Abstract

Leveraging additional community service organizations means adding to the quality of your program and the capacity to benefit those served. It also means becoming fluent in talking with those who might become partners. This effective practice, based on a chapter in the Program Assessment Guidebook and submitted by Hands On Network in August 2006, outlines steps for making initial and subsequent contact.

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Issue

Contacting potential partners may feel intimidating, with much at stake as you reach out and they form first impressions.

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Action

Once you have determined who, where, and how you want to serve, it is time to contact potential partners. Steps to take include:

Conduct an informational overview.
An initial conversation between you and the community service organization (CSO) should be a fact-finding mission for both parties to assess partnership potential and can be done over the phone to save time. You should provide a brief overview of the services your program is able to offer, as well as establish partnership parameters. Likewise, the potential partner should be asked how volunteers are currently being utilized. If volunteers are being used, inquire about the hours of operation, whether volunteers can be accommodated on evenings and weekends, and what specific requirements are in place for volunteers.

Initially, this conversation should be fairly brief to determine whether partnership opportunities may exist. If a CSO appears to meet the criteria of a potentially successful partner, the next step is to set up a meeting in person. You can host an open house at your program's site and/or visit the agency partner's facility.

Conduct a site visit.
Visiting the CSO's site is a great way to assess additional needs by observing the facilities, clients, and various possibilities for a partnership. Always keep in mind the potential resources needed and possible parameters.

Get a good sense of what the organization does and how it does it; your program staff should have a complete understanding of the full scope of programming. This will aid in the creation and facilitation of projects, programs, and other opportunities within the partnership. Become familiar with the partner's clients, staff, and current events.

Tour the facility and look for space, potential service projects, and volunteer friendliness.

Follow up after the site visit.
Put a plan in place for developing service projects. Record all information gathered from the site and file it for future reference. If you determine that the CSO is not a good fit as a partner, remember that circumstances may change to allow for future partnerships.

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Context

Keep in mind, because the needs of the communities being served are likely to change, the types of projects and/or issue areas may change as well to accommodate community and volunteer needs. Remaining flexible, innovative and continually outreaching to potential partners is essential.

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Outcome

National service programs that follow these steps will:

• Assess potential partnership relationships
• Contact potential CSO partners

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Posted On

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For More Information

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Resources

This effective practice is the third in a series on volunteer leveraging from the Hands On Network. To read the next practice in the series, see Assessing community needs before planning a service project.

See the previous effective practices in the series:

• Assessing your organization's potential for partnership
• Assessing potential partnerships with community-based organizations

Source Documents

Related Practices

• Assessing potential partnerships with community-based organizations
• Assessing your organization’s potential for partnerships

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