation, you may still apply to BRIDGE Incubator with the intention to become a formal nonprofit entity in the near future.
• Evergreen Program Impact: Applicants must engage Texans year-round in:
• Civic engagement/democracy activities such as voter registration, voter education, get out the vote (GOTV) efforts, policy advocacy, and leadership development; and/or,
• Social justice activities such as issue advocacy, direct action, ballot initiatives, base building, communications, and leadership development.

BRIDGE has intentionally designed the Incubator application process to be broad in order to encourage diverse innovative, experimental, and imaginative democracy and justice initiatives to apply. You know your community best, so we want to hear your ideas and projects to engage more Texans. 

Selections Process:

Final applicants will be invited to a 30-minute virtual interview. 

Decisions will be made by BRIDGE Incubator’s Selection Committee, which consists of BRIDGE senior staff, BRIDGE coaches, Texas progressive movement leaders, and BRIDGE alumni.

The tentative selections process timeline is as follows (subject to change):

• Application Review: Rolling basis February 12, 2024, so apply early!
• Final Application Deadline: Friday, March 8, 2024 at 11:59 pm CST
• Incubator Class 3 Program Dates: April 5, 2024 to June 30, 2024
  

Ready to help bring transformative change to the Rio Grande Valley? Well, let's get started!