Nonprofit Leadership Share Secrets to Building Strong Partnerships
New partnerships and alliances are one best practice from the last 18 months. However, how do you sustain these relationships? And when is it time to build new ones? WNC Pathways offered a 75-minute webinar for nonprofits in the Avery-Mitchell-Yancey (AMY) county region of North Carolina. I serve as the AMY regional organizer, so I facilitated a hearty discussion about building & sustaining partnerships and alliances in this region. No matter your location, the learnings surfaced in this gathering apply to all of us.
Three local leaders were asked to share their experiences and summarize the needs, goals, and measures. Caroline Hart, Chief External Relations Officer & Deputy Director at Crossnore Communities for Children, shared the example of Fostering Communities. This initiative is designed to educate, guide, and support local churches as they answer God’s call to serve these children and families in their communities. Crossnore Communities for Children has partnered with a funder and a local agency in a particular county to pilot the work. When asked how long it took to prepare for the pilot, Caroline said 6-12 months.
Lesson #1 – Strong partnerships take time to build.
Kathleen Wood, Executive Director of Dig In! Yancey Community Garden, offered a partnership example with several nonprofits located in Yancey County (NC) coming together to meet a community-wide need – summer food for families with young children. Kathleen and a key partner, Schell McCall of Partners Aligned Toward Health, spoke about the continuing process of keeping this partnership going amidst changes. The program has been operating for 10 years.
Lesson #2 – Strong partnerships take work to maintain.
Finally, Amanda Martin North, Executive Director of The Center for Rural Health Innovation, provided a partnership example where her organization served as consultants. A nearby community had the space, money, and desire to open a community clinic; however, the community didn’t have the structure. This is where Amanda’s team stepped in to help the group think through options and provide consulting services. Amanda shared that getting clarity on the operating structure is key to success.
Lesson #3 – Be open to new roles in partnerships.
After we heard from these speakers, we broke into two groups to discuss how organizations are building and sustaining partnerships right now. Here’s what we heard...
Pre-existing relationships are helpful. Examples given were engaged board members, previous donors, and local colleagues.
Community support is everything. This support can range from offering volunteers to giving in-kind donations to posting your flyers at events.
An operating structure between the groups helps with setting expectations, understanding staff capacity, managing funding, sharing publicity, and making decisions.
Building and sustaining partnerships take time (6-12 months to start), and this work necessitates trust and vulnerability between individuals, teams, and organizations.
Documenting the amount of time required by staff to build and sustain the partnership is so important.
This session was offered by WNC Pathways, a funders’ collaborative aimed at meeting nonprofits where they are, helping each organization to recognize their current strengths & needs and identify steps to move to the next level. WNC Pathways is based in Asheville, NC, and serves the Western North Carolina region. You can learn more about WNC Pathways here. I personally recommend the Nonprofit Fundamentals Certificate program. These classes were instrumental in building my confidence as a nonprofit leader and creating a regional network of colleagues.
Wanna learn more about operating structures? Read our post about organizational design. A partnership’s design is the framework used to actualize the strategy.