Bridge Builder Strategies

04/27/2026

Want to know how the Indianapolis Colts build fan loyalty — or how Indianapolis Motor Speedway turns a century of racing history into a modern business? Come find out in person!

Bridge Builder Strategies' Inside the Brand: Sports Marketing Immersive Experience puts you inside two of Indianapolis's most iconic organizations for a day of real access, real conversations, and real career connections. You'll hear directly from industry leaders, compete in a live pitch competition, and walk away with a clearer picture of what a career in sports business actually looks like.

📅 June 12, 2026 | Indianapolis, IN
🔒 Only 10 spots available

Apply before May 15 👉 https://www.bridgebuilderstrategies.com/immersive-experiences

04/24/2026

The Immersive Experience is underway!

Today, Bridge Builder Strategies is on-site with students from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Marian University Indianapolis, Wabash College, Purdue University, and the University of Cincinnati, getting a firsthand look at what construction and engineering management actually looks like in the field.

Mark Moran, President and CEO of Circle B Construction Systems, is taking students beyond the classroom and onto active job sites, where real decisions get made and real projects take shape.

If you want to be part of the next one, follow us and stay tuned for more updates!

04/22/2026

The best recruitment tool most nonprofits have isn't a job posting. It's the experience they give volunteers today.

When someone leaves a volunteer shift feeling like their time built something real, that story travels. Into their networks, their classrooms, their professional circles. Organizations that design programs worth someone's time build a reputation that draws aligned talent before a role ever opens.

John Brandon, Senior Vice President of Nonprofit Sector at Bridge Builder Strategies, outlines what that kind of program actually requires: role clarity, skill matching, and a structure that lets people grow into greater responsibility over time. The organizations that get this right are shaping how their mission is perceived from the outside in — and quietly developing a pipeline of people who already believe in the work.

Read the full guide: https://www.bridgebuilderstrategies.com/post/make-every-volunteer-hour-count

Volunteers do more than “help out.” The challenge is not finding generous people. It is building a structure that turns generosity into reliable, high-value work.

04/20/2026

More applications doesn't mean easier hiring. For most organizations, it means more noise and a narrower window to act.

Handshake's 2026 Internship Report shows application volume has tripled per role, and 50% of those applications come in during week one. The employers winning early-career talent aren't the ones with the most postings. They're the ones who built relationships before the role ever went live. For nonprofits and government agencies, where approval cycles run slower and brand presence runs thinner, that window closes even faster.

Workforce strategy is building the conditions where the right people already know who you are before you need them. That's exactly the kind of foundation Bridge Builder Strategies helps mission-driven organizations build — before the pressure hits, not after.

Ready to have the conversation: bridgebuilderstrategies.com

04/17/2026

There's a gap between having a strategic plan and having a strategy that actually works. Most leaders feel it, but few know how to name it.

Mike Simmons, Founder and CEO at Bridge Builder Strategies, joined Amisha Shrimanker on The Executive Compass to get into exactly that: why conventional planning tools are failing mission-driven organizations, what a backwards SWOT analysis is really costing you, and how the relationship between impact and revenue needs to be reframed entirely.

Listen to the full conversation here:
🎙️ https://youtu.be/rDxpWwW6TA0?si=FJe5CfYsfA0g-Xqj

Impact First

04/15/2026

Last week, Ally Kebede, an intern at Bridge Builder Strategies, organized a community blood drive — and the team rolled up their sleeves right alongside her.

A student at Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School and an upcoming freshman at Indiana University, Ally set a goal of 30 pints and walked away with 32 from 35 donors. That’s what happens when you give emerging leaders real responsibility, and it’s exactly the kind of community investment Bridge Builder Strategies is committed to showing up for. We are so proud of you, Ally!

04/13/2026

We're proud to announce that Bridge Builder Strategies Founder and CEO Mike Simmons will be speaking at the Close It Summit in Santa Fe, NM.

Mike will take the stage alongside Jennifer J. Deal of the Center for Effective Organizations at USC Marshall, Mark Goodman of Amatrol Inc. , Matthew McKenney of JobForward, and Titus Walker of Ultimate Endgamers League — joining a lineup of leaders dedicated to closing the skills gap between education, training, and employment.

The Close It Summit is less than a month away. If you're working at the intersection of education, career readiness, and economic mobility, this is a room worth being in.

Register here: https://closeit.org/

Join the 2026 Close It Summit in Santa Fe, NM, May 4-5, for career growth, networking, and industry insights. Don't miss this influential event.

04/10/2026

When was the last time a classroom prepared you for what the job actually looks like?

There's a gap between what's taught and what's practiced — and Bridge Builder Strategies's Immersive Experience in Construction and Engineering Management is designed to close it.

On April 24th in Indianapolis, participants get inside active job sites and into real conversations with executive leadership at Circle B Construction Systems, LLC, including President and CEO Mark Moran, to see firsthand how complex projects move from concept to completion. Today is the last day to apply, and only 10 spots are available.

Apply now: https://www.bridgebuilderstrategies.com/immersive-experiences

Our Immersive Learning Experiences take a hands-on approach that connects students directly with industry professionals, workplaces, and real-world projects.

04/08/2026

The talent pipeline is already showing cracks that most organizations haven't looked closely enough to see. For nonprofits, government agencies, and educational institutions, that's not a corporate headline to scroll past.

Research published on Medium confirms what many leaders are beginning to feel on the ground: entry-level employment in AI-exposed roles has already declined 13% since 2022, and three out of four employers globally are struggling to find qualified candidates today. The organizations still waiting on the next generation of workers to fill that gap are working with an incomplete strategy.

Don't wait for a vacancy to think strategically. Start building the internal infrastructure now — examining who you have, what each role truly requires, and how every hiring decision connects to long-term mission delivery. That's where workforce strategy stops being a human resources conversation and starts being an organizational one. At Bridge Builder Strategies, that's exactly the work we do alongside our partners.

Ready to start this conversation? Let's talk: www.bridgebuilderstrategies.com

04/06/2026

The April 24 Construction and Engineering Management Immersive Experience in Indianapolis is filling up, and the application deadline is April 10. For students who have been considering it, this is the window to move.

Participants will spend the day with executive leadership at Circle B Construction Systems, touring active job sites and gaining firsthand perspective on how complex projects move from concept to completion — the kind of access that is difficult to replicate in a classroom setting.

Only 10 spots are available. If this experience has been on your radar, don't let the deadline pass.

Learn more and apply at https://www.bridgebuilderstrategies.com/immersive-experiences