More and more funders prefer (or require) organizations to leverage their resources by collaborating with complementary partners. In a world where competition is often more common than cooperation, how do we navigate these waters? This workshop will showcase some successful collaborations that involved joint grantseeking, and offer pointers on how you can succeed too!

1. Collaborating with Partners on Joint
Grants: Do’s And Don'ts
Dalya Massachi
March 21, 2012
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4. Today’s Speaker
Dalya Massachi
Founder
Writing for Community Success
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5. COLLABORATING WITH
PARTNERS ON JOINT GRANTS:
DO’S AND DON’TS
Presented by:
Dalya F. Massachi

6. OPPORTUNITY TO LEVERAGE
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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7. “A tapestry woven of
promises, obligations,
self-interests, multiple
agendas, assumptions,
communication styles, and
leadership styles of every
stripe and hue, the
collaboration is a work
of abstract art with
tremendous concrete
results.”
- Vince Hyman, Fieldstone Alliance
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8. QUESTION
Have you been involved in a
collaborative project like this?
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9. BEYOND FUNDING FOR
“ISOLATED IMPACT”
Today’s world is
interdependent! No
single org can solve
any major social
problem
(e.g., climate change)
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10. SESSION OBJECTIVES
Today, you’ll be able to identify:
• Reasons to collaborate
• Essentials in selecting collaborators
• How to streamline joint proposals
• Pitfalls to avoid: showstoppers
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11. MANY TYPES OF COLLABORATIONS
• Vary by intensity and commitment
• Today’s focus:
specific programmatic collaborations
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12. COLLABORATING 2 X
1) To design and implement the program
(e.g. service delivery, advocacy, etc.)
2) To apply for and manage the joint grant
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13. “HOW COME YOU ALL DON’T
JUST COMBINE FORCES?”
• We’re so passionate, concerned about our
own sub-issues that we can neglect the
potential allies out there
• Often allow narrow org interests to take
precedence over larger community interests
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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14. GOOD REASONS TO COLLABORATE
• 2+ heads are often better than 1!
• Make a bigger difference than alone
• Require more than just 1 org has
• Maximize resources; Save $
• Show you are well-integrated
• Build on strengths/complement weaknesses
• Avoid duplicating services
• Learn from others’ experiences
• Reap benefits of economy of scale
• Establish a strong collective voice/presence
NOT just to answer an RFP
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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15. TAKE A HINT FROM THE CORP WORLD
• Number of marketing partnerships
of airline frequent flyer programs
• Customers can earn miles or get discounts
with many credit cards, hotels, car rental
companies, restaurants, and even retail stores.
In turn, the businesses involved reap the
benefits of expanding their market share.
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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16. EXAMPLE:
Tenderloin Technology Lab
Partners: San Francisco Network Ministries &
St. Anthony Foundation
• Collaboration for 4 years and counting
• Tripled their program capacity
• Reduced program costs by 50%
• Attracted more media, web presence, requests
for partnerships, community buy-in
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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17. NYC EXAMPLE
Henry Street Settlement, Recycle-a-Bicycle,
local public schools, after-school programs:
•New York City youth and young adults from
low-income neighborhoods repair donated bicycles
• Sell or donate them back to the community
• Participants learn about the environmental benefits of
bicycling and conservation
• Since opening its doors in 1995, they’ve recovered or
spared 109 tons from the city's waste stream
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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18. 2011 COLLABORATION PRIZE:
Adoption Coalition of Texas
• 5 nonprofit child-placing agencies,
TX Department of Child Protective Services
• Austin Community Foundation : financial accounting,
grants management, HR, other back-office support
• Shared mission : finding “forever families” for kids
languishing in the foster care system
• Result: Annual adoptions increased from 370 to well
over 700
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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19. WRITING WORKOUT
Take a few moments to jot down how your work fits
into the larger picture of your community’s well-being:
• Are you picking up where other orgs leave off ?
• Are you breaking new ground or starting a trend that
will create possibilities for your field or industry?
• Do you serve a crucial intermediary function that
other important systems need to work well?
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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20. CHOOSE YOUR PARTNERS WISELY!
• Provide similar/complementary services or programs
• Have self-interest(s) that will be met by project
• Enthusiastic re: working together
• Play well with others (organized, flexible,
dependable, transparent)
• Offer a diversity of viewpoints
• Have some of the required expertise and resources
• Are credible, respected in community, with funders
• Want accountability from everyone (including funders),
even if leadership shifts over time
• Ideal size: 2-8
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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21. TO DISCUSS DURING PLANNING
• Buy-in from org leaders, key
stakeholders: joint ownership
• Why each is engaging, how much
• Agree on project’s mission, scope, purpose: must
have shared goals and vision
• Agree on way of defining, measuring success
• Each partner carves out a specialty for leadership
• Process for dealing with conflict, informed failure
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22. COLLABORATIVE WRITING
• Encourages and models debate,
discussion of best practices, current thinking
• Offers excellent opportunity to mentor the
less experienced writers
• Team can develop more proposals, initiate
more programs – based on template
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23. PROPOSAL WRITING ROLES
• Team Leader
• Reviewers
• Budget Developer
• Researcher/Lit Reviewer (for
background)
• Needs Assessment Coordinator
• Outside Experts (on evaluation, etc.)
• Only 1 Final Editor!
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24. SET SOME EXPECTATIONS
• How available will each person be
at critical points in the writing?
• How open is everyone to
constructive criticism?
• How will you handle areas of disagreement or
different interpretations?
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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25. HOW TO STREAMLINE THE PROCESS
• Start writing AFTER the planning starts
• Divide up the writing tasks according
to content, formatting expertise
• Agree on how to share overall and specific edits
• Set due dates and meeting times (live/conf call)
• Meet to come to consensus on questionable areas
• Celebrate proposal teamwork
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26. EXAMPLE: Gooden College Connection
• Met to read RFP together, ID central
points/questions/concerns
• Brainstormed idea, outlined
• Created a joint Logic Model
• Appointed a grant administrator
• Each partner provided bios/org descriptions,
program plans, background data, budgets
• Appointed 1 proposal editor; set deadlines for
submission to her; drafts circulated for comment
• Administrator approved, submitted final draft
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27. LETTERS OF SUPPORT
• On org letterhead
• Signed by highest authority
• Time commitment to planning process
• Acknowledgement of other partners, their
contributions
• Commitment to the agreed-upon vision, focus,
intended results, strategies
• Statement of what they expect to get in return
• Listing of resources to be contributed
• Confirmation that the individual has authority to
devote resources from own org
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28. MOU: LIVING CONTRACT
• List of stakeholders: interests, roles
• Shared assumptions
• Program: vision, mission, strategies
• Timelines, milestones
• Resource needs for project
• Norms: participation, conflict management,
decision-making, communication
• Payment schedule once grant is made
Periodic reviews: add agreements over new issues
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29. PROPOSAL CHECKLIST
1. Justify the existence of the collaborative
2. History of collaboration: including this proposal
3. List lead administrator/fiscal agent (history here?)
4. List partners, background
5. How you fit together: what each will contribute
6. Ongoing evaluation plan: project and collaboration
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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30. TYPES OF FUNDER SUPPORT
• Lead Investor: gets collaborative up and
running and intends to attract future funds
• Funder of initial exploration: needs, feasibility
• Funder of implementation/continuation
• Funder through a challenge grant
Copyright 2012 Dalya F. Massachi
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31. PITFALLS TO AVOID
• Power imbalances divide you
• Irreconcilable org culture clashes
• Individual egos/intellectual ownership
• Territorialism
• Not planning for a supporting infrastructure
(staff time for coordination, facilitation)
• Unrealistic expectations (deadlines, maxed out
staff, don’t know/trust each other well yet)
• Partners don’t have long-term vision/commitment
• Not enough shared recognition/rewards
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