The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation

This fall, the Community Foundation engaged Vibrant Community grantees and local funders in an energetic roundtable dialogue series around creating authentic collaborations. The topic was chosen by the grantees and was supported by a grant from Philanthropy Northwest. The Community Foundation hosted six events as part of the series, including a kick-off event in September that drew nearly 100 attendees. Five "Deeper Dive" conversations followed the kick-off event.

Representatives from 15 different nonprofits participated in the Deeper Dive conversations and gained insight into the process of building authentic collaboration, as well as resources and processes to assist them in customizing tools to meet individual needs.

Facilitated by Ted Lord from the Giving Practice, the Dialogues created the space to have conversation, provided tools to assist participants, allowed local agencies to share personal experiences of collaboration, and relied on the wisdom of the group to guide the conversation.
Learnings included:

* Given that social needs are scaling faster than the capacity of individual service providers, collaboration is no longer optional.

* Collaboration is often fun and energizing. Participants report feeling part of a larger effort/movement; develop peer learning relationships; and find camaraderie and humor help support personal resiliency.

* The first step toward greater collaboration is networking. Simple steps include visiting other operations; sharing a professional development speaker or activity with staff of peer agencies; encouraging boards of directors to interact; making sure the broad network of local providers includes each other in their communications.

* Pierce County has a history of successful collaborations, a strong regional identity, and nonprofit and civic leaders whose commitment and relationships provide a strong base for sparking further community adventures in authentic collaboration.

For more detailed information on the Dialogues, contact Sherrana Kildun, Director of Community Programs.