Nonprofit Resiliency Through Collaborative Education

This blog is written in inspiration from Foundant’s education webinar sponsored by Exponent Philanthropy. See the recording of the original event.

An organization’s resilience doesn’t solely depend on internal resources. It can be built and further elevated through various collaborations as well. Aligning organizations' missions through education can skyrocket both parties' resilience efforts. In fact the Gifford Foundation, Nonprofit Lifecycles Institute, Mindflower Studio, and MXD Arts found this to be especially true during their collaboration.

I had the opportunity to facilitate a webinar centered around resiliency through collaborative education. In this webinar, Lindsay McClung, Jennifer Bonnet, Abby Wilkymacky, and Kim Larkin discuss the benefits and lessons learned from their recent partnership.
 

How the Collaboration Began

In the past, the Gifford Foundation has geared its programs toward capacity building. They would work to assess the existing capacity of an organization and then create a realistic understanding of how to move forward. However, during the pandemic, there was a much-needed shift to reactive grantmaking, which showcased the necessity of a deeper connection between grantmakers and grantseekers. The Gifford Foundation wanted to ensure they were doing more than tossing money at a problem. They wanted to connect to those in their community and support them further than they had before. 

So Lindsay, Jennifer, Abby, and Kim set up a meeting to figure out how they could use each of their organization’s expertise to not only support nonprofit staff in this new world but the board as well. From there, they hit the ground running.
 

Program Structure

During this meeting they created the "Embracing Disruption—Resilience Amidst a Changing Environment" program. The goal was to engage organizations that were willing to take active steps toward resilience. Once there was an honest understanding of an organization’s commitment and needs from the program, a consultant was then paired with each nonprofit, along with implementation funds. There were also multiple virtual workshops, trainings, and meetings that focused on durable concepts such as the Table Top. The idea was that each of the legs was a category: management, governance, business model, and systems. Each of the four legs supported the overall mission of the nonprofit. This metaphor of a well-rounded, steady organization is the key to resilience. 

Once aided with these tools, the program pushed for less planning and more action. When building resilience, it is imperative that you find comfort in reassessing after each major action. 
 

Nonprofit Impact

The many resources listed above were bound to be beneficial. But the most impactful aspect of this program was the connections that were made. A lasting partnership between four different organizations is important, but what’s more critical are the connections made between these organizations and the nonprofits.

Truly, a large part of the success was due to the one-on-one time nonprofits spent with the paired consultants, as well as Kim and Abby. While the skills and advice of the consultants were a part of the success, a larger part was their ability to facilitate open communication. As we all know, the funder bubble can lead to disconnect. Thankfully, having a consistent contact helped further the understanding of what defines meaningful aid for each mission, whether this contact is in a nonprofit's own community or virtually.

It was found that the most beneficial aspect of the program was taking extra time during consulting sessions and before and after scheduled workshops to ask intentional questions and build a deeper understanding of a grantseeker's viewpoint. Education isn’t just taking the right workshops. It’s also about learning what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes.

Q & A

How are consultants matched? How is this important?
Lyndsay McClung, Associate Director, The Gifford Foundation
We have a lead consultant that checks for quality assurance. Then we interview consultants to learn about their specialty and personality. We try to get to know local consultants better through this process. We want to be intentional about building these relationships. We have also collected a list of local consultants. This didn’t exist prior to the program but now there is a resource page on their website for others to use.

Jennifer Bonnet,  President and CEO, Nonprofit Lifecycles Institute
We also encouraged consultants to meet with organizations prior to official pairings to make sure it was a good fit. Both sides can choose and we wanted to avoid last minute shifts.

How do you conduct the readiness assessment?
Lyndsay McClung, Associate Director, The Gifford Foundation
For us, it’s about knowing the nonprofits and believing they are open to change. There should be a difference after the program, even if it’s slight. We want the teams and the boards to be committed as well. This is one of the first times in our programs that these groups have had these types of conversations. It’s a very meaningful interaction.

Jennifer Bonnet, President and CEO, Nonprofit Lifecycles Institute
It is a conversation about what the program entails and if they are prepared for that. Some people haven't been able to make the commitment due to timing so we want to make sure they are ready.

Will you be doing it again?
Lyndsay McClung, Associate Director, The Gifford Foundation
The Embracing Disruption—Resilience Amidst a Changing Environment program was a quick brainchild between Abby and me. It's important to act. Make sure it’s an educated act, but act and continue to pivot. Just because you started with it one way doesn’t mean you have to end with it being the same. Depending on the results and feedback we receive at the end of this program, adaptations will be made to improve the program. It won’t be the same since there is no model or template to follow.

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