Andy McCullough, Bridges of Opportunity
Andy McCullough founded Bridges of Opportunity after ten years of directing a nonprofit he started. He helps people launch sustainable nonprofits, including by serving as their fiscal sponsor, and addresses burnout for nonprofit leaders through workshops, coaching, and learning communities.
Who are you, who do you serve, and what are you focused on right now?
We have two main areas we serve in. One is helping people launch, either by serving as their fiscal sponsor and/or coaching them through how to launch sustainable nonprofits. The other area of focus is addressing issues of burnout for nonprofit leaders through workshops, coaching, and learning communities.
What led you into this work?
I was in year 10 of directing a nonprofit I had launched and took a much-needed sabbatical. Knowing that the average time for a nonprofit director is five years and burnout is huge, I felt that while a sabbatical is great if you can do it, we needed another way.
Nonprofit leaders have a difficult job trying to solve major issues against a host of obstacles. We needed a rhythm of taking deliberate pauses in order to sustain the work. While I was thinking through all this, I found a little book that echoed my thoughts and used the analogy of eddies. So I have adopted this idea that while we maneuver this river with huge obstacles, we need to find and utilize the eddies that give us time to rest, reflect, recover, and reorient.
Within a year after my sabbatical, I decided to start Bridges of Opportunity to use my personal experience in launching and leading nonprofits to help guide other leaders.
What was one of the hardest parts of building your career or business?
The fiscal sponsorship has been the easiest to start because I found so many people who were plugging along doing grassroots work on their own and needed help. I have really just let people find us through word of mouth. Because we add a coaching element to our fiscal sponsorship, we are trying not to grow past our ability to really serve these projects beyond simply the fiduciary responsibility.
The coaching of other nonprofit leaders has been slower. We formed a community of leaders that gathers monthly, but I find they mostly see the urgency of funding or planning. While we could help in those areas, we want to focus on the internal. So the challenge is helping leaders see how critical this is. I think they realize it, but they can't see a way around how busy and overwhelming the work is to take a break from saving the world.
What's a project you're proud of?
I recently ran into one of the artists we are a fiscal sponsor for. She was with her husband, explaining what Bridges of Opportunity does.
For eight years, this trio of muralists has been doing incredible work in our community under the banner of Alley Art Amazin'! They have transformed our little town with over 100 murals, but they did it on their own with no official nonprofit status. Since we became their fiscal sponsor, I meet with them monthly to help them plan. They have since gotten a large grant from the city and have started some new projects just through me talking through their goals with them and helping them think through how to execute them.
Sarah was explaining all this to her husband and expressing her gratitude for what I have been doing, and how taking on the finances has freed them up to just focus on what they do best. I don't know. It made me proud. I love each of the leaders we are helping, and I feel like this is being repeated over and over. I went from leading one nonprofit to helping so many others, so I feel my impact is increasing just by serving and encouraging them.
What are you building right now?
I really hope to launch a learning community or cohort. I like leading collaborations because I think if you get good leaders around a table, they help each other more than I can one-on-one. I also want to keep recruiting others to join us, so it's a good group of leaders helping build a community to impact the community. We will continue the monthly gatherings as free, but the cohort will have a more focused discussion on this specific topic.
What belief about consulting or nonprofit work has changed for you?
Once I started gathering nonprofit leaders, I really saw how much they want to help each other. I sometimes think people take a competitive approach to funding or other things, and some still do. But I have been pleasantly surprised how much other leaders love to share the wealth and help each other, and how much leaders love being around peers. They really understand each other's challenges, even if the size and scope of the work is different.
What advice would you give someone earlier in their journey?
Find peers. It's important for nonprofit leaders to spend time with their staff, volunteers, board, those they serve, etc. But there's something gained from being around other leaders. We all have similar challenges and can learn from and encourage one another. I am surprised too by how quickly leaders will look for ways to collaborate. It doesn't always work out, but there are some overlaps in our missions that give space for this.