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How Collaborations Can Build Your Nonprofit’s Credibility and Reach
Kim Anthony • Jul 29, 2020
When you’re fighting for every new donation, the ability to reach more people matters. Social media can help, but nonprofits looking to scale might find themselves searching for other avenues. In addition to that, organizations that haven’t built up their credibility yet might be looking for ways to build both credibility and reach. Many nonprofits are turning to community collaborations as a means to achieve each of these beneficial ends.
However, a lot depends on how nonprofits will collaborate and whether they fit well with their chosen collaboration partner. In any field, these strategic nonprofit partnerships can improve the organization’s exposure and build their credibility, as well as improve organizational efficiency, sustainability and impact on the community.
So, why collaborate? What’s in it for your nonprofit?
Increased Exposure
A partnership between two community organizations naturally includes cross-promotion. That’s a valuable opportunity for nonprofits to reach more people, as the two organizations will work on raising awareness of one another. So when picking a partner for collaboration, consider the target audience they usually work with. Would your message resonate with them? Does it fit even loosely with your nonprofit’s donor persona? Is there potential for expansion within that new audience? If the answer to all these questions is yes, consider that partner seriously, as the collaboration with them will be beneficial for your nonprofit.
Increased Credibility
If your nonprofit has recently started, it may not have built up as much credibility as you’d want. And that’s crucial in attracting and retaining donors, which is why it’s often among the priorities of nonprofits in every field. Community collaboration with a well-known and trusted organization could help immensely with boosting your nonprofit’s validity, as the mutual campaign would naturally lend some of their credibility to you. It would also improve the public perception of your nonprofit, helping you to raise your profile and attract more donors.
However, this effect goes both ways: a collaboration with an incompatible partner could damage your nonprofit organization. When choosing a partner, always aim for an organization whose core values align with yours, even if your mission is slightly different. That will ensure that you have a good fit and that they won’t suddenly do something that would reflect on you poorly.
Other Benefits of Collaborations
Collaborations have other, more intrinsic benefits for nonprofits in addition to increased reach and credibility. Those include increased efficiency and effectiveness, considering both organizations will need fewer resources to do their work and will advance their purpose faster and with more success. And those nonprofits who are aiming high with their mission in the desire to cause a broad change in the existing system might find that they’re stronger together, and more capable of affecting change when they join resources.
There are many benefits of community collaborations for nonprofits, but the leaders have to be clear on the “why” and “how.” Picking a partner can be a long process, but choosing right can pay off with increased reach and credibility.
Here’s How to Pick the Right Partner(s)
If you’re aligning your brand with another, you must do your research to make sure your potential partnership will achieve something more than either of you can alone. Test your prospective collaborators against the 3C Model to gauge the appropriate depth of your involvement. By moving through this spectrum of involvement, you can test the waters and make well-informed decisions before committing publicly and completely.
Cooperation:
Test any new partnership with a limited and low-risk exchange. For example, can your facility host staff from another family-focused nonprofit in need of physical workspace one day a week during a specific program like the four-week application window for a summer camp? Would this draw more of your target demographic (parents) to your location for services (budgeting classes)?
Coordination:
When you’re ready for a more formal relationship that commits significant resources from each partner organization—perhaps dedicated, year-round office space in your facility for a specific number of staff members—you’ll also begin to share rewards: your shared clients increase each organization’s impact in specific programs.
Collaboration: Full-blown collaboration is a durable and often transformational relationship between two organizations that may lead to reorganization and perhaps even a new, shared mission. The most successful collaborations may even lead naturally to a merger to eliminate redundancies, streamline operations, and significantly improve outcomes and impact.
For more nonprofit guidance and advice, visit Turnaround Life, Inc. website and help us fulfill our mission of assisting organizations and programs that support people turn their lives around.
Peter Gamache, PhD, is a research, development, and evaluation specialist for health services organizations, private foundations, and federally-funded public service organizations. His current research interests include disparities in health and mental health, integrated care, program fidelity, and program outcomes. He advocates for a collective understanding of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and culture to prevent and address marginalization of people living with disease, illness, injury, and disability.
Jackie Griffin, MBA, M.S., serves as the development director, systems analyst, and director of evaluation for Turnaround Life, Inc. She has more than 26 years of experience dealing with nonprofit management, overseeing operations, grant development, grant management, capacity building evaluation, and performance assessment. Ms. Griffin is a Certified Recovery Coach, and the former vice president of development of Operation PAR, Inc., and executive director of the LiveFree! Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Pinellas County. She earned her master’s with a concentration in nonprofit management and master’s in Organizational Management and Leadership from Springfield College School of Professional and Continuing Studies, Tampa Bay campus. Ms. Griffin founded Jackie Sue Griffin & Associates, LLC in 2013 to provide nonprofit organizations, health and human services and government agencies consulting expertise and technical assistance in fund development and philanthropy and capacity building.
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “We also noticed that diverse individuals were having a very negative impact, and with the data, it was coming to 41 percent or 450,000 Black-owned businesses closed when COVID hit. That is a disproportionate impact not only to the entrepreneurs but also to the employees they have and the pocketbook,” said Jenny Flores, Wells Fargo’s head of small business growth philanthropy.
With more than 25 years of experience in the film industry, Sandra Evers-Manly has made a lasting imprint on both the filmmaking community and the community at large. Her investment of time, talent, and money by developing and producing film projects, creating audience engagement, youth training in film and assisting both veteran and emerging filmmakers have made her an icon for support and excellence.
Color Of Change and Michael B. Jordan launched the #ChangeHollywood initiative to answer calls for action across the industry with infrastructure that will create concrete, measurable solutions towards racial justice. The collaboration between an actor-producer on the inside and racial justice advocates on the outside begins with a roadmap for change that lays out tangible ways to invest in anti-racist content and authentic Black stories, invest in Black talent, and reinvest police funds to support Black communities. Throughout the initiative, companies, executive leadership, staff and talent will be provided with recommendations as well as forthcoming resources to support follow through, including directories, templates, analysis, taskforce convenings, writers’ rooms, consulting sessions, and emerging ideas. Key aspects of the roadmap include: Investing in Anti-Racist Content & Authentic Black Stories through educational materials, resource lists and content creation support. Investing in Black Talent & Careers with advancements in recruitment, hiring practices, trainings and transparent disclosures. Shifting Investment in Police towards Investment in Black Communities including advocating for independent security, support for Black owned businesses, financial support of community-led programing and new streams of communication between the industry and Black communities. You can view the full roadmap here. “The legacy of racism in Hollywood is long and unforgivable: excluding Black talent, silencing Black voices, derailing Black careers, and using the economic power of the industry to prop up police who target and enact violence on Black communities,” said Rashad Robinson, president of Color Of Change. “We know from our advocacy that the industry won’t change on it’s own, so we’re building off our current work to hold Hollywood accountable to offer these resources and a roadmap toward enacting racial justice. From the writers’ rooms to the streets, we are energized and ready to help Hollywood follow through on their statements that Black lives matter.” “This roadmap is just the beginning of the journey to racial justice. We are all accomplices in the fight to transform Hollywood, and we invite content creators and industry leaders to join us in working together to #ChangeHollywood,” said Michael B. Jordan, CEO of Outlier Society. “We look forward to including a variety of voices in doing what we do best: telling authentic stories, bringing people together, partnering with influential artists, and changing the rules of the game.” Outlier Society and Color Of Change have already begun conversations with companies like WME and Endeavor Content and organizations like BLD PWR about commitments to this initiative, with more details to come. The #ChangeHollywood initiative is urging everyone in the industry to make these bold moves to affirm, defend and invest in Black lives through honest storytelling, value-aligned financial investment and systemic change within the industry. Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over 1.7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and governments to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America. Visit www.colorofchange.org Outlier Society is a cutting-edge production company focused on showcasing an eclectic and inclusive lineup of diverse stories and voices. Outlier Society is investing in the cultural and economic power of Black content, careers, and communities.