3 tips and tools for cultivating connections for greater impact

There is an African proverb—“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”— that is an essential truth in social change work. No single organization, no matter how effective or well-resourced, can fully address the scale and complexity of social problems. To put this insight into practice, we launched the Nonprofit Leaders Circle during COVID-19, in collaboration with our partners Connect the Dots and Witty Gritty and with funding from The Barra Foundation. The NLC creates a unique space for leaders to connect across sectors and engage in shared learning and problem solving on some of their most difficult challenges.;

In 2022, we heard from leaders that addressing the issue of violence in their communities was a priority issue. In response, the NLC focused on building a deeper understanding of how gun and community violence is impacting leaders, staff and the communities they serve. We learned that violence was having a major impact on leaders’ wellbeing and the wellbeing of their staff, and that the siloing of those working to address the challenge was preventing more progress. These insights have informed the next phase of the NLC, which will bring leaders together this summer for a series of workshops focused on boosting organizational culture and wellbeing in the face of widespread staff burnout and trauma.

Building on what we have learned from the NLC, here are 3 important tips to keep in mind when cultivating connections for greater impact.

1. Target partnerships that maximize strengths and fill gaps.  The NLC is a space where leaders can lean on the strengths, experiences and insights of their peers to navigate challenges while lending their own strengths to support others. Whether at the individual or the organizational level, complementary partnerships can lead to greater results. Ask yourself: What is your organization’s unique value, as well as the limitations of your perspective? How can you partner with other organizations who bring different expertise?
2. Develop a shared set of goals. We launched an NLC advisory committee in 2022 to ensure the work of the NLC was connected to a shared set of goals and outcomes focused on addressing gun and community violence. The committee helped to establish the goals for the work and stayed engaged throughout the process to ensure the program was advancing in alignment with the goals. Ask yourself: How do you define the problem you are working to address? How can you create a common language and shared measures of success? How will you ensure accountability among all stakeholders?
3. Co-create community agreements. When we launched the NLC in 2020, we used Adrienne Maree Brown’s emergent strategy to establish a set of 10 shared agreements among NLC participants. These agreements became the guideposts for how leaders showed up in the space and set the tone for the collaborative and flexible nature of the program. Ask Yourself: What do individuals participating in a program or network need from their peers? What norms and expectations would contribute to the group’s success and what does the group want to be held accountable to?

And in the true spirit of this insight, we want to share with you the collection of resources and tools that we assembled through the first year of the NLC. We hope the NLC resources will spark ideas for future connections and support you in deepening the impact of your work.

We want to hear from you! How is your organization thinking about cultivating connections to increase your impact? Email us or tag us on social media to share your insights.

*This blog post is a part of our 5 Insight Series. Each month we’ll be diving deeper into one insight from our 5 Insights for Accelerating Social Change report and sharing additional examples and actionable strategies to support you and your organization. If your organization is wrestling with similar issues and interested in partnering with ImpactED, please reach out to us at impact-ed@sas.upenn.edu.