Ready to collaborate? Allocate a time in your calendar – once a month, twice a month – where you commit to connecting with a potential partner. Collaboration is one of the great ways to show a funder that there is an urgent need in the community – it’s been identified by two (or three) different organizations as a priority. They want to know their money is being used wisely in the community. “The fastest path from A to B is found by picking up the phone and finding someone who has already FOUND the path from A to B.”įunders are no longer interested in funding projects at 100%. Sandbox collaborations and why you need themĬollaborations can take many forms – formal grant applications for projects, impromptu brainstorming sessions, mastermind groups between Executive Directors – but they always have one key ingredient: they are mutually beneficial. Let them know that you’re interested in their work and that you’d like to keep in touch. Include them in your publications (e-newsletters etc) and vice versa. If you see something that would interest them, let them know. Treat that relationship with your sandbox friend with respect. Make friends: you are more likely to want to collaborate with someone you know and trust. You’ll form a better bond, it will force you to get away from your email, and you’ll gain some invaluable perspective on your organization’s work, and how it’s perceived outside your walls. Make it a priority to nurture those relationships in advance of needing something. You don’t want to be the kind of person that reaches out only when you need something – funding, a reference letter, or help. Figure out the geography of your sandbox – where are the big mountains, and the smaller valleys? Not sure where to start on this? Download this pdf that I created for the Ottawa PitchFest to get your collaborative juices flowing. Focus on their work, and how they are achieving it, and who is running the show. In order to collaborate, you need to know who’s in your sandbox, and you need to understand how they operate.ĭon’t worry about labels – not-for-profit, corporate, government or academic institutions. Gone are the days that not-for-profits can hide their heads in the sand and declare that they don’t need partners because “no one is playing in their space.” The reality is, there is always someone playing in your space – it might not be the exact same thing you’re doing, but it’s similar enough that a potential funder wants to know. We need to play nicely in the sandbox with others. Great collaboration starts from the basic rules of elementary school. Remember your days in elementary school? You learned those all-important life lessons like: raise your hand when you have something to say, always put the lid on your glue stick, and remember to give everyone in your class a valentine? This post was originally prepared for as session at Ottawa Festivals 2015 PitchFest
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