1. Report published by: North Star Strategies and SchellingPoint : January 3, 2017 12:08 AM
Nonprofit Collaborations:
A Preliminary Conversation
Analysis |Observations| Reflections

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Background
Purpose
Thank youfor offeringyourtime toparticipate inthispreliminaryconversation.Participantsinthis
processare a randomselectionof peoplewhoattendedthe 2016 Dana annual meeting.Ourgoal in
conductingthis assessmentwas,first, toprovidethe participantswithasnapshotof the opinionsof
theirpeersregardingcollaborationbetweenandamongnonprofitorganizations. We alsowantedto
illustrate howmuchinterestthereis incollaboration,testingoutalistof common(thoughnot
exhaustive) ways organizationscancollaborate andpartner.
Questionsand Answers
You provided great insight but also asked some questions. Here are our thought on those.
Q: Please define collaboration.
In retrospect,we will certainlyshouldhave giventhe definition tothiswordas an introductiontothe
survey.We like tothinkof collaborationasfunctioningona continuumfromcooperationto
collaborationtopartnershiptomergerwhere the termsare definedasfollows:
Cooperation:neitherorganizationsharesresourcesbuttheydorefertheirclientstootherorganizations
whoare capable of fulfillingneedswhichthe referringorganizationcannotaccomplish.Exampleswould
be a HeadStartprogram referringclientstothe FoodBank,or the Food Bankreferringclientstoa
parentingclassat the local communitycenter.
Collaboration: participatingorganizationsshare some level of resourceswitheachother.Theyhave
“skininthe game”.For example,one organizationusesavanduringthe day and collaborating
organizationusesthe same vanonweekends.Collaborationgenerallyrequires A Memorandumof
Understandingtoensure commonunderstandingof expectations.
Partnership:the organizationsmaintainaseparate identitybutshare theirresourcesforone ormore
programs.An agencythat providesservices9to 5 Monday throughFridaysharesare space witha
program that workseveningsandweekends.The relationshipisnow complex enoughthatacontractual
relationshipwithdefinedcosts,liabilities,policiesandproceduresisrequired.
Merger:generallytwoorganizationswhichhave verysimilarmissionsformanew organizationwhich
fillsbothmissionswhile realizingsuchadvantagesaseconomiesof scale,eliminationof duplicationof
back office functionsandsharedvolunteerandboardcapacity.
O: Observation:You mightdistinguish the difficulty/costsof differentkindsof collaboration between
nonprofits.Sharing ideasand bestpracticesin discussion forumsorwritten documentsiseasy,but
coordinating shared servicedelivery is often difficultand time consuming.
Thispointis verywell taken.Withveryrare exceptionspeople,groupsororganizationsonlychange
whenthe statusquo ismore painful thanthe process/strugglethatleadstoa new reality.Saidanother
way,the benefitof the newrelationshipmustoutweighthe struggle toestablishthe relationship.
The methodologyandtechnologythatwe have illustratedinthisabbreviatedprocesshasbeenshownin
for-profitbusinessesandnonprofitorganizationstosufficientlylowerthe barriertocollaborationthat

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organizationsare more inclinedtoenterseriousdialogue.Suchconversationshave ledtocollaborations,
partnershipsandwhenwarrantedevenmergers.
Q: How can we get to knowoneanotherto workmorecollaboratively?
Our visionasan organizationis toenable deeperalignmentwithinorganizationsandtofoster
meaningful collaborationandpartnershipbetweenandamongnonprofits.Ouroriginal intention
fosteringthisconversationwastoprovoke thought,providesome insightful data,gaininsightsand
wisdomfromthe communityandtoassessthe level of interestin“collaboration”.Thankstoyour
graciousparticipation,itappearswe receivedevenmore thanwe bargainedfor!
Therefore,inlightof whatwe perceive tobe some genuine interestinfurther conversation,we would
be delightedtoconducta webinarwithall participantstowalkthroughthe data.You will be able tosee
the analyticsat a deeperlevelwhenthe software islive asopposedtoinPDFform.If that conversation
resultsinongoingcommunicationbytwoor more organizationsthatwouldsimplybe agreatbonus.
Please anticipate aDoodle Pollthroughwhichwe willbe able todetermineatime convenientforall to
participate inthe webinar.Inaddition,shouldanyonehave anyparticularquestionstheywouldlike
answeredpleasefeelfree tocontactus viaemail orat 302 – 584 – 2218.

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Brief introduction to Alignment Theory
How to read the data
Thisreportis generatedbyoursoftware andprovidesinsightintohow a group thinks.Whendiscussing
a topic we all realize manyobjections,insights andopinionsare left unsaid,particularlybythose inthe
minority and/orbythose whoare lessassertive.Because thisinformationisunknown,itcannotinform
the discussion.Inaddition,these unspokenandunaddressedconcerns (oftenatoddswiththe eventual
directionyouchoose tomove in) will underminethe effective implementationof anyplan.
While the existence of unspokenconcernsisnota revelation,
whatis new iswe can now measurethe degree of support.
Insteadof an up/down,yes/novote,we cannow see the
groupsthinkingona continuum. We speakof thissupportor
lack of supportas Alignment,illustratedinanAlignmentIndex.
The title of thisAlignmentAssessmentis‘EnsuringSaintJamesLeadershipadaptstothe changingneeds
of ourcongregationoverthe nextthree years.’The goal isto understandhow individualleaders,andthe
overall leadershipgroupatSt.James, think aboutstrategiestopursue the missionof St.James.
Two examplesfrom your survey
Organizationsthatcollaborateare more attractive to funders. 91
 The 91 meanshighalignmentamongthe people whoparticipated
 The colors representthe six optionsforresponse:
o Dark Brown:StronglyAgree
o Brown:Agree
o LightBrown: Slightlyagree
o LightBlue:SlightlyDisagree
o No one “disagreed”or“stronglydisagreed”
o Grey: People whoskippedthe question
Collaborationinmyorganizationrequiresboardapproval. 41
 The 41 meansverylowalignment –thiswouldbe veryimportantif youhave staff discussing
collaborationbutnoone realizesthe decisionmakingprocessisnotaligned.Oftenwe presume
our normsare the same for everyone
 We see the othertwocolors:
o Blue:Disagree
o Dark Blue:StronglyDisagree
Watch the jargon
We strive tostay awayfrom “consultantspeak”. Itisinevitable,however,thatyouneedtobecome
familiarwithsome technical terms. The firstwe will introduce is Non-Alignment.Inassessingasetof
responsesinthe survey, Non-Alignmentiswhere some respondentsagreedwithastatement,while
othersdisagreed.
Thisdoes notmeanright or wrong.It simply identifiesstatement(s) that warrantfurtherdiscussion.
Alignmentalsoisnot about“for” or “against”. Full alignmentmeansratherthat,whenaskedif you
agree or disagree, everyoneansweredone orthe other.Soyoucouldbe aligned in disagreeing that
youshouldpaintyouroffice orange.Youcouldbe aligned in agreeing that the office shouldhave new
furniture.
ALIGNMENT INDEX
ALIGNEDNOT ALIGNED
990 45 85

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Report Frameworks
GUBA Framework
To effectivelydeterminewhen agroupshouldactor notact, we the GUBA framework,which represents
the four typesof thinking thatdrive actionandinaction inindividuals.
Goals
Benefitsanddesiredoutcomesneededtoprovide the stakeholders.
Unintended Consequences
Respondent’sconcerns of possible negative side-effectsthatcouldbe triggered.
Barriers
Constraintsrespondentsfeel theywouldface.
Assumptions
Businessandpersonal factors whichrespondentscurrently experience thatdrive theiropinion.
The GUBA frameworkisanintegral part of the report andis visuallyreinforcedwithfollowinggraphic.
To achieve amajor goal,a teammust be in alignmentaroundthe assumptions,barriersandunintended
consequencesof suchanactivity.
You will see belowthateachstatementfitsintoone of these fourcatagories

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Executive Summary
The goal isto understandhow a randomselectionof leaders inDelaware view collaboration.
Sometentativeconclusionsare:
1. There is strong alignmentaround collaborating on advocacy,delivery of servicesand events.
a. Collaboration around advocacy would providegroupsa strongervoicerelativeto the
legislature.DANA doesthis for nonprofitsin general,but whataboutspecifictopics?
b. Furtherconversation aboutthenatureof eventssharing could bevery productiveas
planning such eventsis notuniquefromagency to agency (forexample,siteselection,
marketing,setup,knockdown etc.) .Further,thereis greatbenefitto multiservice events
as each participantdrawstheir stakeholders,increasing thelikelihood of critical massin
providing exposureof each stakeholderto otherprograms.
2. There isgreat misalignmentregardingsharingstaff andsharingbuildings/equipment.
a. Whenwe find misalignmentthe softwareprovidesuswithtremendousamountsof
insightsfromthe participants.(Ourthankstoeachof youwhotook the time to dothe
2nd
half of the activitywhere yougave narrative responses) thisinformationoftenwill
expose datawhichpushesthe grouptoa unifiedconclusion(forexample,the
availabilityof newfundsorthe eliminationof previouslyavailable funds) orwe finda
wordor phrase wasdefineddifferentlybythe disagreeingparties(how doeseach
personto find“sharing staff”?).
b. These 2 examplesof misalignmentappeartorequire more resources,effortand
programmaticoverlapthanthose placeswhere there ismore alignment.
3. The participantsare alignedaroundtwokeyfactorsrelatedtocollaboration:collaborationis
attractive to fundersanditresultsingreaterimpact.
a. Our researchsupportsthese conclusions
b. while everybodyagreesthisisagreat benefit,there isstrongmisalignmentonthe
followingstatementfromthe survey:
The effort required to create an effective collaboration outweighs the eventual benefits. 51 -
Thismay be the mostsignificantinsightfromthisprocess.A fairinterpretationof the
above isthat cooperation,whichmostorganizationsoftenshare,iseasiertodobut haslesspowerful
positive impact.Collaboration,aswe have defineditabove,canhave significantlygreaterimpactbutis
much more difficulttoaccomplish.Thishasconsistentlybeenourexperience inworkingwithnonprofits.
We lookforwardtohearingyourexperience.
Analytics
The software takesthe data youwill see below andanalysesitfrommanydifferentangles,increasing
your insightintothe alignmentof the participants,sub-groupsandoverallteam.We canreview such
analyticsinthe webinar– to domore thanthe little we didabove wouldsimplybe confusing.

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Opinion Survey Statements
The following shows the actual statements to which you responded. When warranted, the
second Questionnaire brought in your comments (in green), under each relevant statement, If
we were doing a full alignment cycle, each of these statements would be processed by the
group to determine common assumptions, barriers that need to be mitigated and prioritized
strategies. We would then develop actions to implement those strategies.
DRIVERS TO ACTION OR INACTION: GUBA
The statements you all responsded to were, as we said, broken
into four catagories. That is how they are listed below, but
starting with “A”, the present state or what we assume to be true
today. They are each evaluated by the software and placed in one
of three catagories: 1. Convergent ( aligned) 2. Moderately
convergent (slightly aligned) 3. Divergent (not aligned)
UnderlyingAssumptions/CurrentState
Convergent
Organizationsthatcollaboratearemoreattractiveto funders. 91
People were invitedtogive reasoningonthisareabut none chose to.
Collaboration enablesorganizationsto havea greaterimpact. 89
People were invitedtogive reasoningonthisareabut none chose to.
A benefitof collaboration is saving costs. 78
 Thisdependsonwhoiscollaborating.A big corporationislikelytobe askedtofundmore of a
community-basedprogramthana tinynon-profit.Forexample,diabetesoutreach--the deep
pocketsshouldbe payingmore butitis a betterprogramwhenorganizationsworktogether.
Savingcost dependsonwhere yousitandwhatcost youincurredbefore the collaboration.
 Collaboration,whilevaluable,costsalot of time and money,andtherefore leadstohigher
qualitybutnotnecessarilycostsavings.
 Where there are goal or value differences,collaboration cantake more time thandoing
somethingalone.Time=money.
The Opinion Survey gathered participantresponsesof agreementordisagreement
with statementsaround Assumptions: whatwebelieve to be currently true. It is
necessary to first confirmthe group’sagreementaboutwherethereis an opportunity
or there is a problem to be addressed.Withoutstrong alignmentaround thereasons
foraction,gaining agreementon the futurestateand how to attain it will be
inefficientand lead to a flawed implementation of thegroup’sobjectives.

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Divergent
Collaboration in my organization requiresboard approval. 41
 Everythinginmyorg seemstorequire approval.Perhapsnot"boardapproval"but approval
froma higherauthority.It'sa majorbureaucracy.
 It dependsuponthe level of collaboration,butif the collaborationinvolvessharingof resources,
our boardneedsto approve.
 The Board of Directorshas fiduciaryandstaffingresponsibilities thatwouldrequire their
approval of collaborations.Further,the Boardisresponsibleforstrategicdirection,soapprovals
of collaborationsinlightof strategiesisnecessary.
 Because thisishowwe currentlyoperate andit works
 We have an advisoryboardthat we mustrun decisionsthroughbecausewe are state
organization
Goals/Objectives/Indicatorsof Success
Convergent
The followingresponseshighlightthe mostlikelyareastoseek collaboration.
My organizationshould collaborateon advocacy. 93
 Notsure howthat wouldbenefitusorthe othergroups
My organizationshould collaborateon delivering 90
its services.
My organizationshould collaborateon events. 89
Divergent
My organization should sharebuildingsand equipmentwith otherorganizations.
52
 Librariesare alreadyprovidingspace andequipmentforourpartnerstoconduct
workshopsetcforthe public.Andthe partnershave accessto all the servicesprovided
too.
 We alreadyshare a buildingwiththreeothernonprofitsandthishasworkedoutwell for
all fourorganizations.
 I workin an educational institutionandwouldlike studentstobe able toengage in
cross-departmental projects.Sharedsiteswouldfacilitatethis.
 By sharingspace,variousorganizationscanbettercollaborate anditallowsmultiple
organizationstolearnfromeachother.
 Our facilitiesare underutilizedbyourorganization,if theywere sharedwithother
organizations,the costof ownershipisshared.Again - efficiencies.
 Perhapsthisiseveneasierthansharingstaff asthere are probablygreatefficienciesto
leverage costlyoverhead.
 I thinkingsharingspace isanexcellentchoice for some organizations,oratleastaspects
of theirorganizations.Forexample,we use space inthe UnitedWayof Delaware asa
classroomforour ITWorks programhere in Delaware.We alsouse space at Peirce
College inPhiladelphiaforourprogramthere.Financially,itdoesnotmake sense atthis
pointintime forus to purchase a buildingandmake ourownclassroom.These spaces
alreadyexist,andhave proventobe valuable forus.Thatbeingsaid,I thinkthere needs

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to be clear agreementsthatbothpartiesneedtofollow.Additionally,the sharingof
equipmentseemslessof agood ideathansharingbuildings.
 Why notmaximize resources?
 We are not a program that needsextensive/expansive space;so,we couldbenefitfrom
sharinga buildingandthe financial responsibilities.
 Because thisishowwe currentlyoperate andit works
 Assetsare oftenunderused.There'sefficiencyinsharingresourceswhenpossible.
 It iscost effective forsmall orstartup organizationstoshare thingslike office space.I've
evenhadconversationsaboutsharinganexecutive assistant.Itisharderto getquality
helpwitha part time positionthatdoesn'tprovidebenefits,sosharingthatpersonina
supportrole wouldincrease the pool of applicantsandworkwithinourbudget
constraints.
My organizationshould sharestaffwith otherorganizations. 49 7
 Sharingstaff can be mutual so it isfair.It can alsobe twoagenciesbothneedingapart
time worker.Theycanget as more skilledandengaged worker.Tome it isaboutputting
skinintothe collaboration
 Each organizationshoulddowhattheydobest,simplydosocollaboratively
 We alreadyhave staff whoalsoworkat otherorganizations.Unlessthere isareason
that wouldprohibitit,we allow it.
 Share staff may not be the bestchoice of words.Perhapsbetterstatedthatmy
organizationwouldlike tosubcontractmystaff to othersinthe collaborative group
 Whenthere isalignmentinneedswithotherorganizationsandwhenthe staff position
wouldbe lessthanfull time ateitherorganization,sharingstaff gainsefficienciesfor
bothorganizations.Italsoprovidesamore justemployment.
 To be more nimble andagile,sharingstaff withotherorganizationscouldprovide
opportunitiestouniquelyleveragestrengths,information,bestpractices,andeven
capabilitiesof the otherorganizations.The onlywordthatperhapsI wouldchange is
"should".InsteadIwoulduse the word"could".
 I thinkthisworksif there isa shared"mutual ministry"and goalsare complementary.
Can also
 Withseasonedemployees,the opportunitytoexpandskillswhenprovidedwithan
opportunitytoworkwithanotherorganization.
 Because thisishowwe currentlyoperate andit works
 DuffysHope doesnothave paidstaff. But we couldconsiderencouragingour
participantsandvolunteerstosupportotherorganizationsforsupportfrompeer
organizations.
 In office spaceswhere there are administrative people,itcanbe a good use of resources
to share the staff.For volunteerwork,makingemployeesavailable asa resource toa
non-profitisapowerful messageaboutsupportingthe community,andhelpstoimprint
a volunteermentalityinthe workforce.
 In close collaborations,itsometimesismore cost-effective toshare specificresources.
EG There isno needtohave two projectadministrators,one fromeachorganization,if
one wouldbe adequate.
 Because I workfor a state agency,it isdifficulttoshare staff withotherorganizations.
We collaborate oftenandshare resources,butstate staff are paidthroughpublicfunds
and cannot.

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Potential Unintended Consequences
Moderately Convergent
Organizationsthatcollaboratewilllose theiruniqueidentity. 83
Issues and Barriers
Moderately Convergent
The effort required to create an effective collaboration outweighs the eventual benefits.
51
Ungrouped
Whatother thoughtswould you liketo contributeto this dialogue?
 None
 We love collaboration!It'sbeen verybeneficial tousandto Delawareans
 Collaborationrequiresthatpeople notbe afraid -- sometimesfearisleftoverfromprevious
administration'sactionsandisdifficulttoletgoof.
 Wouldlike tosee specificcollaborationexamplesbetweenorgsthathave worked.What
were challengesandhowdidthe respective organizationsovercomethem.How doyou
marketthistype of collaborationtoaBOD for approval?
 You mightdistinguishthe difficulty/costsof differentkindsof collaborationbetween
nonprofits.Sharingideasandbestpracticesindiscussionforumsorwrittendocumentsis
easy,butcoordinatingsharedservice deliveryisoftendifficultandtime consuming.
 Doesthiscollaborationdiscussionrelatetonon-profitsOR;isisbroaderdiscussionwithnon-
profitandfor-profitorganizations?I'mparticularlyinterestedincollaborationtolowersales
cost and salescycles.Aswell asdelivery.
 Interestingideas!
 How can we getto knowone anotherto work more collaboratively?
 Collaborationandmutual supportare essential
 The keyword inthese itemsis"effective."There'splentyof collaborationthatmightseem
interesting,buthasn'tbeenthoughtthroughwell enoughtobe effective.
 I representanall-volunteerorganizationwithnoequipment,buildings,paidstaff,etc.My
answersreflectthis.
 There are manygreyareas here.Collaborationcanworkwhendone correctlybutmanyof
the above questionshighlightpotential problemswithcollaboration.
 Collaborationistoobroada termfor deepunderstandingonthistopic.Itcan meananything
fromjointlywritinganarticle toproposinganddeliveringlongtermworktogether.Inmy
experience onlyone brandispromotedata time,sosuccessful collaborationrequiresa
solutionformutual promotion.Thismayreduce differentiationinthe market.
 Collborationiskeytoensure buy-infromacross-sectionof differentindustries.Itpromotes
successand providesforfuture alignmentof goals.
 Collaborationandcompetitionare sometimesare counteracting.Balancingthe twoalong
differentinterestsiskey.
 We alreadycollaborate,sothisisn'tanythingnew tous.Whatelse dowe have to learn?