Deepening Community Impact Through Nonprofit Partnerships

Hi, I’m Jennifer, the new Philanthropy & Partnerships Manager at Meals on Wheels of Loveland and Berthoud (MOWLB). When Jeffrey and I were brainstorming titles for my position, we decided on philanthropy because it means “love of humanity”, and partnerships because we believe in the power of collaboration. These definitions are inherent in the MOWLB mission, which represents goodwill to fellow humans accomplished through thoughtful use of collective resources.

Despite nice titles and important missions, some of us can still get caught up in a “scarcity mindset”. I’ve been guilty of this. Instead of competing for resources, though, most of us in the nonprofit sector would likely prefer to help each other through symbiotic relationships.

This is the case with Partners, an organization that has been serving youth and families through mentoring programs since 1978. 

Recently I met with Alani, pictured on left, to talk about their initiative to create a joint marketing campaign to cross-promote volunteer opportunities in NoCo. We enjoyed trying Starbucks’ Tropical Butterfly Refresher for the first time, while talking about how we can create deeper community impact by working together. It was a win-win. 

MOWLB serves older adults who are homebound, Partners serves youth facing challenges. Over 3,000 nonprofit organizations exist in Larimer county alone. There are volunteer opportunities for everyone - but not everyone knows of all the great opportunities out there. 

Nonprofits can partner to promote each other in newsletters, social media, blogs, joint campaigns, and community engagement efforts. The better we collaborate as a sector, the better we can serve the community. 

Are you a nonprofit interested in chatting with Partners about how you can support each others' volunteer recruitment needs? Send a message to Alani at acasiano@poweredbypartners.org. 

When nonprofits work together and support each other, we all benefit!

Jennifer