Foundations of a Healthy Nonprofit Partnership

Mar 1

Hi everyone,

I hope you had a great week. I am just happy that the temperature is in the middle 40's in Indiana today, and the sun is out. This weekend I saw a flock of migrating sandhill cranes. Every year they stop over in the field by our home and get a good snack for their trip. I love seeing them. It is a true highlight for me, and a signal of seasonal transition that is coming. Hooray for spring, even though a little while off.

This month I thought I would share something that I created in one of the programs I teach. The program is called, Giving for Impact – yes, the same title as one of my books ☺. In this program we help people become donors of impact. I take them through a process of discovering their own mission, vision and values. Then, learning how to be a catalyst as a donor to drive attention to the things that matter to a healthy nonprofit. Next, we work on building their design for what a healthy partnership looks like with nonprofits they support. From there, we close up with building their own protocol and guide to giving. It is a wonderful program.

For this month, I thought I would share what the participants have defined as the characteristics of a healthy nonprofit partnership. This list has been refined and revised by each yearly cohort for over 5 years now. I thought it would be insightful for you. You can use it as your own diagnostic.

In light of building a true partnership, as a donor I expect the following from those I partner with:

Trust, transparency and open sharing
Ongoing engagement
Follow through and accountability of my expectations
Authenticity
To be connected
Have an understanding of the value I am creating
To be kept aware of the current status of the mission and vision and of the organization
To be updated about major organizational changes

Have fun and God bless,
Jamie