The Foraker Group

Collaborations in their most elementary form can be as simple as connecting and sharing with colleagues. Deeper partnerships develop when nonprofits share resources or enter into joint ventures. Examples are as varied as the nonprofit sector and can include sharing equipment and meeting facilities, or assisting in another’s project.

These joint ventures have substance and rely primarily on aligned purpose, values, and outcomes. The Tides Center has become a leader in helping nonprofits look at ways to share resources.

As collaborations become more complex, they also become more formal. When organizations work together under legal agreements, or decide to create a new organization to coordinate their efforts, partnerships can have an even more substantial and lasting impact.

The key ingredient to partnerships at any level is to have staff and board leadership willing to ask this question: How can we be better together than working alone? At the end of the day, a nonprofit cannot fully achieve its mission by itself.

Give us an example of a successful partnership that you have with another organization.

–Dennis

Dennis McMillian is President of The Foraker Group, a capacity building organization based in Alaska, and the author of Focus on Sustainability: A Nonprofit’s Journey.