You’ve heard the saying “It Takes a Village…”, well that certainly applies to Main Street. In downtown, no one does it alone. You’ve got staff members who direct the day to day operations of the organization, volunteers who provide the direction and manpower to carry out the mission, supporters who help keep the lights on and so many other groups that it’s almost hard to count.
Similarly, no organization can do it by themselves. There’s always strategic partnerships with other organizations. Some may be to work on joint projects, maybe you have a similar mission, others may be overlap in services, or perhaps just to come together for the community’s good. Partnerships are critical to the success of an organization.
Take your city for example, unless your organization is a part of your local government, you probably have a strong (or want a strong) partnership with your City. You work hard to build bridges with alderman, department heads, and elected officials. You know who you can call when the street cleaner needs to come through, when trash cans need emptied, or when there are street lights out. We all put in the effort to make sure that partnership is strong.
When you are talking about the city, it’s usually pretty clear who’s doing what. Most towns don’t have private street cleaners, there aren’t private haulers for the city garbage cans, and the street lights are managed by the city. When you’re dealing with a private organization however, those lines can get blurry. Who’s responsible for what, what are the deadlines, and so much more.
We’ve created our guide based on years of experience to help you navigate these issues that arise with potential partnerships, and make sure that everyone involved with your projects wins! These keys will help you unlock the potential of your partnerships without the undue stress.
We encourage you to download this e-book and use the 5 Keys to Successful Partnership to help your organization today.
