Here are a few ways to strengthen service and lower costs through collaboration.
By Julie Saetre
Does your club have strong partners in the community — organizations or entities with whom you’ve developed a long-term, mutually supportive relationship? Partnerships are key to increasing your club’s impact, lowering costs and creating a more cohesive community. Here’s how to build new partnerships — and strengthen the ones you have.
Get connected
The more connections you make, the more opportunities you’ll have for collaboration. To start your search, reach out to government and business organizations that work with a variety of groups who serve your community. Ask their representatives which groups might align with your club’s goals. Our Community Survey can also help you identify potential partners.
Next, research those groups. How does their vision or mission mesh with that of Kiwanis? How could you support each other? Do you have a member or another partner with a connection to someone who works or volunteers at those entities? Identify contacts and members of your club who can set up a meeting.
Build relationships
During your initial meetings, learn more about each group’s activities and approach. Who do they support and where have they provided service hours? To whom have they reached out for donations or sponsorships? To whom have they sold event tickets? Where have they purchased supplies for projects? Who has provided volunteers for projects? Who has provided guest speakers?
After a meeting, ask the member involved for feedback. Which organizations seem to be a good fit? What representatives seemed open to working with your club? Identify a few good prospects and brainstorm with your club members on potential projects that could benefit from mutual cooperation. Also important: Determine how you can provide the organizations additional visibility and recognition.
Level up
Once you’ve built relationships, consider situations that can strengthen those bonds to a partnership level. Encourage organization representatives to join your club. Invite them to your events. Perhaps a member of your club could serve on an organization’s board. And once a partnership forms, nurture it. These ideas for recognizing your club members also apply to partners. Our Celebrate Success tool has some great suggestions.
To learn more about strong partner relationships, explore our sponsorship toolkit.