By Melinda Hudson, Director of Public Liaison, Corporation for National Service

SPRING 2000 (archived information - please note the date of publication)

It's spring, you're looking toward next year's programming, and it's clear you need additional resources. A nice juicy grant from a foundation or product donation from a company or some advertising that would build name recognition—all of these can help extend your reach and effectiveness. But you are no fundraiser. You don't know the bank president. And you've got your hands full running that program.

It all begins with a shift in perspective. You may be traumatized by the idea of going out and raising money, and that's not surprising. Fundraising is a specialty with a whole industry devoted to it. Why should you be expected to be great at running a national service program, and also have the same skills as someone who is terrific at shaking down donors?

The good news is that you have the skills to do something even better than fundraising, and that is building resource-rich partnerships. Rather than a one-shot deal for which you raise funds, this approach seeks to develop a partnership that extends into areas in which you might not have originally envisioned. Real hard cash is certainly attractive, but in addition to being the most difficult resource to procure, it is not always the most valuable to your program's long-term sustainability. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have advocates for your program all over town rather than a one-time donor to list in your annual report? Isn't it helpful to have others tell your story or seek assistance for you than just you yourself?

Start by thinking of your bottom line in a new way. There are many expenses you can defray by in-kind product donations--everything from office equipment to advertising to training and technical assistance. Each one of these is an introduction to a partnership. What may start as a simple invitation to join you in a day of service, with time and attention can develop into a relationship that brings you allies, resources, collaborators, fans, recruits, and maybe even cash.

This is happening all over the national service landscape and is creeping into the nonprofit world as a whole. The following is some collected wisdom about forming successful partnerships.

Shift from a Sales to a Marketing Perspective
Sales is a one-way transaction: "I have the product and I'm going to do all in my power to get you to buy it." Marketing is a two-way transaction: "I have something that you will find valuable and you have something that can make our work better." See the difference? Marketing assumes that everybody wins. And that makes a relationship possible. Start with the attitude that you are going to create a win-win partnership in which both parties have something to give and something to gain.

Know Your Product
National service has some of the best assets any marketer could imagine:

• We address real needs. What we do matters.
• We get things done. For instance, national tests tell us that 40 percent of third-graders are not proficient readers. Our tutoring programs deliver measurable results such as improving reading scores by two grade levels.
• It is low risk. Corporation-funded programs are rigorously reviewed to ensure quality. And their investment is matched by a secure stream of funds from the federal government.
• National service is inclusive. It is built on partnerships, so that your program and funders with ongoing relationships can work together on a common goal. Join resources with theirs—AmeriCorps members serving through Boys and Girls
  Clubs, Foster Grandparents joining literacy programs or offering coordinate service-learning projects after school.
• National service in your community is a part of something bigger. It's big, it's strengthening communities, developing participants, and getting things done, and it's
  happening right there in your home town!

Know Your Targets
If you've identified the largest employer in town as your target for building a strategic alliance, you've got to know what matters to this enterprise. How do they make their money? Who are their customers? Where do they invest if they have a philanthropic arm? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Who are their top executives and what are their issues? It's a simple research project, but one that needs to be done well. First, get their annual report and read it from cover to cover for themes, growth areas, points of pride. Check their website. If you are interested in a marketing relationship, who are their customers? They'll want to see if affiliating with you will be attractive to their target market. Pick up some of their lingo so you can speak the same language.

Make It a Team Effort
Your best weapon is a strong community advisory board that can help you make the contacts you need to develop these partnerships. There is an old maxim about the three G's in community organizations about their boards: members have to Give, Get, or Get off! Build that board, starting at whatever level you've got. In other words, if you don't know the bank president, do you know the vice president? Or the community relations officer? Or the teller? You'll eventually build up to more senior folks if you start with folks who are passionate about your mission. Think also about the kinds of professionals you need. Always have a lawyer, a media, public relations, or marketing person, a numbers guru from a local accounting firm or bank, and a fundraiser. The National Society of Fund Raising Executives can introduce you to fundraising, and perhaps point out local go-getters.

Align Your Missions
Determine what do you have in common with your partner—why they would find value in a relationship with you. There are a lot of angles. In a tight labor market, companies need to hold on to their employees and to incubate employees of the future. Programs that address concerns of current employees—environmental projects, literacy programs for kids, public safety initiatives round schools, eldercare, decent housing—are important human resource tools for a company as well as present a good corporation image. Affiliation with good causes increases sales—78 percent of consumers will switch brands for a cause or organization they admire. Companies are increasingly aligning their community investments with their business objectives. Why not do that by supporting something that helps meet a real need in that particular community?

Leave the Paper Behind and Listen
Ask to meet with a potential partner because you've seen what they've been doing or have heard that they care about certain issues. You're not selling, you're meeting another fellow traveler in this campaign to get things done. Leave the paper behind—you're not making a proposal, you're finding common ground, aligning your missions, seeking mutually beneficial activities, and building strategic alliances. Listen. Don't talk. The potential partner will tell you precisely what they value, what they need, and what concerns they might have about you. Resist the temptation to explain or "power point" at your first meeting. You have just a few basic points: there is a serious problem, both groups care about it, explore how to help solve it together. If at all possible, offer them the opportunity to see your team at work. That is how they begin to be reassured that you are a good investment of energy, time, and money. Follow up with paper outlining some of the approaches you've identified together.

Take Your Time
These things take time. Even if lightning strikes at the first meeting, it is a long road from seeing common ground to rolling out the partnership. One savvy director said that he can consider only one partnership a year. After it's launched and before he goes after another one, he makes sure that someone considers that partnership their responsibility on an ongoing basis. Think about starting small, allowing it to take time, and growing in ways you don't expect.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You
Never stop thanking your partners. They may have taken risks to support you either inside their own organizations or in the community. Write a note, include them in your newsletter, keep them updated regularly, give them an award, keep offering more opportunities to work together, invite them to join your board, send your volunteers by their office with a token of appreciation on National Youth Service Day or National Volunteer Week, and share their support with the media. Thank them any way you can, and ask your board members, volunteers, other partners to do the same. Build that web of gratitude and it will, in turn, build a web of support.

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