Partnership
Our model is in our name. We are a network of “partners” that operates “worldwide.” We believe emphatically in the power of collaboration, teamwork, and leveraging one another’s gifts. This is one way in which we embody the Church, the family of God. Partnership is a beautiful thing.
Partnership can also be messy. Interpreting communications, managing expectations, and encouraging one another in love is not always easy. Over the first 20 years of our work, we have learned a lot about partnering together, from our successes and our failures. Our mission remains: to mobilize long-term, hands-on global relationships to form a powerful Christian network that uses business as the way to create flourishing economic environments in all parts of the world.
Our model:
- Our model is a three-way partnership between a Local Community Institution, a Business Affiliate, and Partners Worldwide. To understand how and why we utilize this model, read here or visit partnersworldwide.org/our-model.
- For Business Affiliates, we have developed a kit of resources to help them succeed. Talk to your local PW staff to find out how to access the BA Kit.
Partnership Documents
- Formalizing a partnership in the PW network involves signing a Partnership Agreement. This document essentially says, “We want to work together, so let’s put it in writing.”
- Each year, all of our partnerships develop an Annual Partnership Plan (APP). This planning tool helps our LCIs strategize their outcomes and activities, their budgets, and the impacts they hope to achieve. It also helps keep all of our global partnerships aligned around a common framework and planning tool for shared expectations.
Partnership Resources from PW
- Here’s a handy Venn Diagram our staff created to illustrate the uniqueness of our three-way partnership model, accompanied by a SWOT Analysis worksheet. We highly recommend this resource for BAs and LCIs seeking to identify and strengthen the core of their partnership while addressing the gaps that threaten a partnership’s success.
- This simple one-pager titled Best Practices for New Partnerships is a great guide for laying a strong foundation and establishing a shared vision for your partnership.
- If you’re curious about the BA perspective, check out The ABC’s of Being a BA.
External Resources on Partnership
- There are countless books on partnership that we could recommend. Some of our favorites are:
- Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Well Connected by Phill Butler
- Working with the Poor by Bryant Myers
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
- And of course, My Business, My Mission: Fighting Global Poverty through Partnerships, by PW’s CEO Doug Seebeck
Please email info@partnersworldwide.org if you have any questions.