The collective good

The Challenge

When President Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative in 2014, it sparked a national call to action to improve life outcomes for boys and young men of color. While momentum was high, local organizations tasked with implementing MBK goals faced persistent structural challenges—limited strategic planning capacity, understaffed operations, and a lack of infrastructure to scale impact. At the same time, corporate partners were eager to contribute, but lacked a clear mechanism for aligning their resources with the needs of community-based nonprofits. There was no national, cross-sector strategy in place to meet these dual needs.

Future Caucus has an audacious mission to activate young leaders, bridge the partisan divide, and transform American politics. Entering the pandemic, they welcomed a new leader and new team members. With this in mind and the increasing polarization of policymaking, Future Caucus had an opportunity to engage and grow its membership.

The Approach

The Collective Good partnered with the Obama Foundation and Taproot Foundation to design MBK Strong—a national campaign connecting corporate pro bono talent with the needs of MBK-aligned nonprofits. TCG developed the strategic framework, theory of change, and program delivery model, and led the launch of the first MBK Exchange convening to align stakeholders and secure corporate commitments.

Co-creating a strategy that centered the voices and needs of the Future Caucus community of young legislators. Our analysis provided an understanding of:

Future Caucus’ North Star to remove the barriers young legislators face in order to build a more inclusive and effective democracy
Systemic challenges that legislators face including minimal leadership training, absence of mentors, insufficient time and opportunity to focus on innovative policy solutions, and difficulty connecting with the voters who’d most likely be energized by collaborative, productive leadership
Future Caucus’ unique positioning in the space to tailor support and position young policymakers to engage across the aisle

From this process, Future Caucus gained a clearer focus on building a constituency for inclusive governing and amplifying new narratives.

The Results

MBK Strong transformed how corporations engaged with MBK communities and how nonprofits accessed critical capacity-building support. The Collective Good’s leadership helped translate a visionary federal initiative into an actionable, community-rooted, and sustainable national program. In its first year:

Over 100 MBK-serving nonprofits received tailored strategic support.
Nearly 400 corporate volunteers from companies like Google, PwC, and Accenture contributed skills-based service.
The campaign helped institutionalize pro bono as a central strategy within the MBK movement, offering a replicable model for future national initiatives grounded in cross-sector collaboration.

Our Partnership:

Renewed Future Caucus’ vision of restored public trust in democracy, improved public leadership, and more representative public policy
Crafted an ambitious 5-year strategy with key performance indicators to ensure accountability and track progress
Strengthened collaboration between staff and the Board around key strategies, including:
- Amplifying models of bipartisan public service
- Activating and connecting their network
- Building a high-performing organization that exudes their values and ethos

From this process, Future Caucus gained a clearer focus on building a constituency for inclusive governing and amplifying new narratives.

Building the Backbone of a Movement

The Challenge

The Approach

The Results

Could you see your story here? Let's do it!