Nonprofit collaborations have proliferated in recent years,
both in number and array of collaboration styles. Nonprofits can partner
intersectorally; government, private, other nonprofits, the sky’s the limit! These
collaborations can also take a huge variety of forms including co-sponsorship,
federation, coalition, consortium, network, joint venture, parent-subsidiary,
merger and consolidation (Yankey, Jacobus, and Koney 2001). This diversity
makes it hard to prescribe best practices for collaborations, but there are
some key threads that we can pull out from the experiences of various
nonprofits who have undergone collaborative processes.
Do what you do
Keep your mission. Play to your strengths. Incompatible missions
are a primary challenge in collaboration (Yankey and Willen 2010). Organizations
have to know where they stand and what goals they hope to achieve through this
partnership. A side-by-side analysis early in the exploratory process of a
collaboration can often help to hash out these details (Yankey and Willen 2010).
This doesn’t mean that organizations with very different missions can’t
collaborate; in fact it’s sometimes successful for very different organizations
to band together if they have a goal in common. An example of this occurred in
Seattle in a collaborative ballot initiative between an arts museum and a
low-income housing project which secured funding for facilities expansion for
both groups (Fortier 1996). The shared goal of winning the vote was in line
with both of their very different missions, so it worked.
Balance internal and
external environments
Many collaborations arise out of a desire to strategically
address external pressures like increasing funding or service provision. A
favorable political and social environment for the merger is important for
success (Sharma and Missey 1998). However success also depends upon keeping staff
informed and securing their buy-in. Internal organizational culture differences
can be a challenge in creating a successful partnership (Yankey and Willen 2010).
This was a key consideration in a case where a Hispanic community center
considered taking on child abuse case management from the state protective
services in Boston. Of primary concern
was how this work would negatively affect their reputation in the community and
thus their ability to carry out their mission. Significant doubts among
board members about the benefits of the partnership also raised red flags (Varley 1996). While this
analysis doesn’t bode well for the collaboration, it is a good demonstration of
how an organization should consider the full impacts of partnership beyond
financial gain.
Plan, plan, PLAN
Going into a collaboration, organizations should know
exactly what they hope to get out of the partnership, how they intend to go
about doing it, and how these plans support the missions of the organizations
and will strategically advance the position of both in their communities (Yankey,
Jacobus and Koney 2001). Developing a sound process for collaboration with clear
roles and policy guidelines can go a long way towards to smoothing what may
otherwise be a difficult transition (Yankey and Willen 2010, Sharma and Missey
1998). The negative consequences of entering into a partnership without taking
time to plan the intention and implementation the union are
demonstrated in the story of collaboration between the shoe manufacturer
Timberland and the community service program City Year. This partnership began
well and expanded quickly, but without a plan to guide the growth and intention
of the collaboration, tensions between and within the two organizations
eventually ended the partnership (Elias 1996).
Because there are so many possible combinations of sectors
and types of collaborations, there is no cookie cutter process for pursuing a
strategic alliance. But keeping these three things in mind will help
organizations choose valuable alliances and succeed in their implementation.
References
Elias, Jaan. 1996. “Timberland and Community Involvement.”
Supervisor, James Austin. Harvard Business School Publishing. Boston, MA.
Fortier, Suzanne. 1996. “Funding Seattle’s Art Museum and
Low-Income Housing: The Politics of Interest Groups and Tax Levies (A).” Supervisor,
Jon Brock. Cascade Center for Public Service: Public Service Curriculum
Exchange.
Sharma, Janet and Amanda Missey. 1998. “How I learned to
Stop Griping . . . And Love Collaboration.” From a presentation at the National
Community Service Conference. June 30, 1998. New Orleans, LA.
Varley, Pamela. 1996. “Partners in Child Protection
Services: The Department of Social Services and La Alianza Hispana (A).” Abridged.
Kennedy School of Government. Boston, MA.
Yankey, John A., Barbara Wester Jacobus, and Kelly McNally
Koney. 2001. Merging Nonprofit
Organizations: The Art and Science of the Deal. Mandel center for Nonprofit
Organizations: Cleveland, OH.
Yankey, John A. and Carol K. Willen. 2010. “Collaboration
and Strategic Alliances.” in The
Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management. Renz, David O, ed. 375-400. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco,
CA.
