Across the country, community foundations are seeing opportunities for nonprofits to amplify their reach, stability, and efficiency by joining forces—whether through shared programs, back-office consolidation, co-location, joint ventures, or full mergers. Yet the path from idea to implementation is rarely linear. Differences in mission, culture, identity, mindsets, operational capacity, and stakeholder expectations can all complicate collaborative efforts. The emotional attac

Roundtable topic Community Foundations as Catalysts for Nonprofit Collaboration Across the country, community foundations are seeing opportunities for nonprofits to amplify their reach, stability, and efficiency by joining forces—whether through shared programs, back-office consolidation, co-location, joint ventures, or full mergers. Yet the path from idea to implementation is rarely linear. Differences in mission, culture, identity, mindsets, operational capacity, and sta

Series Note: This is Part 5 of a five-part series exploring the phases of the Collaborative Action Model—a framework I developed to help mission-driven leaders move from possibility to impact through purposeful collaboration. If you missed any of the earlier phases, reply to this email and I’ll send them your way. Phase 5: How'd We Do? By now, the shared vision is clear, the collaboration has launched, and the joint work is underway. But here’s the hard truth: just because so

Series Note: This is Part 4 of a five-part series exploring the phases of the Collaborative Action Model—a framework I developed to help mission-driven leaders move from possibility to impact through purposeful collaboration. (If you missed earlier installments, shoot me an email and I’ll send them your way.) By now, you’ve clarified what you're trying to do together and built the scaffolding to support the work. Now it's time to put the plan into motion. Welcome to Phase 4: