This past year and a half of a rocky economy has led to the closure of some nonprofits and the merging of those with like-minded missions. Cooperation and collaboration can be tough but consider this:
- Private giving fell by 6% in 2008 according to Giving USA
- States allocated 5% less in 2009 and 4% less in 2010 for education, health care and human services according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- The number of nonprofits registered with the IRS has doubled to 1.5 million employing 12 million people or 10% of America’s workforce over the past 15 years
What should be the first steps for a nonprofit in the area of cooperation and collaboration? Meet with your fellow nonprofits to find out how you can better network to solve issues. Locally I know of one nonprofit working in the homeless area that runs a day care program for children living at another homeless shelter. It’s both great cooperation and collaboration. One of the shelters focused on emergency housing and the other transitional housing. They also work together to lobby elected officials about the challenges of homelessness and the funding necessary to assist.
Another great way to get to know each other – have your board meet at their site and their board meet on your site. This may spark additional ways to work together.
Finally – encourage your staff to be creative and open-minded about what truly works and why it might work better if your organization cooperated/collaborated with a fellow like-minded nonprofit.
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