Resources

Sample Collaboration Letter of Agreement

Sample Collaboration Letter of Agreement

Thinking about setting up a collaborative project? Need a sample letter of agreement to seal the deal? Check out this letter of agreement drafted by two local cultural organizations, the National Museum of Mexican Art and the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, kindly provided by Charles Katzenmeyer, Vice President for External Affairs at the Adler and Randy Adamsick, now the Director of Institutional Advancement at the Chicago History Museum.

This collaboration developed Under One Sky (Bajo Un Mismo Cielo) to diversify the Adler’s membership base and create programming and educational activities to encourage Latino participation in the Adler’s future. It also afforded exposure for the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) among Museum Campus visitors and deepened the value offered with a NMMA membership.

To learn more about this collaborative project and to access the letter of agreement, download the files below.

Adler_NMMA_Collaboration.pdf

• Sample Letter of Agreement

Steps for Considering and Creating an Alliance

Is an alliance right for your organization? Who should you recruit and how? This issue of Tools gives you an overview of the steps for considering and creating an alliance at the lower intensity end of the partnership continuum—coordination and collaboration. The information is abbreviated from Chapter 2 of our book, Forming Alliances: Working Together to Achieve Mutual Goals by Linda Hoskins and Emil Angelica.

Click here to read more.

Tips for Managing Conflict in Collaborations

Collaborations, by their nature, are a breeding ground for conflict. Not that conflict per se is bad—in fact it can be quite useful. But let’s face it, most of us are uncomfortable dealing with it. This issue of Tools describes typical sources of conflict in collaborations and suggests ways to resolve them. The information is from pages 76-89 of Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey by Michael Winer and Karen Ray.

Click here to read more.

Mapping Your Networks to Mine Valuable Resources

AFTER EXPLORING all possible options for reducing expenses and increasing revenues, many nonprofits are stymied—how can they survive this downturn? Every nonprofit has another valuable resource that they can tap—social capital. Positive, productive relationships represent social capital, which is just as important (well, almost as important) as money in the bank. Social capital has been described as the resources available to people based on the networks their relationships give them access to. This article suggests ways to measure relationships in terms of strong ties and weak ties, discover the benefits and limitations of these ties, and analyze networks in terms of the strength of their ties.

But, before you can develop strategies for mining your social capital, you need a clear picture of your organization’s connections and networks. A good first step is to create a “social capital map.” This issue article by Becky Andres, Marketing Manager of Fieldstone Alliance, gives you a process for doing that.

Click here to read more.

Engagement Strategies: Making the Most of Working Together

Check out this article by Sandy Jacobsen, Principal Consultant, and Stephanie Jacobs, Consulting Associate for Fieldstone Alliance that discusses the broad spectrum of strategies that nonprofits can use as cushions against economic downturns to meet long-term mission goals. This article takes a closer look at engagement strategies. Working together is getting a lot of attention right now as staff look for ways to make the most of their nonprofit’s resources. The following chart begins with general advice followed by more specific suggestions and links to great resources on how to work together, from simple engagements all the way up to a merger.

Click here to read more.

Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory

In the middle of a crucial collaborative project for your organization? Check out this free online collaboration assessment to see how things are going. This tool will help you assess how your collaboration is doing on 20 research-tested success factors. When you complete this inventory, you will receive summary scores for each of these factors.

This inventory was developed and tested by Wilder Research over a period of eight years. It is designed to help a potential or existing collaborative assess its strengths and weaknesses relative to the 20 success factors. If you have just begun to consider a collaboration, you can use the inventory to assess your readiness to collaborate—and make plans to remedy weaknesses that might torpedo the collaboration.

Longstanding collaborations can use the results to unblock logjams, surface unspoken agendas, and troubleshoot problems. It gives the collaboration a less subjective way to talk about issues of trust, resources, leadership, communication, and other problems that might otherwise be too sensitive to bring up in a group setting.

Click here to access the Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory.

Collaborating with a For-Profit: Some Risks but Huge Potential

AS MORE AND MORE nonprofits explore new avenues for revenue, many are weighing the benefits and challenges of collaborating with for-profit entities. Because this type of collaboration can provide access to sources of capital that are not typically available to a nonprofit, it can be an attractive option to those who know how to properly structure the partnership. For those who don’t, the partnership can lead to failure, compromised mission, and dissatisfied employees. How do you know if a nonprofit/for-profit collaboration is for you? Check out this article by Tom Triplett to learn more about how to collaborate with for-profit organizations.

Click here to read more.

Managing Collaboration Risks: Partnering with Confidence and Success Booklet

Thinking about collaborating? This 30-page booklet provides information to help nonprofit organizations better manage collaboration risks. Topics covered include nonprofit-nonprofit collaborations, nonprofit-business collaborations, mergers and collaborating with insiders. The booklet also has sample checklists for risk management strategies and insurance considerations, as well as a primer on writing a memorandum of understanding.

Click here to download a free copy.

Nonprofit Collaboration Database

This unique database provides models and best practices of exceptional nonprofit collaboration efforts drawn from projects presented for consideration for the 2009 Collaboration Prize, created by the Lodestar Foundation. It’s a great resource for everyone seeking real-life examples of how nonprofits are working together. Explore different collaboration models, learn about strategies for overcoming challenges to working together, find metrics for measuring outcomes, and more.

Click here to access and search the database.

Collaboration Consultancy Form

Collaboration Consultancy Form

If you have been attending the Learning Circle, please fill out the collaboration consultancy form and turn it in to Maureen Burns at [email protected] by 12 noon, Monday, November 29th.

Directions:
Download the pdf below using a version of Adobe Reader 8 or higher. Fill it out and once you are done, click the green “submit” button on the first page of the document. A security warning may pop up. Allow your computer to connect, or trust the connection. A window will appear entitled “Free PDF Form Filling by PDFill.” Scroll down to option 3: “Email this PDF directly to other people.” All you need to do is provide your name and email address. For the receiver’s email, please enter: [email protected] . When you are done, click the link below: “submit your form data by email.” The window should take you to another page confirming your submission.

• Collaboration Consultancy Form

Engaging Audiences through Effective Collaboration Presentations

AEE Learning Circle Presentations

Didn’t make it to the Learning Circle? Download Kelley Lavin’s presentations for the two sessions of the AEE workshop on how to engage new audiences through different types of collaboration. A list of organizations participating in the Learning Circle can also be found in the first presentation.

October 26, Session 1: Why Collaborate?

November 2, Session 2: How to Identify Assets, Resources, and Organizational Needs for a Successful Collaboration

Engaging Audiences through Effective Collaboration Workbook

AEE Learning Circle Homework

This is the Companion Workbook for the Learning Circle, “Engaging Audiences through Effective Collaboration.”

• Engaging Audiences through Effective Collaboration Companion Workbook