Giving Compass' Take:

• This NPC post discusses how nonprofits can do more by working with others rather than going solo, but the way in which they should collaborate is in dispute.

• Strategic, impactful partnerships are championed by many, but other leaders in the field argue that diverging needs among organizations may present challenges. Are mergers the better option? 

• Here's a roadmap for effective collaboration that cuts through the complexity.

Duncan Shrubsole, Director of Policy, Partnerships & Communications at Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales, advocates more collaboration between charities, but thinks that they don’t often need to go as far as merging.

Duncan emphasized the importance of focusing on beneficiaries. He agreed that some charities and causes, such as medical research, do need economies of scale so should think about merger. But there are things smaller charities can do, with support from others, that larger merged charities cannot.

He talked about small, local, charities tackling place-based issues. For example, helping victims of domestic abuse from the South Asian community in a former mill town where locality matters. This could not be done by a generic "one-size-fits all" national charity, which is why he is reluctant about mergers scaling certain charities up.

For Duncan, there are many different types of approaches when it comes to partnering with organizations formally and informally. And these don’t have to be organizations within the social sector. He talked about many projects Lloyds Bank Foundation were involved in, or aware of, where bringing in "unsuspecting people into the cause can lead to a great impact." He encouraged all delegates to look for collaboration with unlikely partners.

Read the full article about whether charities should collaborate or merge by Fatima Asif at thinknpc.org.