Leveraging the Power of the Purse to Foster Grantee Partnerships
Donors can leverage their 30,000 foot view of the nonprofit landscape. As their familiarity with multiple nonprofits that fit their focus area grows, so will the likelihood donors notice unique opportunities to reduce duplication. This can lead to donor-inspired partnership opportunities between nonprofits with complementary yet specialized missions. In these situations, the funder is well-positioned to encourage collaboration between nonprofits to amplify efforts, reduce duplication, and build relationships.
What are the benefits of grantee partnerships?
Many nonprofits work on similar or aligned issues. Whether it’s fighting antisemitism, promoting educational choice, or providing after-school opportunities to underserved youth, there will typically be multiple organizations working in interrelated fields. Examples might include:
A nonprofit providing afterschool arts programs and a charter school lacking an arts department
A university with tenure track vacancies in Jewish studies and a Jewish think-tank with a fellowship in antisemitism studies
Two nonprofits providing foster care family support in the same city
Funders, who support groups with similar focuses, sometimes develop ideas about how these groups could work together better, using the unique skillset of each nonprofit to accomplish a common goal. One client routinely identifies and proposes fruitful opportunities for partnering and then encourages collaboration by funding participating nonprofits at a higher level. As a result of grantee partnerships, nonprofits may use fewer resources, build closer relationships with funders, and take advantage of the expertise of partners to achieve success.
What are the hesitations of nonprofits regarding grantee partnerships?
While donors often think partnerships are no-brainers for nonprofits, there are other factors to consider before suggesting partnerships. As much as a donor may come to know the operations of the nonprofit, it’s impossible to know all of the aspects of how each group operates or the historic dynamics between the two organizations. There may be very good reasons that nonprofits do not see a need to partner. Nonprofits also may be hesitant to engage in a project where they don’t believe the funders’ goals will be met, as they don’t want to jeopardize the relationship with the funder for future support.
Best practices to encourage partnership
Be respectful of each nonprofit’s time and talents. First, approach each group individually with the idea and suggest a preliminary conversation where the groups get to know each other before any decisions are made. Their permission to initiate the conversation is key.
If you are interested in a certain outcome or specific project, be prepared to fund the project in full. It can be difficult for nonprofits to attract other funders to projects that are new or designed by a particular funder.
Offer feedback on proposals, but trust that the nonprofits are the experts in their mission. Encourage honesty and openness about potential partnership challenges and allow the nonprofits to work through the challenges directly, rather than at the direction of the funder.
Consider flexible support: perhaps structure your donation over multiple years and encourage the nonprofits to reach out to you with any concerns during the funding period.
Be open to the idea that not all partnerships are successful. Rather than requesting the return of funds for an unfruitful partnership, consider converting funds to general operating support (unrestricted).
Working on behalf of clients, the team at Hoplin Jackson has helped steward many nonprofit partnerships over the years. We’ve seen firsthand how nonprofit partnerships can result in excellent outcomes and can be meaningful experiences for nonprofits and donors alike. If you are interested in learning more about how to facilitate these partnerships, contact the team at Hoplin Jackson today!