The Power of Partnering: Three Steps to Successful Partnerships

by: William L. Anthes, Ph.D. President and CEO National Endowment for Financial Education Compared with many nonprofit organizations, the National Endowment for Financial Education ® (NEFE®) is relatively young. But in terms of our experience in working with partners, we are seasoned veterans.

William L. Anthes, Ph.D.

Since our first partnership with the USDA Cooperative Extension in 1991, NEFE has collaborated with 72 different organizations from the private, government, and nonprofit sectors. The vast majority of these partnerships have met with resounding success, but as an educator, I value as “lessons learned” even those that have not gone as smoothly.

In 1997, NEFE’s Board of Trustees made the bold decision to focus the institution’s efforts exclusively on its public service mission. The institution transferred ownership of the College for Financial Planning and several related professional education divisions to another organization. The proceeds of this transaction, together with the endowment built up over the years, now fund NEFE’s public service work.

As we reinvented NEFE, we determined that partnering would be at the core of our new identity. Why? Because even though the foundation has substantial resources, our mandate to educate the public about personal finance is so large that we knew we could not accomplish it by ourselves. We needed partners to get the job done. Our tagline, Partnering for Financial Well-Being, became much more than words on a letterhead. Partnering is a principle that guides the foundation’s daily work. We believe that only through partnering can we advance our mission and extend our reach to Americans from all walks of life.

Part of our comfort in reaching this pivotal decision was due to the successful partnership we have enjoyed for over a decade with the USDA Cooperative Extension in promoting and distributing the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program® free to schools across the country. This partnership represents the essence of a win-win-win situation. NEFE provides the technical expertise regarding personal finance topics and underwrites the costs of developing materials. Cooperative Extension provides a nationwide network of community-based educators who advise on curriculum development and assist with the implementation and evaluation of the NEFE High School Financial Planning Program. Our nation’s high schools provide the site where learning can take place among young people who so desperately need to know the basics of managing money.

To date, more than 2.5 million students in over 20,000 schools in all 50 states have benefited from this program. More recently, the Credit Union National Association and America’s credit unions, along with the National Academy Foundation, have joined the partnership in an effort to bring financial literacy education to even more young people. Our mutual goal: to give every teenager in the country the tools needed to build and benefit from a sound financial future. We know that this goal is possible, but only because we are tackling it together.

This is just one example of the partnerships NEFE has forged as a way to get the message of sound money management to those in need. From the Alzheimer’s Association to YWCA, NEFE has collaborated with a broad array of organizations. Among many others, NEFE has worked with:

• AARP to host a “Women and Money” think tank;
• American Cancer Society to provide basic financial guidance to individuals facing cancer;
• American Express to administer its Economic Independence Fund and create the Economic Independence Clearinghouse;
• American Indian College Fund to develop a series of booklets to encourage Native American youth to pursue a college education and find ways to pay for it;
• Annie E. Casey Foundation to provide financial education to young people in the foster care system;
• Habitat for Humanity to help families prepare for the financial responsibilities that come with homeownership; and
• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence to provide practical financial information to victims of abuse.

From each of these collaborations, we at NEFE have gained important insights into partnering, which we use to continually refine and manage the process. These “lessons learned” are incorporated into three basic steps that are followed for every collaboration, whether the partner is a for-profit or a nonprofit organization. 

THREE STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP

• Decide if the organization can accomplish its mission through partnering. NEFE believes that its strategic partnerships represent the most effective means of addressing the different education needs of widely varying segments of the public. Not only do our partners enable us to reach a broader swath of society than we could accomplish alone, they also contribute invaluable insights into how we can best tailor our information and delivery to meet the needs of their constituents. 
• Develop specific projects that can be undertaken by a partnership arrangement. In NEFE’s case, the project always involves some type of personal finance education. In addition, our projects target what we call “underserved audiences”—individuals whose basic financial education needs are not being addressed by others, among them the economically disadvantaged, those facing health or other crises, the nation’s youth, and others outside the mainstream of financial services and information.

Step 2: Identify the Right Partners
With a mission that has partnering at its heart, selecting the right partners is critical to NEFE’s success. Because of the reputation NEFE has earned, we frequently are approached by government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations with requests to work with them. In other instances, we initiate the contact after identifying potential partners based on our ongoing research of issues, trends, and financial education opportunities. 

In a sense, we think of these contacts almost like a sales call. We often start with a letter and follow-up phone call asking for a face-to-face meeting with the organization’s key decision-makers. We introduce NEFE, show what we have done for other organizations, gather information about the potential partner’s audience and its needs, propose a solution to fill the identified needs, get agreement to the proposal, and implement the project. 

As we step through the selection process, we look for the following qualities:

• The potential partner has a solid reputation. NEFE has worked hard to build a reputation for doing good work. It is critically important that we protect our reputation and not enter into a partnership that would average us down. NEFE goes through a careful process of due diligence and has declined some relationships when we have determined that there is not a good fit.
• The potential partner recognizes the need for financial education. Our collaborators frequently tell us that this is the first time they have endeavored to provide financial education to their constituents, even though it is a desperate need. They are committed to working with NEFE to fill this need. 
• There is a “teachable moment.” Because the collaborator’s constituents are the end users of most of our projects, we pay special attention to these individuals’ needs and carefully consider the point at which they might be most receptive to personal finance education. 
• The potential partner complements our abilities. NEFE’s staff is skilled in designing and producing high-quality financial education products, whether it’s a printed booklet, a Web site, or a classroom curriculum. However, although we may have an idea of the audience we want to reach (such as at-risk youth or people facing a health crisis), we also know that we cannot possibly understand the unique needs of the intended audience as well as an organization that works with that audience day in and day out. Nor do we have a national distribution system or local offices that can make direct contact with the consumers we hope to reach. We rely on our collaborators to fill these important functions. In almost every case, the collaborator is a national organization with a network of local chapters or offices, and a staff that has the capability to deliver the product.
• The potential partner is able and willing to take on certain responsibilities. In NEFE’s projects, the collaborator typically is asked to handle distribution and implementation of the project. In addition, the collaborator must be willing to provide input to the design of the project and review the project’s content at various stages. In some cases, the collaborator may be asked to pay for a portion of project’s cost. The organization’s staff, including a key contact and back-up personnel, must have the time and ability to see the project through to completion in a timely manner. One way that we have begun to “test” the willingness of a collaborator to take on responsibility for a project is to ask that its staff provide detailed information about the organization, in writing, which is then used to develop a written document that outlines the scope of the project and the duties of each partner.
• The timing is right. We may learn that the organization wants to do the project, but for whatever reason, is unable to do it now. Those projects go on the back burner for future consideration.
• The potential partner is excited about the project. Perhaps most important, we look for that special spark that tells us the collaborator is committed to the project and shares NEFE’s vision to make it succeed.

Step 3: Manage the Project 
All of these discussions take place in an open exchange of ideas and expectations as NEFE proposes a project, listens to the potential partner’s feedback, considers alternatives, and arrives at a decision to move ahead with the partnership. 

Two important documents come out of these early discussions. The first, a Project Description Form, describes in detail the scope of the project, timelines, costs, and who is responsible for each aspect of the project, from inception of an outline through writing, production, distribution, publicity, updating, reprinting, and review—i.e., the life of the project. The Project Description Form goes back and forth between NEFE and the partner until both parties are satisfied that it is complete and do-able. The key to partnering is a clear understanding of what both sides in the equation want and expect from the collaboration.

Based on the Project Description Form, a Letter of Understanding is written. The Letter of Understanding is contractual in nature and, again, specifies scope, duties, costs, and timeframes. It lays out conditions under which a project might be terminated, such as if the project is not implemented in a timely manner. The letter also details copyright ownership and other legal issues, and typically is reviewed by attorneys for both parties before signing. In essence, the Letter of Understanding formalizes the relationship between the partners and communicates that this is an endeavor which must be taken seriously.

Getting both of these documents in place can take time, so NEFE has learned another virtue of a good partnership: patience. We frequently initiate the first contact with a potential collaborator one or two years prior to the launch of a project. While this might seem a long and sometimes tedious process, our cautious, businesslike approach to partnering is an important reason why NEFE has enjoyed so many successful outcomes. Once the project is launched, however, we have found it best to work on an aggressive timeline, so that the project can be executed as quickly as possible in an effort to avoid the disruptions that can occur when there is staff turnover.

NEFE expends a considerable amount of financial and human resources on these projects. Our collaborators spend much time and effort, as well. Therefore, we do everything possible to ensure that we are all on the same page and that we reach the conclusion we envisioned at the beginning of the project. At the same time, we know that mutual trust and respect are not built overnight. We are willing to take the time required to make that happen.

Ultimately, the success of any partnership—whether with a for-profit or nonprofit organization—hinges on open, ongoing communication. At every step, we inform partners of our progress, consult them on problems, and actively solicit their feedback, concerns, and questions. The last thing either partner wants is a surprise at the end.

Without a doubt, partnering is hard work. It takes time. It’s a calculated risk. But partnering also results in a synergism that cannot be duplicated. That is why I am absolutely convinced that the National Endowment could not have accomplished what it has in the past five years without our partners. One plus one does, indeed, equal more than two. 

Following a teaching and administrative tenure at the University of Arkansas, the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri, William L. Anthes, Ph.D., served as President of the College for Financial Planning from 1979 to 1992. In 1992, the College established a new parent organization, the National Endowment for Financial Education® (NEFE®). When ownership of the College was transferred to the Apollo Group, Inc., in 1997, Dr. Anthes remained with NEFE as its President and CEO. Since then, he has led the organization to a new phase in its evolution as it exclusively focuses on providing consumers at all levels of society with education and tools to better understand and control their finances.

For more information about NEFE's involvement with partnerships, please contact Brent Neiser, Director of Collaborative Programs, at ban@nefe.org.