Do Nonprofits Partner Enough?

Last Thursday while leading a Manatee Human Services Network training session on the Power of Partnerships, I conducted an index card survey of the 60 participants. The goal was to compute the number of their current partnerships. The total? 1,076.

Do you often hear that your nonprofit needs to cooperate more? If so, to respond with strength, tally the number of your partnerships and share it often. For instance, “Did you know that we are already involved in 47 partnerships of various sorts? We’re always interested to learn more about potential partners –who do you have in mind?”

We need to educate the community about the highly cooperative nature of nonprofits. What’s your number?