This September, Bridgespan leaders will gather in New York alongside the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and Climate Week NYC—joining critical conversations, participating in events, and hosting convenings of our own. We will be connecting with leaders across philanthropy and the social sector to exchange ideas and help advance solutions to some of today’s most consequential challenges, with conversations spanning AI and the future of the social sector; climate and health; community-driven change; gender equity; big-bet philanthropy; the role of private capital in catalyzing change at scale, and more.

If you’ll be in New York, we’d welcome the opportunity to connect.

Meet the Bridgespan Team at UNGA and Climate Week NYC 2026

Bridgespan colleagues from across geographies will be in New York during UNGA and Climate Week NYC, convening and participating in conversations across philanthropy and the social sector.

Bridgespan Leaders Convening Conversations

Other Bridgespan Leaders at UNGA and Climate Week NYC

Bridgespan is convening and supporting a number of events alongside UNGA and Climate Week NYC

Bridgespan will host and co-host a series of gatherings throughout the week with leaders from philanthropy and the social sector. All events are invitation-only. If you have questions, please contact [email protected].

Big Bet CEO Breakfast & Panel Discussion (invitation only)
Hosted by: The Bridgespan Group
Bridgespan host: Sridhar Prasad
Overview: A peer gathering for nonprofit CEOs who are stewarding philanthropic “big bets.”

Community-Driven Change: Rethinking Risk and Investing in the Process (invitation only)
Hosted by: The Bridgespan Group
Bridgespan host: Madhuri Mukherjee
Overview: A conversation exploring how funders can rethink risk, decision making, and the processes they use to support communities in driving lasting impact.

Climate & Health Funders Coalition Annual Meeting (invitation only)
Hosted by: Climate & Health Funders Coalition, supported by The Bridgespan Group
Bridgespan host: Sonali Patel
Overview: A closed-door meeting for members of the Climate & Health Funders Coalition to advance shared priorities and collaboration at the intersection of climate and health.

Climate & Health Funders Coalition Community Cocktail Reception (invitation only)
Hosted by: Climate & Health Funders Coalition, supported by The Bridgespan Group
Bridgespan host: Sonali Patel
Overview: An evening of connection and conversation with funders and partners from across the climate and health field.

Deals to Deployment: What Climate Projects Really Take (invitation only)
Hosted by: The Bridgespan Group & Summa Foundation
Bridgespan host: Steph Kater
Overview: A conversation focused on what it takes to move climate projects from financing and dealmaking to successful deployment and impact.

Gender Equity in Philanthropy Community of Practice Working Meeting & Dinner (invitation only)
Hosted by: The Bridgespan Group
Bridgespan co-hosts: Debby Bielak and Nidhi Sahni
Overview: A closed-door working session and dinner for members of the Gender Equity in Philanthropy Community of Practice to deepen peer learning, exchange perspectives, and advance the group’s shared work.

Philanthropic Collaboration in AI and Global Health Innovation (invitation only)
Hosted by: The Bridgespan Group and Gates Foundation
Bridgespan host: Alison Powell
Overview: A panel discussion exploring the intersection of collaborative philanthropy and AI – with a lens on global health innovation.

Private Capital, Public Impact: How Philanthropy Can Catalyze Change at Scale (invitation only)
Hosted by: Institute of Philanthropy, Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and The Bridgespan Group
Bridgespan co-hosts: Jeff Bradach and Sonali Patel
Overview: An off-the-record dialogue for philanthropic principals and senior leaders exploring how philanthropy can move more capital from intention to action, where different forms of giving can add distinctive value, and what roles funders are best positioned to play in helping promising initiatives achieve lasting impact at scale.

Recoding Impact: AI and the Future of the Global Social Sector (invitation only)
Hosted by: The Bridgespan Group
Bridgespan co-hosts: Nate Wong and Derek Brine
Overview: A panel, lightning talks, and networking among social sector leaders (primarily nonprofits) about how AI is reshaping organizations, communities, and the sector globally.

Strengthening the Indian American Diaspora Philanthropic Ecosystem (invitation only)
Hosted by: Ford Foundation and The Bridgespan Group
Bridgespan host: Rohit Menezes
Overview: Recognizing the relevance and potential of Indian American philanthropy, an intimate group of practitioners and observers will gather for a facilitated discussion to explore how to strengthen the US Indian diaspora philanthropy ecosystem. We look forward to surfacing emerging opportunities, testing ideas, and co-creating next steps to increase the flow of philanthropy, including to India.

Unlocking Diaspora Wealth: African Diaspora Leading Innovations in Catalytic Philanthropy (invitation only)
Hosted by: Wealth4Impact, The Rockefeller Foundation, and The Bridgespan Group
Bridgespan host: Madhuri Mukherjee
Overview: A convening of Africans in the Diaspora, leaders in wealth management, family offices, and strategic philanthropy to explore opportunities for unlocking Diaspora wealth to advance sustainable growth and development on the African Continent.

Connect with Bridgespan

All gatherings are invitation-only, and some have limited capacity. If you’ll be in New York during UNGA and Climate Week NYC, we’d welcome the opportunity to connect—please contact [email protected] to learn more about a particular conversation or to connect with our team.

Bridgespan Research and Insights Shaping our Conversations

Explore Bridgespan research and insights shaping our UNGA and Climate Week conversations—from AI to community-driven change to climate and health, achieving impact at scale, and more.

For Philanthropic Leaders

AI

• Public Interest Technology in the Age of AI: Lessons from a Decade of Field Building and Investment
• How the James Irvine Foundation Learned Alongside Its Grantees

Climate

• How Philanthropy Can Shape AI’s Role in Climate and Health (coming soon)   
• Winning on Climate Change: How Philanthropy Can Spur Major Progress over the Next Decade

Community-Driven Change

• Rethinking Risk: Why Direct Funding to Communities Works
• Community-Driven Change: Demonstrating Impact in Africa and India
• Community-Driven Change: Putting people in the driver’s seat of their change

Gender Equity in Philanthropy

• Why Philanthropic Work in Gender Equity Should Include Men and Boys
• Why Gender Matters for Funders in Any Issue Area
• Lighting the Way: A Report for Philanthropy on the Power and Promise of Feminist Movements

High-Impact Philanthropy

• The Largest Institutional Philanthropies Expand Giving Amidst Global Challenges
• High-Impact Philanthropy: Giving Better Across Asia and the World
• High-Impact Approaches to Corporate Giving
• Slow Philanthropy: Why Giving by the Ultra-Wealthy Often Lags Behind Their Ambitions—and What Could Help Move Money Faster
• How America's Most Generous Philanthropists Are Giving Big

Philanthropic Collaboratives

• Collaboratives as a Philanthropic Asset Class
• The Power of Collaboration at a Time of Volatility in Global Health and Development
• The Growing Momentum Behind Philanthropic Collaboratives in India
• Philanthropic Collaborations in Africa and Their Unique Potential
• Collaborative Giving in Southeast Asia 2025
• The Philanthropic Collaborative Landscape
• Bridgespan's Resource Page on Philanthropic Collaboratives

Unlocking Greater Diaspora Support in India and Africa

• Pathways to Unlock Transformative Giving by Indian Diaspora in the United States
• Unlocking Diaspora Giving for Africa's Long-Term Development
• Indian American Philanthropy: Strengthening Values and Community Across Generations (coming soon)
  
  

For Nonprofit and NGO Leaders

Data, Technology and AI Strategy

• Choosing Your AI Path: A Framework for Nonprofit Leaders to Make Strategic Choices
• AI Can’t Be Ignored: Exploring the Opportunities for Nonprofits and the Social Sector
• Closing the Nonprofit Funding Gap in the Age of AI
• Who is Shaping the Future of AI?

Stewarding large, multiyear philanthropic gifts

• Learning from Nonprofits and NGOs That Have Put Large, Flexible Grants to Work
• The Impact of Large, Unrestricted Grants on Nonprofits
• Unleashing Philanthropy's Big Bets for Social Change
• Becoming Big Bettable