Collaboration: Every nonprofit should be doing it

DOUGLAS In previous columns I have written about possible strategies nonprofits can employ to sustain themselves during these tough economic times. This week I want to focus on one of the most important tools nonprofits can utilize: collaboration. Now, I can almost hear the collective sigh of nonprofit executives, staff, volunteers, and board members throughout Southwest Florida, because I know you are probably tired of hearing your funders talk about partnership and collaboration. But I am here to tell you that in this day and age, and with this economic climate, you can't afford not to collaborate.

Collaboration was one of the big buzzwords in the nonprofit and philanthropic world even before the economic crisis hit, as there has been concern for a number of years about the rapid growth in the number of nonprofits across the country and the limited number of resources to support them. Even in better economic times it is best practice to collaborate. Now, for many organizations, it will be essential to their survival. A number of studies have demonstrated that collaboration has a beneficial impact on organizations, resulting in less duplication and overlap of services in addition to more efficient and effective services and better outcomes (Nonprofit Sector Research Fund of the Aspen Institute). Funders like to see collaboration among their grantees because it increases the likelihood that their dollars will be spent on higher impact efforts.

Although collaboration is one of those words we hear often, I also think there are misconceptions about what collaboration really means. It is more than just the staff and volunteers of an organization referring clients to another organization for services but not having an agreement or arrangement for how those referrals are to take place. According to collaboration guru Paul Mattesich, true collaboration is a mutually beneficial and well-defined relationship entered into by two or more organizations to achieve common goals.

Collaboration can take many forms, from informal information-sharing arrangements to more formal joint-administrative and joint-programming activities, and even to the merger of two or more organizations. For example, organizations might consider combining their fundraising efforts to share in the costs associated with a fundraising event, or collaborate to develop a new joint program. Sharing office space and other administrative costs is another form of collaboration, and the United Way Houses in Lee County provide a great model for this type of partnership. Although mergers are often thought of negatively in terms of hostile takeovers and acquisitions, a well-executed merger of two or more nonprofits with complementary missions and values may result in an organization that is more efficient and effective and able to achieve much more than the individual organizations could have achieved alone. An example of a merger in our community that created a much stronger, more effective and sustainable organization is the merger of Community Cooperative Ministries, Faith in

Action, and Meals on Wheels into one agency, CCMI.

As a funder, we at Southwest Florida Community Foundation are not just sitting here telling our nonprofits that it is important to collaborate.

We actually practice what we

preach, as we look for opportunities to collaborate with other funders to leverage our resources for more impact. For example, we have a close working relationship with United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades, most recently partnering to provide funding for the creation of the Volunteer Physician Network. We are also partnering with the three other community foundations in Southwest Florida, Cape Coral, Charlotte, and Collier, to conduct an assessment of the needs of our local nonprofit community and explore the feasibility of developing additional resources to meet those needs.

SWFLCF feels so strongly about the importance of collaboration that we ask our grant applicants to tell us how they are collaborating with other organizations, and our new Hunger Initiative Request for Proposals released in January actually requires that organizations partner with multiple nonprofits in order to be eligible for funding. Additionally, our quarterly Capacity Grants (next deadline March 15) are available for the hiring of consultants, as it might be beneficial for nonprofits considering a collaboration to work with a consultant with expertise in facilitating community partnerships. For more information about SWFLCF grant opportunities, you can contact me by phone, e-mail at adouglas@floridacommunity. com, or by visiting our Web site.

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation has been supporting the communities of Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry through endowed funds for 33 years. With assets of more than $57 million and over 320 endowed funds, the Community Foundation has provided more than $39.5 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves. For more information, please call 274-5900, or visit our Web site at www.floridacommunity.com.