ABUJA, Nov 21 (IPS) – It is an established fact that building partnerships is one of the most effective ways for African non-profit organizations to attract funding and deepen their impact. So, as an addendum to this article by Tafadzwa and myself, here is a guide to finding your match.
Indeed, choosing an organization to work with can be like deciding on your life partner. It doesn’t require the same commitment in life but the wrong partnership can seriously damage your reputation with sponsors, the trust you have from the community(s) and even the faith your team members have in you. In some cases, the results are not so bad. Perhaps, it may just distract you, force you into areas you may not have intended, and cause you to lose time or risk years of hard work.
So, with broad contributions, how can you find the right partner for your work as an African civil society organization (CSO) or non-profit?
- Get Your House in Order: Organizations are often judged on the strength of collaborative management. While the size of an organization can have an impact on how robust its processes and procedures are, what is important is that regardless of size, there is a system and culture of accountability and transparency. The strongest path towards establishing broad public relations that ensure long-term grassroots support is accompanied by legitimacy and structure, as evidenced in your goals, leadership structure, accountability measures and organizational culture. This may seem like an obvious point but African non-profit organizations often start informally as a small step to solve a social problem. Over time, that small program transforms into a registered non-governmental organization, whose leadership is made up of close friends and family members. Even if this works to make the organization work, it doesn’t work for long. At a minimum, every nonprofit organization should have a diverse and effective board of directors/trustees, a well-articulated vision, values and goals, strategic goals and operations. These benchmarks help you guide what kind of partner you need, when to talk to them and how you want to engage with them.
- Be Collaborative, Not Competing: For too long, fundraising in Africa has pitted non-profit organizations against each other. However, to reap the benefits of collaboration, organizations must be willing to close the deal, and work together in an open, honest relationship. However, with so much mistrust already a hallmark of the nonprofit space, how do we move forward? It really starts with having a different mindset. If more organizations accept the idea that collaboration, not competition, is the way forward we will have made great progress. But this is not a perfect world and there will always be dishonest people so the following few points should give you some protection.
- Find Your Strategic Match: While some partnerships may be short-term, all partnerships should be strategic (regardless of the time frame). This means there must be alignment of values, methodology, complementary (not specific) areas and a proven track record of value. Before contacting a prospective partner, it is important to consider what you can offer the partner organization. It can be helpful to have a predetermined checklist with must-haves and a few flexible criteria. This also means creating an internal standard of excellence that all prospective partners must adhere to. That is why point (1) is so important. If you are not clear about who you are as an organization or your needs, how will you identify an organization that matches your partner profile?
- Start Small and Take It Small: You can start in your circle, with organizations that align with your values and whose leadership you can support to some extent. However, don’t be too quick to commit to major projects or sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) without reading the fine print. You can also start with projects that may not require funding (because these tend to have high stakes) but things like knowledge/data sharing, staff exchange etc. it may be somewhere to start. These low-hanging fruits help you get a feel for what kind of organization you’re dealing with. Finally, it doesn’t mean you ask for a ‘get-to-know-you’ meeting where you share your histories, policies and procedures with each other (yes, like a first date) and go from there. It is important that you do not accept a partnership under duress and if the organization refuses to honor this request, then it is possible that they are not the same for you.
- Be Different and Be Inclusive in Your Search: Oftentimes nonprofits struggle to capture the attention of more established organizations, forgetting that there may be dozens of other organizations doing great work who could be trusted partners. Casting a wide net is recommended. The fact that the organization is small (or even smaller than yours) does not limit the value it can provide. You can also make an open call for partnerships, highlighting your area(s) of interest, what you will bring to the table and an overview of the type of organization you are looking for.
In the end, you have to remember that the point of finding a partner is fulfillment yours strategic goals and ensure the sustainability of your organization while contributing another one organization. Approaching partnership building from this perspective strengthens the network of non-profit organizations across the Continent, helps us leverage our internal wealth of resources and moves us away from over-reliance on external funding.
Angela Umoru-David she is a social impact advocate with experience spanning across journalism, program design and corporate/development communications, and aims to capture the most influential views on the African story.
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
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