Nonprofits that understand how to innovate will achieve the impossible. As organizations face complex challenges, a vital element that will help them improve processes, grow funding and scale-up, is quality partnerships and collaborations. This presentation is part of a organization change clinic for social enterprises. Contact details included.

1. Building Relationships That
Create Social Investments
PARTNERFUNDING
E m m a J . B u s h  N o n p r o f i t C l i n i c
When social enterprises innovate, the
impossible becomes possible.
Send inquiry to:
ebush5@capellauniversity.edu

2. Your Learning Journey
Focus and listen for:
• Stop fundraising, start relationship building.
• Built to Last: Why solicitation without affiliation
doesn’t work and what to do about it. 3 Step
Plan.
• Understand value-based relationship building.
• Who benefits?
• Get Off the Rabbit Trail: attract and convert
business prospects into mission-driven partners.

3. Giving
Update
2015
1,521,052 charitable
organizations in 2015
Source: National Philanthropic Trust

4. $372.25
Billion
to charity in 2015.
Americans donated an estimated:

5. Sources that comprise
total giving:
• Individuals – 268. 28 billion (71%)
• Foundations – 57.19 billion (16%)
• Bequests – 28.72 billion (9%)
• Corporations – 18.46 billion (5%)

6. Social-Partner Model
Partnerships and collaborations
formed between nonprofit
entities and other
organizations are intended to
achieve greater impact than
any organization could
generate alone.

7. What’s the big
deal about
partnerships?

8. Changing
Nonprofit
Landscape
Donor attitudes have changed over
the past ten years:
• Private donors are no longer
willing or able to fund redundant
array of nonprofit services.
• Government does not have
sufficient funds to meet all of the
needs of the community at scale.
• Private foundations do not have
sufficient funds to fill the gap
created by government cutbacks.
• Many corporations have reduced,
eliminated or specialized their
community giving programs.

9. Un-Changing
Nonprofit Landscape
Some things are not changing:
• Mission is key. The mission of each
nonprofit is still its anchor.
• Donors continue to give. Millions of
people still want to help others and are
willing to donate, volunteer, and
participate with charities.
• Nurturing donors is still important.
Donors still invest in causes where
they feel the strongest personal
connection and involvement.
• Willing staff members are interested
in the non-profit world. In spite the
lower-pay rate, there is growing corps
of community service professionals.

10. Corporate Social
Responsibility
The concept of CSR is
underpinned by the idea that
corporations can no longer act
as isolated economic entities
operating in detachment from
broader society.

11. How can partnerships
help your organization
improve its efficacy,
impact, and
sustainability?
Here are benefits …

12. Better Positioned
Nonprofits that embrace social
partnership models for fundraising
and service delivery will be better
positioned to:
• Produce more and better results
for each dollar invested
• Find new ways to engage donors
more fully
• Diversify funding streams and
create new resources
• Brand their services and
communicate messaging more
broadly
• Produce measurable results

13. More Benefits
• Increased program effectiveness
• Increased program relevance to actual needs of
community
• Increased political leverage and attract
advocates and allies
• Improve efficiency
• Increased visibility, reputation, and brand
recognition
• Strengthened organizational capacity by
leveraging partner's in-kind resources and
expertise.
• Expanded revenue streams

14. Benefits for
Partners
• Increase employee engagement, morale and
retention
• Provide a motivating purpose for the
company and employees
• Deliver on commitment to social
responsibility and community investment
• Help to fulfill social impact mission (faith-
based, business, etc.)
• Increase customer and brand loyalty
• Increase sales or products and services
• Generate public recognition for good-will in
society and community
• Receive a tax donation for contributions
• Address need that public agencies cannot
take care of

15. Three tactics
to build
partnerships
through diverse
relationships.

16. Define Your Need
The first step to planning a partnership is to
clearly define what relationships you need
and what you want to get out of it.
• Remember the goal of partnerships is to
achieve more than individual
organizations can achieve on their own.
• Keep your goals front and center as you
explore the possibilities.
• Doing this prior to settling on a partner
will help you choose the right partner
Step 1

17. These are just a few needs that a
partnership can help fulfill.
• Increase brand exposure
• Increase the range of services you offer
• Save administrative costs
• Increase brand credibility
• Increased volunteers
• Improved products or services
• Increase revenue
• Connect to other stakeholders, donors, partners

18. Identify Stakeholders
The second step to planning a partnership is to identify
who potential collaborators are.
• Remember to think from different perspectives about
the vast ways to serve your target group.
• Stay focused but don’t place yourself in a box or on an
island!
• Use fresh approaches to identifying ways to work with
different organizations. This will lead you to
uncovering new options.
Step 2

19. Partner prospects include:
• Corporations and Local Businesses
• Faith-based Organizations
• Foundations
• Public Agencies (schools, health, workforce, etc.)
• Federal Government
• Community-based Organizations
• Professional Associations, Fraternities
• Colleges and Universities
• Federated Organizations (community-chest, United Way)
• Other Humanitarian Organizations (Red Cross, Food Banks,
Parkland Hospital, etc.)
• Restaurants and Hospitality

20. Build
Relationships
The third step to planning a partnership is to
clearly define how to approach and connect to
potential partners.
• Contact Community Relations, Marketing or
Public Relations
• Join professional associations
• Attend special functions sponsored by
companies
• Target colleges that serve your population
through community outreach
• Attend conferences
• Foundation Directors
Step 3

21. Do your homework
on prospects
Once you have a hot prospect list, do your
homework:
• Study your audience
• What are the organizations goals and
objectives?
• Distinct point of view: clarify your
alignment with their goals.
• Customer engagement: be able to explain
how working together will benefit their
organization.
• Be aware of any news or current affairs
issues related to organizations or their
sector
• Produce a Prospect Profile

22. Reflection
1. Should understand how your agency can use
partnerships in at least 2 ways
2. Have an idea of how to start with a non-financial
relationship and move toward financial gift
3. Recognize how to mesh charitable goals with
business and other entities.
4. Embrace diversity and differences.
5. Appreciate working with diverse organizations to
expand capacity and fundraising through creative
approaches.

23. Building Relationships That
Create Social Investments
PARTNERFUNDING
E m m a J . B u s h  N o n p r o f i t C l i n i c
When social enterprises innovate, the
impossible becomes possible.
Send inquiry to:
ebush5@capellauniversity.edu