Partnerships Between Not-for-Profit Organizations and Business: Challenges and Opportunities

ORGANIZATION:
Carleton Centre for Community Innovation

Author +
Tessa Hebb and Roopal Thaker

Year: 2014

3ci Director Tessa Hebb and Research Associate Roopal Thaker have just released a detailed report on how not-for-profit organizations view their partnerships with business.  Drawing on extensive interviews with not-for-profit organizations, this report was commissioned by ESDC, Government of Canada and explores both the challenges and opportunities these partnerships offer.

Download the Report

Executive Summary:
This knowledge-development project provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities that Canadian not-for-profit organizations (NFPs) face when they partner with private sector business entities. The research was funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and conducted by the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3ci).

Findings:
The NFPs surveyed were not new to partnerships with private business. Partnerships ranged in form and included sponsorship and granting, event-related support, arrangements for discounted or pro-bono services, employee volunteering, joint program delivery, community engagement, and advertising and promotions for either or both partners.

Table of Contents:
1.0 Executive summary
2.0 Introduction
3.0 Background
4.0 Setting up partnerships
5.0 Managing partnerships
6.0 Partnership Results
7.0 Facilitating Successful Partnerships
8.0 Implications
9.0 Conclusion