Marilyn Struthers, province-wide program manager for the Ontario Trillium Foundation, speaks largely in nature metaphors. “I sit at the top of the high tree overlooking the sector,” she says of her job overseeing millions of dollars of grant applications each year.

It is from this vantage point that many Canadian funders gain a privileged understanding of developments in the nonprofit sector. While hardly a new phenomenon, cross-sector collaboration is an evolving force that Struthers asserts is, “like a flock of starlings”, constantly changing in response to different environmental factors.

The current post-recession hangover has left the sector particularly vulnerable, causing funders to take a more active approach in seeking out innovative — and cost-cutting — collaborative setups.

A network of networks

Since 2005, Trillium has invested roughly $136 million in collaborative projects. But what sets the current landscape apart, says Struthers, is they are no longer simply funding networks but are engaged in building what she calls “a network of networks,” introducing grantees to each other and encouraging hopefuls to tap into existing projects rather than reinventing the wheel.

“Where we find really interesting opportunities is where people are doing similar work and don’t know about each other. We say, ‘have you chatted with so-and-so?’ And lo and behold, out of that information and that little bit of networking, a collaboration application is often the result.”

As funders across the country increasingly apply this hyper-networked approach, many are finding that the most effective way to achieve these networks within networks is to facilitate a shared workspace model.

Sharing resources, sharing space

In March 2010, The Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organzations (CCVO), whose mandate is to break down silos and create a cohesive voice for the sector, released Sharing Services, Sharing Space: Laying the foundation for increased collaboration in the voluntary sector.

The report stresses that shrinking resources call for alternative approaches, and that co-location models, wherein multiple nonprofit tenants are housed together at below market rates, are increasingly the chosen tactic.

Featuring data on patterns of co-location among Calgary nonprofits, the report shows that 22% of responding agencies participated in shared service relationships and 63% were co-located with other nonprofit and voluntary agencies.

China Brotsky co-founded and directs the NonprofitCenters Network (NCN). She identifies the communal workspace as a nonprofit centre. Launched by TIDES, an American-based nonprofit that supports grantees through fiscal sponsorship, the NCN was created to support nonprofit centres internationally.

It connects nonprofit centre leaders with foundations, private funders, commercial real estate providers and the public sector, providing tools for operating the centres according to best practices.

Citing Canadian examples like The Kahanoff Centre in Calgary, initiatives of the Central City Foundation in Vancouver and the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto, Brotsky maintains that many foundations and even some private donors are moving away from the concept of supporting the costs of individual organizations and are actively creating spaces where groups can increase their efficiency by co-locating. She says that 20% of their member nonprofit centres in North America were created by foundations.

“In the face of worldwide economic problems, foundations are thinking that it’s more efficient to help create a facility with below market rent and opportunities for collaboration for tenants rather than giving grants to a bunch of individual tenants every year just to pay their rent.”

Brotsky says funders have taken varying approaches in terms of their level of involvement, with some adopting a hands-on, curatorial role in managing the nonprofit centre and others simply leaving it to the nonprofits to develop synergies on their own.

For Brotsky, the former yields greater success.

“In terms of best practices, you’re more likely to have [collaboration] happen if there’s somebody whose job it is to make it happen, rather than hoping it will happen spontaneously.”

A model of success

One nonprofit centre acknowledged for its successful operation is Fort McMurray’s Redpoll Centre, a subsidized space that houses seven small nonprofits. It was opened in 2009 after the Suncor Energy Foundation approached the United Way and proposed working together on such a project.

Cathy Glover, director of stakeholder relations and community investment, explains Suncor saw the opportunity to elevate sector capacity in an area that is particularly unstable. High cost of living and administrative instability have made sharing space an attractive — and often necessary — option in the region. As a result, Suncor has deliberately directed its investment efforts there to both draw new employees to the sector and retain those wary of working in an environment often in flux.

“I think it’s sort of that next evolution in the way that organizations make investments into a community. Dollars in themselves do not move the needle on the social issue. You need to bring all the resources you can to address an issue.”

Diane Shannon, executive director of the region’s United Way, expresses a similar sentiment, explaining the United Way purposely invited organizations that were struggling to establish themselves professionally to occupy Redpoll. “One was working out of the back room of a church basement and all the rest were operating out of kitchen tables or home offices. Our goal was to provide them with affordable rent so that they could actually have a sustainable presence.”

In addition to providing access to shared facilities, the United Way facilitates formal networking opportunities by holding a “flock meeting” every three weeks, where groups offer support and share information. The proximity to other nonprofit groups has allowed organizations to bounce ideas off one another, and also use what Shannon calls United Way’s “open-door policy” to their benefit. The sense of camaraderie has given way to groups supporting each other through gestures like volunteering for one another’s events.

Benefits for funder and community

Shannon says the local community benefits from Redpoll’s arrangement because organizations, when not struggling to find an adequate place to work, are much better equipped to serve the needs of clients. She also notes the convenience of being located in a consolidated, downtown spot.

For Suncor, Glover says, the benefit is clear. Shared space and resources mean administrative costs are reduced, and dollars Suncor invests can go directly to the initiatives and the clients they serve. In this way, the organizational and professional capacity of the sector is elevated.

Brotsky says that, while each nonprofit centre adapts the shared space somewhat differently, foundations and commercial real estate owners are generally recognizing the potential to transform an office space to have impact on the sector overall, as well as on the entire community.

“Foundations are very focused on the impact of the sector right now — if you bring together the right organizations and encourage them to collaborate then you have an increased chance of being able to do that.”

Getting a leg up

Home to 26 arts organizations, Ottawa Arts Court is the city’s municipal arts centre for performing, visual and literary arts. Executive director Linda Balduzzi says the shared space model gives resident organizations a competitive edge when it comes to marketing themselves.

“The shared facilities model makes marketing and promotions stronger overall as the effect of umbrella marketing as well as the marketing provided by individual organizations serve to broaden public awareness of both the facility and the organizations — and thus the funders.”

For instance, for their current “Summer Fling” theatre program, the shared space allowed them to open up programming to a wider range of arts groups and the program sponsor, the Downtown Rideau Business Improvement Association, has taken on the role of providing umbrella marketing for all shows and events.

The beauty of a broader view

Struthers maintains that organizations that work together access a broader understanding. “It’s like a bug’s eye, as opposed to a bird’s eye view. A bug sees in many different facets and directions at the same time — which is what a collaborative has — it must look in many directions at once and see many facets of the issue that they want to address.” Essentially, the creativity and diverse approach that creating a collaboration entails makes for better problem solving and an increased chance that a group’s mission will be fulfilled — an invaluable asset to funders.

It’s not a new trend, but as funders and facilitator groups increasingly examine the evolving nature of co-location and partnerships, a push to facilitate these in a more hands-on way stands out. Collaboration is seen by private and public funders alike as something that leverages dollars, maximizes efficiency and even counteracts instability. Funders are increasingly capitalizing on the opportunity to build collaboratives and networks from the ground up, ensuring their dollars go towards elevating the capacity of the sector overall.

Jodie Shupac is a Toronto-based freelance writer. She contributes to a range of publications, covering culture, urban issues, health and the environment.

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