Memory Bridge
Memory Bridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that develops experiential educational programs, scholarship-funded training retreats, and webinars to end emotional isolation in people with dementia, serving caregivers, families, students, and senior care facilities across three continents.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Memory Bridge does
Memory Bridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2003 by Michael Verde and headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, with an additional mailing presence in Chicago. Its mission is to end the emotional isolation experienced by people with dementia, which the organization distinguishes from Alzheimer's disease itself as the "dis-ease of Alzheimer's." The organization develops and delivers experiential educational programs centered on person-centered care and empathetic communication, in which people with dementia are positioned as teachers, guides, and companions rather than passive recipients of care.
The core product portfolio includes the "I Am a Bridge" three-day experiential training program, an annual summer Training Retreat held at the Tibetan-Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington (12 scholarship participants per year), the inaugural Asia Training Retreat scheduled for October 2026 in Penang, Malaysia, two webinar series (The Caregiver's Library and Touching Lives), and school-based intergenerational programs operated through the Chicago Memory Bridge Initiative. Programs have reached more than 8,500 people with and without dementia in one-to-one relationships across three to four continents and are supported by two PBS documentaries ("There Is a Bridge," 2008; "Love Is Listening," 2019). Underlying technology is a proprietary experiential learning methodology rather than software or AI.
Revenue is generated entirely through charitable donations (suggested tiers of $50-$1,000 with monthly recurring options) and grants from sources including the U.S. Department of Education and the Illinois Department of Human Services. Training retreats are fully scholarship-funded for participants, webinars are offered at no or nominal cost, and organizational training engagements with senior care operators and hospices appear to be pro-bono or subsidized. The go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, with awareness built through documentary films, conference speaking, podcast appearances, and PR coverage.
Memory Bridge firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Memory Bridge
- Legal name
- Memory Bridge
- Website
- https://memorybridge.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Memory Bridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that develops experiential educational programs, scholarship-funded training retreats, and webinars to end emotional isolation in people with dementia, serving caregivers, families, students, and senior care facilities across three continents.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Memory Bridge industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Dementia Care Education and Training
- NAICS
- Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly (6233)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Memory Care Care Management & Navigation (Dementia Care Coordination) (HLADACAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Memory Care Respite (Short-Term) (HSABAEAD), Short-Term Dementia Respite & Transitional Memory Care Programs (HLADACAG)
Keywords
Where Memory Bridge is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Memory Bridge business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Donations: Memory Bridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on charitable donations from individuals. The website features a donation page with suggested amounts ($50, $100, $500, $1,000) and options for monthly recurring donations.
- Grants: Memory Bridge has received grants from government and institutional sources including the U.S. Department of Education and Illinois Department of Human Services to fund educational initiatives and school programs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Monthly | Donation-based support |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Memory Bridge product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Memory Bridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that designs and delivers experiential educational programs pairing caregivers, students, and family members with people who have dementia. Its core deliverables are the 3-day "I Am a Bridge" training, annual 5-day immersive retreats in Indiana and Malaysia, ongoing webinar series for caregivers, and the Chicago Memory Bridge Initiative school program that connects teenagers with elders living with Alzheimer's.
Product overview
Memory Bridge is a non-profit organization offering a portfolio of educational programs focused on ending the emotional isolation of people with dementia. The core offerings include the 'I Am a Bridge' 3-day training program, annual and regional retreats (Annual Retreat in Indiana and Asia Training Retreat in Malaysia), and webinar series (The Caregiver's Library and Touching Lives). The organization also produced two PBS documentaries: 'There Is a Bridge' (2008) and 'Love Is Listening: Dementia Without Loneliness' (2019). Programs are delivered across three continents and connect people with and without dementia in one-to-one relationships.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- I Am a Bridge Training: A 3-day experiential training program that positions people with dementia in the roles of teacher, guide, and companion.
- The Caregiver's Library
- Asia Training Retreat
- Annual Summer Training Retreat
Products and services
- I Am a Bridge Training A 3-day experiential learning journey for professional and family caregivers that positions people with dementia in the roles of teacher, guide, and companion. Facilitates transformation in understanding and practice of person-centered care, improving participants' ability to attune to emotions of people with dementia and establish relationships of profound trust and mutual understanding.
- Annual Memory Bridge Retreat An annual 5-day immersive training retreat at the Tibetan-Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana, limited to 12 scholarship recipients from around the world. Brings professional and family caregivers, therapists, and administrators into one-to-one experiences with people with dementia.
- Asia Training Retreat A 5-day experiential learning program at Bodhi Heart Sanctuary in George Town, Malaysia, limited to 12 scholarship recipients from Asia who share their lives personally or professionally with people with dementia. Mirrors the curriculum of the Annual Retreat.
- The Caregiver's Library A twice-monthly webinar series for caregivers of people with dementia. Michael Verde presents on books illuminating the caregiver experience, distilling essential insights to inspire caregivers intellectually and spiritually.
- Touching Lives: What Does Person-Centered Care Actually Mean? A four-part webinar series based on the writings of Tom Kitwood that explores the origins of person-centered care. Presented by Michael Verde, examining Martin Buber's I-Thou philosophy, Carl Rogers's actualizing tendency, and Kitwood's concepts of malignant social positioning.
- Chicago Memory Bridge Initiative (CMBI) / Dreamers and Mockingbirds A 12-week after-school program (with the I Have a Dream Foundation) that educates public school students about Alzheimer's disease and pairs them with elders living with dementia to foster positive intergenerational communication. Reached 4,000+ students through 18 Chicagoland schools.
- There Is a Bridge (PBS Documentary) A PBS documentary hosted by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. Explores the deep nature of human solidarity by weaving together mental health, psychology, art, philosophy, and education to highlight individuals and programs reaching out to elders affected by Alzheimer's disease.
- Love Is Listening: Dementia Without Loneliness (PBS Documentary) A PBS documentary that illuminates the existential source of suffering of people who disturb us and inspires a way of listening that can heal the dis-ease of emotional isolation. Features collaboration with Dame Evelyn Glennie. Official selection at multiple film festivals.
Quantifiable outcome
- Connected over 8,500 people with and without dementia in one-to-one relationships across three continents
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Memory Bridge
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Memory Bridge technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Memory Bridge partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, significant and minor.
- St. Christopher's HospicecoreLondon-based hospice that has been providing care for over 50 years. Memory Bridge collaborated on the documentary 'Love Is Listening' and Michael Verde has been invited to present a series of talks and trainings. St. Christopher's has implemented Memory Bridge Training on a bi-annual basis starting 2019, and hosted Michael for keynote speeches and workshops.
- Indiana University Center on Aging and CommunitycoreIndiana University's Center on Aging and Community has partnered with Memory Bridge in the development of the Memory Bridge Training Retreat since 2013. Center staff contribute to recruiting, hosting, scholarship selection, and audio-visual documentation and editing. Co-sponsored the 2017 Training Retreat.
- Tibetan-Mongolian Buddhist Cultural CentercoreHosts the annual summer Training Retreat on over 100 peaceful and meditative acres in Bloomington, Indiana. Provides educational and retreat facilities. Buddhist Monastery and traditional Tibetan Stupas are located on the property. Participants are housed in cottages and rooms at the Center.
- Bodhi Heart SanctuarycoreNon-sectarian Buddhist meditation centre in George Town, Penang, Malaysia established in 2006. Surrounded by 8.4 acres of lush gardens bordering the Botanical Forest Reserve part of Penang Hill UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Will host the first Asia Training Retreat October 20-25, 2026.
- Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural HeritagesignificantEarly collaboration with the Smithsonian's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and Library of Congress for the WWII Veterans Oral History Project, encouraging participation of veterans with dementia.
- University of PretoriasignificantPartnership for the Memory Bridge Initiative in South Africa, including Mellon International Research Training Grant for development of a graduate course in empathetic communication with Dr. Erna Alant.
- Alzheimer's WAsignificantWestern Australia Alzheimer's organization that hosted Michael Verde for eight public events attended by over 1,000 people in October 2015. Partnered with City of Melville and Attitudinal Healing International.
- Attitudinal Healing InternationalsignificantInternational organization that partnered with City of Melville and Alzheimer's WA to host Michael Verde's presentations in Western Australia.
- ARTZ PhiladelphiaminorOrganization dedicated to promoting well-being of those with dementia and their care partners through connections to culture and the arts. Sponsored Michael Verde's Philadelphia events including workshop, public lecture, and film screenings.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Memory Bridge competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ARTZ Philadelphia: Philadelphia-based nonprofit dedicated to improving well-being of people with dementia and their care partners through cultural and arts-based engagement. Directly comparable to Memory Bridge as a small, mission-driven organization offering dementia caregiver education and community programming with similar pop-culture and partnership-driven go-to-market.
- Music & Memory: Nonprofit that trains care organizations to use personalized music to improve the lives of people with dementia and other cognitive challenges. Offers similar experiential, training-driven, donor-supported programs targeting senior-living facilities and professional caregivers — a close functional analogue to Memory Bridge's training model.
- TimeSlips: Nonprofit that uses creative storytelling to improve the lives of people with dementia. Provides training and curricula to care communities and caregivers, overlapping Memory Bridge's experiential caregiver-education mission with a similarly small, donor-funded footprint.
- Validation Training Institute: Organization founded by Naomi Feil that trains caregivers in the Validation method for communicating with older adults experiencing dementia. Closely comparable to Memory Bridge as a methodology-led, training-certification-oriented nonprofit serving the same caregiver and senior-care customer base.
Broad incumbents
- Alzheimer's Association: Largest US nonprofit dedicated to Alzheimer's care, support, and research. Offers caregiver education, training, and support programs across the country, providing a broader, well-funded incumbent analogue to Memory Bridge's specialty caregiver training work.
- Dementia Alliance International: Global advocacy and support organization led by people with dementia, providing education and community resources. Shares Memory Bridge's mission of reducing isolation and elevating the voices of people with dementia, but operates at a larger global scale with a different advocacy-led model.
- Caregiver Action Network: National nonprofit providing education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers, including those caring for people with dementia. A broader-scale education and support analogue serving the same family-caregiver segment that Memory Bridge targets.
- Alzheimer's Foundation of America: National nonprofit providing care and services to individuals affected by Alzheimer's and related dementias, including training and education for caregivers. Operates a much larger institutional footprint than Memory Bridge but addresses the same caregiver-education market.
- Dementia Friends (Alzheimer's Society): Global initiative of Alzheimer's Society that offers volunteer-led awareness and education sessions to change public perceptions of dementia. A scaled, awareness-focused analogue to Memory Bridge, sharing the educational mission but with a much larger digital and volunteer infrastructure.
Emerging players
- Positive Approach to Care (Teepa Snow): Organization founded by Teepa Snow that trains care partners and professionals in techniques for engaging people with dementia. Comparable to Memory Bridge as a founder-led, methodology-driven training enterprise, but with a more commercialized product set and broader trainer network.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Memory Bridge social profiles
Digital presenceMemory Bridge financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Memory Bridge leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Memory Bridge funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Memory Bridge M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Memory Bridge
What does Memory Bridge do?
Memory Bridge is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that designs and delivers experiential educational programs pairing caregivers, students, and family members with people who have dementia. Its core deliverables are the 3-day "I Am a Bridge" training, annual 5-day immersive retreats in Indiana and Malaysia, ongoing webinar series for caregivers, and the Chicago Memory Bridge Initiative school program that connects teenagers with elders living with Alzheimer's.
Is Memory Bridge a public or private company?
Memory Bridge is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Memory Bridge founded?
Memory Bridge was founded in 2003. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Memory Bridge based?
Memory Bridge is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Memory Bridge make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations are the primary driver. The others are grants.
Who are Memory Bridge's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ARTZ Philadelphia, Music & Memory, TimeSlips and Validation Training Institute. Broad incumbents are Alzheimer's Association, Dementia Alliance International, Caregiver Action Network, Alzheimer's Foundation of America and Dementia Friends (Alzheimer's Society). Positive Approach to Care (Teepa Snow) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Memory Bridge have an API?
No public API is recorded for Memory Bridge.
What industry is Memory Bridge in?
Memory Bridge's product category is Dementia Care Education and Training. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLADACAJ, Memory Care Care Management & Navigation (Dementia Care Coordination), with a secondary code of HSABAEAD, Memory Care Respite (Short-Term). Its NAICS code is 62412.