Ongoing Components of a Partnership Plan
- Plans should align with Main Street’s mission, vision, and values.
- The Main Street board should actively adjust plans to ensure assumptions and activities adapt to changes.
- Assess resources necessary for implementation, such as time, funds, and organizational commitment.
- Evaluate processes and goals, and how to measure success and completion.
- Review external factors that create opportunities for action or collaboration, as well as threats to success or sustainability.
- Actively engage and gather input from a variety of sources, such as the board, staff, community members, and other constituents.
- Confer with counterparts to determine need for services, best practices in delivering them, and effective use of community resources.
- Provide timely notice of significant changes to partners and those who depend on or are making plans reliant on the organization’s availability of services.
- Avoid ambiguity through clear communication, such as written agreements (See Partnership Agreements).
Strategies for Creating Connections
Take a few moments to strategize, and be aware of your own time, resources, and ability to partner.
A few strategies that might help:
- Be aware of ongoing developments and changes in Main Street, including opportunities for coordination or joint action with other organizations.
- Seek appropriate strategic partnerships to achieve organizational goals, increase impact, and strengthen connections for all partners.
- Determine what resources would be required in a potential alliance, the availability of those resources and the estimated cost in comparison to the anticipated benefit to accomplishing Main Street’s mission.
- Establish clear roles and responsibilities to ensure accountability. Include rules that allow for changing the partnership agreement or ending it.
- Assess on an ongoing basis whether resources are being used wisely and participating organizations are fulfilling their agreed-upon roles.
- Coordinate activities with other organizations providing similar or complementary services.
- Establish communication channels, mutual understanding, and beneficial alliances among government, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors to take advantage of the total resources and interests of the community.
- When possible and appropriate, assist nonprofits in the community through alliances and sharing of resources, connections, and expertise.