Relationships

Relationships are the universe of affiliations and associations that give an organization authority and the capacity to advance its agenda or shape behavior change.

While some organizations hold great sway among policy makers or elected officials, others might be more influential with specific groups of stakeholders (moms, teachers, pet owners, or environmentalists, for example). At the end of the day, we need to be mindful of the constituencies who pay the closest attention to our actions, and the partners who can best help advance our common goals. Success depends on identifying your base, being attentive to their ever-evolving priorities, and knowing how to communicate honestly with them, at the right times and in the right ways.

There are many ways to monitor and manage your institutional relationships. Larger, wealthier organizations often rely on opinion research to measure the ebbs and flows of their stakeholders’ thinking. But for even the smallest community nonprofits there are many ways to creatively and affordably track your reputational health. Think about donor surveys, one-on-one check-ins with key partners, and routine pulls of website data or social media metrics.

When you decide the time is right to act boldly or in ways that might test the integrity of your relationships, do so with clarity of purpose. Be prepared to proactively explain the choices you are making, repeatedly if necessary, and to fully own the confusion those choices may cause for some. Avoid panicking whenever you hear dissent.

Stakeholder pushback and disagreement are normal for any complex organization. Sustaining strong relationships often requires a thick skin. You will be surprised by how resilient well-managed relationships can be.

by the numbers

88/55/34

The respective percentages of community (85), corporate (55) and family/independent (34) foundations who report using social media.
SOURCE

86%

Percentage of survey respondents who spend as much or more time at communicating with external audiences (like grantees or donors) as with internal audiences (like the board).
SURVEY

$40T

Estimated wealth to be inherited by a small group of Gen Xers and Millennials, much of which will be designated for charitable giving, according to NextGenDonors.org.
SOURCE

tips and insights

Relationships are at the heart of communications. They’re essential.

A funder collaborative braids or links critical funding resources to achieve a common set of goals and may disburse those funds on the basis of a single, streamlined application process.
SOURCE

Since 2003, Four Freedoms Fund has made more than $77 million in grants to 249 grantees working in 39 states, plus national support organizations.
SOURCE

Voices

We have just under $20 million to grant per year. That’s nothing. We will never achieve the results we want to achieve alone. So our program team has been very deliberate about leveraging our reputation to open doors, make deals, build systems, and attract other dollars right into our strategy. It’s an explicit part of our theory of change. And we can’t do it if our image is weak or our results unclear.

COMMUNICATION LEADER Private Foundation

If we want people to invest time, energy and money in our foundation, they need to know who we are and how we serve the community. Without communication, we will not achieve our mission and goals.

EXECUTIVE LEADER Private Foundation

In everything we do we are trying to leverage more support from others. We can’t go it alone.

BOARD MEMBER Private Foundation

Exemplars

exemplar

Relationships Matter: Put Down the iPad and Pick Up the Phone

Andy Burness for the Communications Network

Over 90 percent of communication is driven by body language and tone of voice, as opposed to the content of the message itself.

exemplar

Our Communications Model: Amplifying Impact in Partnership

W. K. Kellogg Foundation

Kellogg Foundation has developed an intentional communication model to give voice to the key issues and foundation point of view while cultivating a communications environment — with the vital community voice — to amplify the effects of WKKF’s programs and grantees.

exemplar

Concerted Efforts Targets Childhood Obesity

Multiple partners, with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation

“For more than two years, some of North Carolina's best minds in childhood development have been huddling to figure out how to slow the decades-long increase in obesity among kids.”

exemplar

Improving Relationships: Bring Nonprofits Together, Then Step Aside

Susan Parker from GrantCraft

Another way that funders can facilitate transparency is by acting as connectors or conveners. By bringing nonprofits together, they enable organizations to comment on and help strengthen one another’s work.