If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with the moment when writing a few checks to support various causes no longer feels sufficient. Perhaps you’ve realized that an issue you care about demands greater focus and commitment, and you have some sense of how philanthropic resources could play an important role. At this point, whether you are an individual donor, couple, family, foundation trustee, or even head of a company, you’ve probably wondered the following:

“How do I uncover funding opportunities that are most likely to create real and lasting change?”

“Is my money, time, or other resources being spent as effectively as possible?”

“How can I possibly help tackle a complex, seemingly intractable issue?"

The good news is that donors of all sizes and types have unique strengths to build upon. When nimble, curious donors come together as peers to learn and tackle issues of mutual concern collaboratively, those partnerships can lead to development of informed and creative strategies that power real, deep, and lasting change. Take, for example, the work of the Health Foundation for Western and Central New York in response to the crises of 2020, which we recently highlighted on the TPI blog.

Collaboration sounds great in concept, but partnering with others can be fraught with challenges and tensions. The good news is that there is a growing body of knowledge and experience that can help funders find meaningful ways to work together towards shared philanthropic goals. Let me share a brief overview of donor collaboration essentials, pulled from TPI’s primer, Donor Collaboration: Power in Numbers.

Pros and Cons of Donor Collaboration
Involvement in funder collaboratives can give donors access to information and new strategy ideas, to opportunities that might be out of reach otherwise, and to more efficient use of resources and sharing of risks. Some donor collaborations go even further and wield the power of partnerships for greater long-term impact by building public awareness of critical issues, influencing public policy, or even supporting and strengthening social movements.

There can also be significant challenges. As you might guess, the more partners that are involved, the more complex the process can be. Finding clarity around common purpose and taking the extra time to understand what drives each partner and to communicate well, especially as you create ground rules and develop strategies, can help to make sure any sacrifice in autonomy is outweighed by the opportunity for greater impact and synergy.

Read the full article about donor collaboration by Leslie Pine at The Philanthropic Initiative.