Collaborative Strategies: Selecting the Right Path

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

– Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

As the Cheshire Cat counsels young Alice, you have to know where you want to go before choosing the right path to get there. That’s a truth organizations must grapple with all the time in strategic planning, and it’s no less important when considering nonprofit collaboration, alliance, or strategic restructuring.

With all the competing demands nonprofits face, there is no sense in spending precious time and energy on a collaboration unless there is a compelling purpose for doing so. This is why it is so important that organizations be clear about their goals for partnership well before approaching a potential partner. It is equally critical that nonprofits avoid deciding on a type of partnership to pursue before identifying their desired outcomes, or where they are hoping a partnership will take them.

If you haven’t yet read Nonprofit Partnership: Are You Ready? or In Forging Partnerships, Avoid Putting Form Over Function, look to these posts to provide insights and guidance on how to select the best path forward.