Collaborating with Partners on Joint Grants: Do's And Don'ts

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Collaborating with Partners on Joint Grants: Do’s And Don'ts

Dalya Massachi

March 21, 2012


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Advising nonprofits in:

• Strategy

• Planning

• Organizational Development

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(617) 969-1881

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INTEGRATED PLANNING


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Today’s Speaker

Dalya MassachiFounder

Writing for Community Success

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COLLABORATING WITH

PARTNERS ON JOINT GRANTS:

DO’S AND DON’TS

Presented by:

Dalya F. Massachi

OPPORTUNITY TO LEVERAGE

6Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi

www.dfmassachi.net

“A tapestry woven of promises, obligations,

self-interests, multiple agendas, assumptions, communication styles, and leadership styles of every

stripe and hue, the collaboration is a work

of abstract art with tremendous concrete results.”

- Vince Hyman, Fieldstone Alliance

Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi www.dfmassachi.net

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QUESTION

Have you been involved in a collaborative project like this?


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BEYOND FUNDING FOR “ISOLATED IMPACT”

Today’s world is interdependent! No single org can solve any major social problem

(e.g., climate change)


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SESSION OBJECTIVES

Today, you’ll be able to identify:

• Reasons to collaborate

• Essentials in selecting collaborators

• How to streamline joint proposals

• Pitfalls to avoid: showstoppers


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MANY TYPES OF COLLABORATIONS

• Vary by intensity and commitment

• Today’s focus:

specific programmatic collaborations


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COLLABORATING 2 X

1) To design and implement the program

(e.g. service delivery, advocacy, etc.)

2) To apply for and manage the joint grant


www.dfmassachi.net

“HOW COME YOU ALL DON’T JUST COMBINE FORCES?”

• We’re so passionate, concerned about our own sub-issues that we can neglect the potential allies out there

• Often allow narrow org interests to take precedence over larger community interests


www.dfmassachi.net

GOOD REASONS TO COLLABORATE


www.dfmassachi.net

• 2+ heads are often better than 1!• Make a bigger difference than alone• Require more than just 1 org has• Maximize resources; Save $• Show you are well-integrated• Build on strengths/complement weaknesses• Avoid duplicating services • Learn from others’ experiences • Reap benefits of economy of scale• Establish a strong collective voice/presence

NOT just to answer an RFP

TAKE A HINT FROM THE CORP WORLD

• Number of marketing partnerships

of airline frequent flyer programs

• Customers can earn miles or get discounts with many credit cards, hotels, car rental companies, restaurants, and even retail stores. In turn, the businesses involved reap the benefits of expanding their market share.


www.dfmassachi.net

EXAMPLE:

Tenderloin Technology Lab

Partners: San Francisco Network Ministries &

St. Anthony Foundation

• Collaboration for 4 years and counting

• Tripled their program capacity

• Reduced program costs by 50%

• Attracted more media, web presence, requests for partnerships, community buy-in


www.dfmassachi.net

NYC EXAMPLE

Henry Street Settlement, Recycle-a-Bicycle,

local public schools, after-school programs:

•New York City youth and young adults from

low-income neighborhoods repair donated bicycles

• Sell or donate them back to the community

• Participants learn about the environmental benefits of

bicycling and conservation

• Since opening its doors in 1995, they’ve recovered or

spared 109 tons from the city's waste stream


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2011 COLLABORATION PRIZE:

Adoption Coalition of Texas

• 5 nonprofit child-placing agencies,

TX Department of Child Protective Services

• Austin Community Foundation : financial accounting, grants management, HR, other back-office support

• Shared mission : finding “forever families” for kids languishing in the foster care system

• Result: Annual adoptions increased from 370 to well over 700


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www.dfmassachi.net

Take a few moments to jot down how your work fits into the larger picture of your community’s well-being:

• Are you picking up where other orgs leave off ?

• Are you breaking new ground or starting a trend that will create possibilities for your field or industry?

• Do you serve a crucial intermediary function that other important systems need to work well?

WRITING WORKOUT

CHOOSE YOUR PARTNERS WISELY!• Provide similar/complementary services or programs

• Have self-interest(s) that will be met by project

• Enthusiastic re: working together

• Play well with others (organized, flexible,

dependable, transparent)

• Offer a diversity of viewpoints

• Have some of the required expertise and resources

• Are credible, respected in community, with funders

• Want accountability from everyone (including funders), even if leadership shifts over time

• Ideal size: 2-8


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TO DISCUSS DURING PLANNING

• Buy-in from org leaders, key

stakeholders: joint ownership

• Why each is engaging, how much

• Agree on project’s mission, scope, purpose: must have shared goals and vision

• Agree on way of defining, measuring success

• Each partner carves out a specialty for leadership

• Process for dealing with conflict, informed failure


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COLLABORATIVE WRITING

• Encourages and models debate,

discussion of best practices, current thinking

• Offers excellent opportunity to mentor the less experienced writers

• Team can develop more proposals, initiate more programs – based on template


www.dfmassachi.net

PROPOSAL WRITING ROLES • Team Leader

• Reviewers

• Budget Developer

• Researcher/Lit Reviewer (for background)

• Needs Assessment Coordinator

• Outside Experts (on evaluation, etc.)

• Only 1 Final Editor!


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SET SOME EXPECTATIONS

• How available will each person be

at critical points in the writing?

• How open is everyone to

constructive criticism?

• How will you handle areas of disagreement or different interpretations?


www.dfmassachi.net

HOW TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS

• Start writing AFTER the planning starts

• Divide up the writing tasks accordingto content, formatting expertise

• Agree on how to share overall and specific edits

• Set due dates and meeting times (live/conf call)

• Meet to come to consensus on questionable areas

• Celebrate proposal teamwork


www.dfmassachi.net

EXAMPLE: Gooden College Connection

• Met to read RFP together, ID central points/questions/concerns

• Brainstormed idea, outlined• Created a joint Logic Model• Appointed a grant administrator• Each partner provided bios/org descriptions,

program plans, background data, budgets• Appointed 1 proposal editor; set deadlines for

submission to her; drafts circulated for comment• Administrator approved, submitted final draft


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LETTERS OF SUPPORT

• On org letterhead• Signed by highest authority• Time commitment to planning process • Acknowledgement of other partners, their

contributions• Commitment to the agreed-upon vision, focus,

intended results, strategies• Statement of what they expect to get in return• Listing of resources to be contributed• Confirmation that the individual has authority to

devote resources from own org


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MOU: LIVING CONTRACT

• List of stakeholders: interests, roles• Shared assumptions• Program: vision, mission, strategies • Timelines, milestones• Resource needs for project• Norms: participation, conflict management,

decision-making, communication• Payment schedule once grant is made

Periodic reviews: add agreements over new issues


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PROPOSAL CHECKLIST

1. Justify the existence of the collaborative

2. History of collaboration: including this proposal

3. List lead administrator/fiscal agent (history here?)

4. List partners, background

5. How you fit together: what each will contribute

6. Ongoing evaluation plan: project and collaboration


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TYPES OF FUNDER SUPPORT

• Lead Investor: gets collaborative up and running and intends to attract future funds

• Funder of initial exploration: needs, feasibility

• Funder of implementation/continuation

• Funder through a challenge grant


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PITFALLS TO AVOID• Power imbalances divide you• Irreconcilable org culture clashes • Individual egos/intellectual ownership• Territorialism• Not planning for a supporting infrastructure

(staff time for coordination, facilitation)• Unrealistic expectations (deadlines, maxed out

staff, don’t know/trust each other well yet)• Partners don’t have long-term vision/commitment• Not enough shared recognition/rewards


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