Your Best Partner Might Be Your "Competitor"

Read time: 3 min

👋🏾 Hey! I’m Sid and this is The Philanthropy Futurist, a weekly advice column preparing you for the future of the nonprofit sector. Each Friday, I tackle reader questions about measuring impact, driving growth, and managing your nonprofit.

This Week’s Newsletter at a glance:

• Your Best Partner Might Be Your "Competitor"

• Philanthropy News From This Week

• Sid’s Book Recommendation

Your Best Partner Might Be Your "Competitor"

Your next great nonprofit partner might not be a nonprofit.

It might be the coffee shop down the block.

A local small business... the church... the gym... or even another nonprofit org you’ve been competing with for the same grant.

We often talk about partnerships as if they are a checkbox: find an organization with a similar mission, sign an MOU, submit a joint proposal, and call it collaboration.

But strategic partnerships can be much more interesting than that.

Start with the people you serve... not your mission statement.

Who else is already serving the same people? Where do they spend their time? What businesses do they frequent? What orgs do they trust? What problems are they experiencing that your nonprofit can’t solve alone?

That’s where the interesting partnerships begin...

Imagine a nonprofit focused on youth mental health partnering with a local fitness studio to offer free wellness sessions. Or a workforce development org partnering with local restaurants, construction companies, and retailers to create a pipeline for employment.

Neither organization has to become something it isn't.

They simply bring different assets to the same community.

And that same exact thinking can absolutely transform grantmaking... just my opinion.

Instead of 5 nonprofits independently applying for funding to address food insecurity, what if they formed a coalition? One org brings the volunteers... another brings the community relationships... a local grocer contributes food... a foundation funds the infrastructure... and a neighborhood church provides the space.

It's inevitable that they'll be some overlap... but either way... with an approach like the above suddenly, the grant isn't funding 5 separate programs.

It’s funding an ecosystem!!!!

And that distinction matters.

The strongest partnerships aren't necessarily between organizations that look alike. They're between organizations that complement one another.

So before your next grant application, look beyond the usual suspects.

Map the nonprofits, businesses, institutions, and community leaders already touching the lives of the people you serve.... and share that story with potential funders.

You may discover that your next breakthrough won't come from doing more alone.

It may come from realizing you were never supposed to do it alone in the first place.

Until next time y'all ✌🏾

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Philanthropy News From This Week

• The Future of Nonprofit Software in the Age of AI by Honeystack

• How to build a nonprofit that pays for itself

• How to maximize your volunteer program’s impact and retention

• Expanding definitions of generosity: Global and U.S. trends in helping others

Sid’s Book Recommendation

Each week, I recommend a book or film that has impacted my life in a positive way. My recommendation this week is:

Fundable & Findable by Kevin L. Brown

This book is a strategic framework for Nonprofit leaders and teams looking to transform their fundraising potential by first strengthening their organization's brand and communications. The author emphasizes that to attract more funding, Nonprofits must be FUNDABLE (aka have a compelling mission, strategic clarity, and board alignment), and they must be FINDABLE (aka have strong branding, messaging, and marketing). It's a really great read. Learn more.

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