Bluespark Partners is an advising firm dedicated to helping philanthropists, industry leaders, influencers and brands use their resources and their platforms to strengthen and sustain American democracy.
We work with visionary leaders willing to take bold action to secure a better future — visionary leaders who are willing to do things differently in order to overcome the challenges we face and catalyze lasting change.
What we do
Develop a robust strategy
We work with our clients to set a vision for their democracy work and a path to get there, aligning their interests and areas of expertise with clear needs and gaps in the ecosystem.
Source and vet projects
We identify and thoroughly diligence high-impact opportunities that are worthy of our clients’ time, energy and resources and that advance both short-term and long-term goals.
Manage implementation
We ensure project success from start to finish, providing hands-on support and strategic advice, perpetually meeting the highest bar of good stewardship.
Evaluate and iterate
We constantly measure the impact of the work we’re doing with our clients, so that we can learn, improve and pivot as needed over time.
Filter inbound requests
We save our clients time by serving as the first line of defense for all asks; more than anything else, we strive to give our clients more capacity.
Sustain expertise
We help our clients up the learning curve and provide them with the latest intel, so that they are always informed and wholly in the know.
Who we are
Jason Berkenfeld, Founder & President
Prior to launching Bluespark Partners, Jason led political giving and investing for former Google CEO Eric Schmidt full-time for five years. In this role, he helped to launch new initiatives, build new tools, and make numerous investments focused on catalyzing innovation in our elections and in our politics. Concurrently, Jason served as the Head of Strategy and Chair of the Investment Committee for the broader Schmidt philanthropy, Schmidt Futures. In this role, Jason helped to set org-wide goals and led the process by which all grants and gifts were diligenced and vetted.
Jason caught the political bug knocking on doors in Pennsylvania for then-Senator Barack Obama in the run up to the 2008 election. Thereafter, he spent six election cycles working on campaigns at all levels, all over the country. This included a stint as the Regional GOTV Director for the Obama reelection campaign in southwest Iowa, and another as the campaign manager for now New York State Senator Brad Hoylman in Manhattan.
To start his career, Jason spent three years at Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, where he worked with clients in education, healthcare, and retail. He also spent three years as the Head of Community at Thumbtack, an online marketplace for local service providers. In this role, Jason learned how to harness the power of technology to drive positive change and how to build solutions to hard problems from the ground up. He has continued to focus on technology in his time with Eric Schmidt, exploring the many ways in which technology can be used to bolster an inclusive, multiracial democracy instead of tearing it apart.
Jason earned his J.D. from Yale Law School and is a member of the New York State Bar. He also graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in History and Science from Harvard. He and his husband currently live in San Francisco.
