Yes. We partner with companies, nonprofits, and organizations of all sizes and in all sectors. We’ve worked with partners as small as 3 employees and as large as 300,000. We’re grateful for the experience and expertise our different partners bring.

It varies. Some organizations partner with Braven for a single event. Many partners have worked with us for years. Their involvement varies, and we assign a personal Braven relationship manager to each partner in order to tailor the engagement that works best for them. We often hear from partners that these relationship managers make partnering easy; our streamlined resources allow them to make the maximum company impact with minimal logistical effort. That said, the more you put in, the more you’ll stand to gain.

We value our partnerships with organizations of all industries, sizes, and budget flexibility—and that means we don’t have a one-size-fits-all required financial commitment. Our partners are incredibly invested, and their investment takes different forms. For some smaller nonprofit organizations, for instance, their contribution comes in the form of their volunteers’ time and commitment. Our larger and more well-resourced partners, such as those in the finance and technology sectors, tend to offer a financial commitment to fuel our work in addition to their volunteer support.

When partners do have the ability to make a financial commitment, it goes a long way. As a nonprofit organization, as much as half of Braven’s budget comes from financial contributions from our employer partners. We hope that companies that have the ability to make a financial investment will do so. We work hard to ensure the Braven partnership is deeply valuable for them, too, providing enhanced support around talent recruitment and prioritizing them for skilled-volunteering engagements. We value all contributions, large and small, and we work with organizations to determine the commitment that’s right for them.

Absolutely, Braven is always willing to pilot partnerships. The first step we suggest for any prospective partner is to start with a volunteer engagement, given how central our mentoring programs are to Braven’s impact. These are an excellent way for employees to meet Braven’s Fellows and understand our program offerings. For example, some organizations begin their engagement with a one-time Braven volunteer event, such as a team conducting Mock Interviews. Afterwards, we connect and debrief with the partner to determine the path forward that will be most valuable to them and our Fellows alike. Braven has seen over and over again that where there is value, enduring partnerships follow.

There are two ways to hire Fellows. 

1. Partners can share job opportunities in our bi-weekly newsletter, which reaches thousands of Fellows and alumni. To do so, partners simply send Braven their opportunities through our Hire a Fellow form or by emailing a job description to their relationship manager. In addition to placing your opportunity in the newsletter, we’ll flag the names of candidates who apply to these roles and we believe would be a great fit.
2. We also offer partners access to our Talent Directory, which serves as an online resume book of Fellows. Partners can quickly search for Fellows by location, major, career interests, and other criteria—then reach out to those Fellows directly.

That said, we often find that the best matches come from organic connections that team members make with Fellows through volunteering. If you have an interest in hiring, let’s explore ways your team can get involved and start making direct connections with Braven Fellows.

We believe great talent comes from everywhere, and deliberately welcome all students from our higher education partners. Most Braven Fellows are sophomores or juniors. All our Fellows are pursuing four-year bachelors’ degrees, and they have varied career interests. The most common major of our Fellows in Chicago, for instance, is in Biology and Life Sciences, while the top major among Fellows in San José is Business. There’s no single career goal for Braven Fellows; we work with them to find the right path forward for their unique interests and dreams.

Our volunteers come from all walks of life. We recommend volunteers join us with at least two years of career experience, but we welcome partners at varied points in their professional journeys, from young professionals to empty nesters. Volunteers join us from many different fields and backgrounds. They share a common passion for expanding opportunity, working with promising young people, and sharing professional lessons they’ve learned.

Yes, we offer robust training for our volunteers. Your team does not need experience as coaches, mentors, interviewers, or team leaders. We provide volunteers with the support they need to empower Fellows and develop as leaders themselves. In fact, 92% of our Leadership Coaches said volunteering with Braven was one of the best professional development experiences they have ever had.

Yes. Since Braven has both virtual and in-person opportunities, we welcome volunteers from all across the country.