Five Things to Look Out for When Partnering With A Non-Profit Organization

Partnering with a non-profit organization is one of the powerful ways to make a difference around the societal issues you care about. These organizations deal with many community challenges, including education, environmental preservation, health, helping women and girls, and even orphans.?

In addition, other private organizations have launched numerous services and tools enabling users to get up to speed with new ways of accessing knowledge. The following tools and services can help many learners and educators across the continent, cutting down the cost of education and accessing crucial information through the internet.?

There are several ways you can find out if the organization of your choice is legit. The benefits of technology shine here as a simple Google search can show you a light overview of the organization.

If you're looking for factual information, finding out the inner workings of a potential organization can help you know which partnership avenues you can take. It is often not wise to partner with the first organization that comes to mind without the requisite research.?

Below are some things to consider when you seek to partner, invest, and collaborate with an organization.?

1. Leadership

This should be the starting point of any research into an organization. Who are the leaders or founders of the organization? Have any of the leaders been mentioned in any scandal, and how did the organization handle this? Who are the other decision-makers in the organization?

Leadership is crucial to the running of any organization. Bad management of any company or nonprofit is usually spearheaded by its leadership, just like sound management will have good stewards.?

Examining the leadership structure to ensure accountability for funds and the institution's operation is crucial. In Africa, several micro-organizations, such as children's homes, have begun with the initiative of an individual. They would rarely have a board or a management structure. However, it is still good to know the founders' social and legal standing, history, and credentials.?

2. Values

Every organization has values they adhere to - a statement that acts as a guiding light to how they operate. As an individual or organization seeking partnership, values must merge as differences might not bring out the right collaboration.?

An article on NonProfitPro publication reiterates the same: "To form successful partnerships for both organizations involved, non-profits should select corporations with aligned missions to their own. For instance, a thorough understanding of the company's consumer profile and the causes they care about can work to the non-profit's advantage when selecting a mutually beneficial partnership."

It also adds that in selecting corporations with aligned missions, nonprofits should also understand the prospective company's pain points and identify innovative ways to co-create solutions that benefit the business and society at large."

3. History and Reputation

The history and reputation of any organization are at the forefront of its identity and what it stands for. This is a significant consideration in any partnership. For instance, knowing how it came to be can be a tilting point for partners. History can be tedious, but it must be noticed.

Other instances of history are also significant. For example: Are they correctly registered with the proper oversight ministry? What is their area of mandate legally? What other licenses do they hold?

Another simple way to learn more about the organization and its history is to check its website. Most credible organizations will have their stories documented on their website, and if they have a blog, what progress is happening in their area of influence.?

When it comes to reputation, you have to research the company. It could take a trip to an oversight body or a simple Google search to see if the organization has been mentioned adversely in any negative media story.?

Social media has become another tool that one can use. These days, one can find individual complaints on all the organization's social media handles, that is, if they maintain and update them.?

A big non-profit organization without public instruments such as blogs, websites, social media handles, or newsletters is to be concerned about.?

4. Impact in Areas of Operation

When looking at impact areas, one would want to see the organization's successes in its area of influence. For example, if it's a non-profit looking at water and sanitation, some questions that one might ask should include: how many projects have they launched, and how many people have been impacted?

Measuring the impact and successes of a non-profit organization is gradually becoming important to big donors and other individual partners.?

Despite this, there are challenges in measuring successes and impacts, which will only depend on the areas of influence.?

"Impact consists of the results that are directly due to the outcomes of a program. Results are determined by evaluations that factor out other explanations for these results. Impacts are the?long-term or indirect effects?of your outcomes,"?an article from The Balance publication for small businesses clarified.?

It added that impacts are challenging to measure since they may or may not happen. "They are what one?hopes?to accomplish."

For example, access to primary and tertiary education may lead to a better life for an individual, but it still needs to be determined. That doesn't mean partnering with an education-focused non-profit or similar organization does not have benefits. Access to quality health is far from having none, but people will always fall sick. Having such initiatives gives chances in life to people.?

5. Its Plans

Where is the organization heading, and is it somewhere you would want to go? What are the organization's plans and goals? This is the crucial point of why partnership is needed. Understanding this helps you place yourself in the matrix of what the organization plans to do and how you can effectively achieve its goals.?

Looking at its impact in the area of influence, one can have confidence in where the organization is moving. Missed targets, unrealistic expectations, and wrong focus are all warning signs that the destination of its goals might have yet to arrive at.?

Could you make sure that your goals align with the organization? This will help you plan how long you would want to support their cause and work in the future.

Finally…

Many organizations are doing incredible work worldwide, and the negative stories of rogue organizations should not discourage partnerships and investments. Keen investigation and research should give anyone or any company the confidence to work with nonprofits in achieving shared vision and goals. Here, information is vital.