4 Practical Insights on Place-Based Impact Investing Collaboration

Strategic Collaboration: Leveraging Dollars for Impact

Giving Compass' Take: • In this GrantCraft post, Elaine Katz, Senior VP of Grants and Communications at the Kessler Foundation, discusses collaborative funding as an increasingly popular and practical option for funders. • How might public/private partnerships help scale programs? There's a call here for more risk-takers. • Here's more on building a collaborative culture from inspiration to application. The recent great recession that strained philanthropic financial resources and the nonprofit organizations they support, has paved new avenues for collaboration. Today, we are seeing more models (i.e. learning networks, funder syndicates, and venture models), that highlight collaborative funding as an increasingly popular and practical option for funders as a means of impact philanthropy. When the Kessler Foundation board refocused its grantmaking program in 2005 on increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities, program staff needed to explore ways to maximize its small grantmaking budget of $2.5 million in order to influence growth in a meaningful way. Public/private partnerships and shared funding models became a priority.  Accordingly, we sought out innovative pilots or demonstration projects to provide proof of concept. If successful, these programs could be scaled into a larger corporate or public programs to increase employment. In collaborative funding, one organization often takes the lead. Partners, therefore, must have trust in one another’s ability to lead efficiently and fairly. Fluid communication, understanding, trust, and goodwill are vital to success. For example, it is common practice for partners to share opportunities for speaking engagements and media placements. Setting egos aside to share the front stage is a gesture of mutual respect that will engender a healthier relationship long-term.