The Center for Nonprofit Success offers Strategic Alliances 101 Seminar

WASHINGTON, DC, January 18, 2011 (Press-News.org) A Strategic Alliance is a formal relationship between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed upon goals or to meet a critical business need while remaining independent organizations. Strategic Alliances are one of the fastest growing trends for organizations today. For years, nonprofit organizations have collaborated with one another. Combining forces and eliminating duplication of mission and services, nonprofit organizations can often increase their social impact. For many nonprofit organizations this is significant.

The environment in which nonprofits function today has changed dramatically. In the face of such change, nonprofit leaders must consider creative strategies to strengthen their programs and build capacity and, at the same time, maximize valuable human and financial resources. As discussed, strategic alliances can be a wonderful way for nonprofits to meet challenges but only if the nonprofit is ready for the alliance, chooses the right kind of alliance, and finds the right partner.

There are a lot of factors to consider as you enter into an alliance. Preliminary questions should be answered. It is important to understand if a strategic alliance will benefit your organization and if your organization has the right stuff for a successful collaboration. It is also imperative to gain some knowledge of different alliances and partnerships available and how they could benefit your organization. Once you have determined the above it is time to identify a suitable partner.

Once it has been determined that forging an alliance is the route for your organization building that partnership the right way is key. In the seminar on how to forge strong and healthy relationships with strategic partners there is great mention of a step by step guide in setting up the partnership. After all, this is the most important part. In order to make a well thought out decision you may want to familiarize yourself on common mistakes to avoid in the partnership.

One great final point to think about is evaluating whether the alliance is producing the return on investment. There are a number of ways to evaluate this process. This is definitely an important and continual step in the process. After all, this is the reason for the strategic alliance.

The Center for Nonprofit Success offers seminars on Strategic Alliances in different cities around the country. For a calendar of upcoming seminars offered by the Center for Nonprofit Success, go to http://www.cfnps.org/education_calendar.aspx