Charlotte area Habitat for Humanity affiliates collaborate

Last week, I  highlighted a top-down administrative consolidation program—the Chicago-area Back Office Cooperative. This week, I will highlight a grassroots approach.

Kudos to the eight Charlotte-area Habitat for Humanity affiliates for seizing opportunities for mission impact through collaboration.  And a nod of thanks also goes to theFoundation for the Carolinas for having the foresight to fund a facilitator to help them navigate the conversation.

Among the insights gained from a recent blog from La Piana Consulting:

• A collective recognition that “more” could be accomplished by working together for mission impact
• Between the eight, the leadership, willingness and capacity to explore what “more” might look like existed
• Five areas to explore was established early:  ReStores (funds raised by each ReStore support the local affiliate), family services, development (fundraising), homebuilding and back office administration
• The affiliates started with simple collaborations—joint purchasing of building materials, allowing these efforts to help build trust among them
• The trust building occurred during the simple collaborations, allowing more complex collaborations to evolve
• The collaboration wasn’t forced, it grew organically

Meg Robertson, formerly the associate director at Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte and now executive director of the new Metrolina Partners, had this to say about the expected benefits:

“Through a shared services approach, we expect cost savings. Centers of excellence will emerge and local affiliates can redirect operational time into mission-critical delivery and programmatic activities. Overall sharing of best practices and resources will lift all of the affiliates.”

Now put your thinking cap on.

If your organization is an affiliate, do you think collaboration models would result in mission impact?