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Nonprofit collaborations urged by Sonoma Impact 100

“One and one can often add up to four,” noted Bob Harrington, director of a consulting firm that specializes in strengthening nonprofit groups. At a recent Sonoma Impact 100 workshop, Harrington observed that when two or more organizations bring together their skills, manpower and shared missions, the result often multiplies far beyond any initial assumptions of what joint collaboration can accomplish.

  Harrington was one of three presenters at the Strategic Partnering/Collaboration Workshop held at St. Leo’s on Dec. 6, when around 80 local nonprofit representatives and Sonoma Impact members met to discuss the benefits and challenges of joint efforts.

  Over the years, Sonoma Valley nonprofit organizations have devised numerous, informal ways of working together. Kids from the WillMar Family Grief and Healing Center do art projects at the Sonoma Valley Museum, and the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance uses the kitchen at the Valley of the Moon Teen Center.

  Hanna Boys Center’s collaboration with Sonoma Valley Teen Services continues to expand. Coming up in Spring 2012, the two organizations will be among other nonprofits sponsoring a career fair to be held at Hanna. Currently, Hanna boys are among the teens who help staff the No Name Café, a Teen Services enterprise, at Sonoma Valley High School. They also attend the periodic job-training programs sponsored by Sonoma Valley Teen Services.

  As Sonoma Impact 100 moves into its third funding season, the whole concept of nonprofits collaborating with one another will take on more importance. In these tough economic times, we encourage all Sonoma Valley nonprofits to actively look for ways to cooperate – from working on joint projects to sharing administrative resources to creating more formal mergers. With an estimated 150 nonprofits in Sonoma Valley, all engaged in fundraising and attracting top board members, collaboration becomes a necessity.

  During the upcoming funding cycle, Sonoma Impact 100 urges non-profits to come together on joint projects, as they prepare to apply for the 2012 Impact grant of $100,000. This substantial award is given annually to a project that will make a significant impact in addressing needs in Sonoma Valley. Letters of inquiry, the first step in applying for the grant, are due Feb. 7, 2012.

  But in addition to stressing collaboration on the major award, Impact 100 has created a special category in its smaller community grants. Nonprofits who apply jointly for grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, can do so in a new category called “Strategic Partnering/Collaboration.” Other community grant areas of funding are “Capital,” “Innovation,” and “Program.”

  In applying for grant funds or coming together for other joint ventures, local nonprofits obviously need to engage in extensive conversations with their counterparts and identify areas where their missions come together. All presenters at the recent collaboration workshop emphasized the need for establishing trust, putting organizational egos aside, and finding ways to lessen competition.

  For more information on Sonoma Impact 100, go to www.impact100sonoma.org.

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  Rose Murphy is a member of Impact 100.