When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in late August, we were inundated with requests to assist. The nonprofit I founded and run, Well Aware, has been constructing clean water systems in developing countries for the past eight years. But, we had no prior, hands-on experience in disaster response. Nor had we even ever done any domestic work directly.
When we resolved to play a role in Harvey relief, we knew we would need key partners to be as impactful with our efforts as we knew we needed to be. We teamed up with Toyota and DayOne Response, and our Harvey initiative was a success.
But, identifying the best partners who are appropriate for your mission isn’t always simple. As a matter of fact, it’s often a little tricky, and there are considerations in the selection of your collaborators — for both the effectiveness of your endeavor, as well as the long-term implications it can have for your organization.
Consider Partners Who Can Help You Extend Your Reach
If you're dealing with your first disaster response effort, look for guidance from your partners or like-minded brands with experience.
Our team is nimble, and we could have swooped in and done some good with what we already knew. But our DayOne partners had been doing this type of work for a decade, and our goal was to help as many people as we could possibly reach on the Texas coast with their contaminated water problems. To be able to achieve this, we needed the technology and experience of DayOne, and its team forged the way for our disaster strategy.
You may also help with sponsorship and awareness. The right partners can provide the resources needed to execute your plan swiftly and efficiently. Luckily, DayOne offered valuable support in getting the word out about our mission, which enabled us to navigate opportunity and need in the field exponentially better.
Choose Partners That Align With Your Company Values
As José Ortega y Gasset once said, “Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.”
As with any relationship, strong cause partnerships require trust and values alignment. We value integrity and respect for the communities we serve above all else. We knew that DayOne and Toyota shared this philosophy and would defer to our approach in the field. This piece was integral.
When values among partners do not align, there is friction acting on your initiative, and this can mean delays, confusion, loss of trust and even mission failure. The ideal partner is one who shares your cause's philosophy and trusts you to act on these shared beliefs.
Ensure Your Partnership Can Handle Change Management
We were able to be successful in Texas after Hurricane Harvey, despite the chaotic environment of disaster aftermath. Plans made are rarely kept in disaster zones, and everyone’s flexibility was key for our impact to be positive.
Well Aware’s role in our Harvey work was execution -- our technical team went to the field to assess, train, analyze and guide. We also served as community support for people who did not know where to go to find clean water. We had three days, and every minute was valuable. So, we made some decisions that altered our plan, without consulting with our partners immediately, but we had their trust in our ability to manage change. They had our trust for the same.
Know Your Strengths And Weaknesses, And Choose Partners That Have The Inverse
In all philanthropic endeavors, it adds value to your mission to understand where you excel and where you are not a specialist. In doing so, organizations can be more effective more quickly. It helps to spend time considering where your work could be amplified with the right collaborator possessing what you lack.
Bringing on partners that complement your can also mean cost savings. Too many organizations invest precious resources into reinventing a department or model where another group could easily and more cost-effectively be plugged in to provide the service needed.
Combined Efforts Can Further Brand Awareness For All Partners
It’s no easy task to grow your brand in the digital world we live in now. The results of a strong and strategic partnership can yield more than just a successful initiative, it can also mean brand amplification for all of you.
The reach that the three of us have together is even greater than the sum of our individual reaches combined. Additionally, having strong partners whose values you share and whose brands you respect serves to validate your own reputation.
Strategic partnerships can be highly effective in all kinds of cause-related initiatives. We found this to be especially true for disaster response. The key to true impact is the partners you choose and the working relationship between the players.