PLATINUM2023

BRIDGE COMMUNITIES INC

Glen Ellyn, IL   |  www.bridgecommunities.org

Mission

Through the help of our program partners and supporters, Bridge Communities provides free transitional housing to 100+ DuPage County families each year. During the two years each family spends in our program, they are able to save money, learn budgeting skills, and obtain better employment, so they can live self-sufficiently once they graduate. Mission: The mission of Bridge Communities is to transition homeless families to self-sufficiency by working with partners to provide mentoring, housing, and supportive services.

Ruling year info

1990

Interim Chief Executive Officer

Ms. Amy Van Polen

Main address

505 Crescent Blvd.

Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

36-3705951

NTEE code info

Temporary Shelter For the Homeless (L41)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Since we began in 1988, Bridge Communities has been committed to solving the crisis of family homelessness in DuPage County, Illinois.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Transitional Housing Program

Bridge Communities provides a holistic program of housing and supportive services, that provide the necessary elements to create permanent change in the lives of homeless families.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Families

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of homeless participants engaged in housing services

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults, Families, Children and youth

Related Program

Transitional Housing Program

Type of Metric

Context - describing the issue we work on

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Number of children and youth who have received access to stable housing

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Children and youth

Related Program

Transitional Housing Program

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Through the help of our program partners and supporters, Bridge Communities provides free transitional housing to 100+ homeless DuPage County families each year. During the two years each family spends in our program, they are able to save money, learn budgeting skills, and obtain better employment, so they can live self-sufficiently once they graduate.

Mission: The mission of Bridge Communities is to transition homeless families to self-sufficiency by working with partners to provide mentoring, housing, and supportive services.

Vision: Our vision is a community where all families are healthy, financially stable, and living in affordable housing.

When a family enters our transitional housing program, they are surrounded by a supportive team of volunteers and staff that helps them set long-terms goals right from the start, along with the resources to achieve them:
-Safe housing
-Mentoring and financial coaching
-Employment workshops, coaching and guidance
-Educational assessment and tutoring
-Parenting classes
-Nutritional coaching
-Counseling
-Case Management

And other services as required, to help ensure the family will never become homeless again.

We're capable of helping Bridge families achieve these goals because of several components working together:

-A rigorous intake process that ensures our clients have the qualifications, drive and tenacity to achieve long-term goals;
-A highly-engaged network of community volunteers dedicated to working one-on-one with clients throughout their stay in Bridge Communities;
-A committed donor base that continues to support us in the fight to eradicate family homelessness in our community;
-And a highly capable, compassionate, mission-driven staff.

We have successfully graduated 870+ families from our transitional housing program. We have also developed our children's services into a robust program of its own, providing assessments, setting goals and connecting parents to resources for each individual child, to ensure they will recover from the traumas inflicted by homelessness. Our plans are to continue expansion to meet demand for our program, and work toward affordable housing opportunities in DuPage County.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Through the help of our program partners and supporters, Bridge Communities provides free transitional housing to more than 100 DuPage County families experiencing homelessness each year.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection

Financials

BRIDGE COMMUNITIES INC
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

BRIDGE COMMUNITIES INC

Board of directors
as of 02/08/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Ms Laura Jenson

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/8/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 03/11/2022

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.