How Nonprofits and NGOs Form Alliances

Strategic alliances almost always help organizations reach their goals. However, not all alliances are productive, strategic, or wise. When nonprofits blindly or hastily enter into alliances with other organizations and especially with governments, they risk diluting the quality of their services and missing their targets. As Zaidi, Mayhew, Cleland, et al (2012) point out, underdeveloped political and financial institutions can stymie the efforts of an NGO. On the other hand, it is practically impossible to imagine how a nonprofit can remain effective without forming some alliances judiciously and strategically to maximize resources, collaborate on programming, and to better distribute financial burdens. La Piana Consulting (2015) advises different types of strategic alliances to serve specific purposes such as administrative coordination and consolidation versus fiscal sponsorship.
Many nonprofits risk sublimating their goals into larger organizations when they merge (Malatesta & Smith, 2014). To avoid logistical, ethical, and fiscal problems, nonprofits should carefully consider who they align with and how. Moreover, nonprofits need to carefully weigh the pros and cons of alliances between the public and private sector. Alliances with either or both the public and private sector may be inevitable in some situations, as the legal or regulatory environment might require such partnerships. The alliances might be motivated by political or public relations goals, too, or for improving outreach and advocacy efforts, leveraging media outlets, or enabling work in multiple markets while overcoming language and cultural barriers. Malatesta & Smith (2014) also discuss the need for balancing power, within the framework of resource dependency theory. Entrenched organizations can help the nonprofit gain access to supply chains, leveraging existing networks to improve public health or achieve other goals. Overall, the benefits of strategic alliances far outweigh the potential drawbacks.





References

La Piana Consulting. (2015). The collaborative map. Retrieved from http://www.lapiana.org/Portals/0/Documents/LPC-Collaborative-Map-2015.pdf
Malatesta, D., & Smith, C. R. (2014). Lessons from resource dependence theory for contemporary public and nonprofit management. Public Administration Review, 74(1), 14–25. 
Zaidi, S., Mayhew, S. H., Cleland, J., & Green, A. T. (2012). Context matters in NGO–government contracting for health service delivery: A case study from Pakistan. Health Policy and Planning, 27(7), 570–581. Retrieved from http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/27/7/570.full