“We're being asked to partner constantly, but not always purposefully”
A reflection on Saath’s session for Thorn’s Gather and Grow series
Recently, we had the opportunity to join Thorn’s Gather and Grow series to talk about something that’s both essential and often misunderstood: partnerships. Not the kind where everyone’s logo gets a spot on the slide deck. But the kind that stretch us, challenge us, and—when done with care—help us meet complex challenges with collective strength.
Our session was titled “Partnering with Purpose,” but what unfolded was something deeper: a meaningful exchange about how we collaborate:
Why so many collaborations feel heavier than they should.
Why we often default to urgency instead of intentionality.
And what it truly takes to shift from partnering out of necessity… to partnering with purpose.
Saying the Quiet Part Out Loud
One moment that stood out was when someone voiced what many nonprofit professionals quietly carry:
“We’re forming collaborations under pressure, with urgency, and often without the time or clarity to build the foundation we need.”
This isn’t surprising. Nonprofits are often racing against time, chasing grants, meeting goals, responding to crises. In that rush, partnerships can become reactive. Organizations look for collaborators after the program is designed, after the budget is set. The result? Partnerships that feel more like obligations than opportunities.
We wanted to create space to step back, reflect, and ask: What would it look like to design partnerships from a place of clarity, shared vision, and intention?
Part 1: Seeing the System Clearly
We began with a systems thinking lens. Too often, nonprofits are so focused on their mission that they lose sight of the broader system they’re trying to change.
We asked participants:
What system are you trying to change?
Where do you sit within it?
How are you affected by it and how are you shaping it?
These questions helped participants connect their day-to-day work to the larger systems they hope to influence, whether that’s child safety, tech regulation, law enforcement, donor ecosystems, or global development. It was a moment to zoom out and see the bigger picture.
“Where do you sit in that system? How are you affected by it, and how are you shaping it?”
Part 2: Mapping the Landscape
Next, we explored the actors and stakeholders in these systems.
Who holds power?
Who is impacted?
Who is often invisible?
We introduced stakeholder mapping as a tool to help nonprofits engage more strategically across the full terrain—from funders to frontline communities. Even a brief exercise revealed gaps and opportunities. For example, some participants realized they could strengthen ties with local communities and academic institutions—stakeholders often overlooked in traditional partnership models.
Part 3: Taking Stock of Your Partnerships
We then introduced the Partnership Spectrum from The Partnering Initiative (TPI), which ranges from:
Transactional (resource exchange),
to Shared Value (mutual benefit),
to Transformational (co-creating systemic change).
We asked: Where do your current partnerships sit on this spectrum?
The answers were nuanced.
“It depends,” one participant said. “Some are transactional—data sharing, compliance, funding. Others feel closer to system-level transformation.”
That distinction matters. Transactional partnerships aren’t bad, they’re often necessary. However, if all our collaborations stay at that level, we miss out on deeper possibilities: co-creation, shared risk, and long-term impact.
Part 4: Let’s Be Honest, Collaborating Is Hard
Finally, we asked a simple question: What’s the most frustrating part of working in partnerships?
The chat lit up: unclear expectations, uneven risk, being brought in too late, no space to revisit or repair, lack of accountability for the relational work. These weren’t just logistical issues, they were emotional truths. They reflected collaboration fatigue.
We also talked about power. Even in spaces that claim, “shared goals” or “equal partners,” dynamics around funding, timelines, and strategy often tell a different story.
Before closing, we invited everyone to reflect on what purposeful partnership could look like. We shared TPI’s MUST framework that requires organizations to foster the Mindset for collaboration, Understanding of other sectors and stakeholders, Systems needs for effective collaboration and the Technical skills and knowledge on partnership building and implementation. We emphasized that partnering isn’t a soft skill or a side strategy, but is the infrastructure that holds complex, collective work together. However, in many organizations, the conditions for strong partnerships such as time, trust, reflection, shared purpose, are too often not budgeted, rarely evaluated, or even acknowledged.
“We reward the visible outputs of collaboration. But the invisible work—the trust, the tension, the negotiation—is often not recognized, rewarded, or resourced.”
Our Reflection: In disruptive times, it’s not just about who’s in your network, it’s about how well you work together. Building partnering muscles matters more than ever
Across the nonprofit sector, we’re seeing organizations navigate a rapidly shifting landscape: evolving funding models, heightened expectations for cross-sector engagement, and increasing pressure to demonstrate systems-level impact. In this context, partnerships aren’t just a means to implement programs, they’re becoming core to how nonprofits plan, adapt, and lead.
At Saath, we believe that strong partnerships come not just from broad networks, but from building the muscle of partnering well. That means cultivating the mindsets, systems, and skills that allow people and organizations to collaborate systematically and purposefully, using evidence-based frameworks and practices.
We’re deeply grateful to Thorn for creating space for this conversation—and for embracing its complexity. This wasn’t a session about tips or tools. It was about seeing partnership as a practice—one that requires reflection, intention, and time.
If your organization is grappling with similar questions—or sensing that how you collaborate isn’t quite aligned with what you value—you’re not alone.
At Saath, we believe that purposeful collaboration starts with clarity—about the systems you’re working in, the stakeholders you’re engaging with, and the value you want to create together. That’s why we support nonprofits through strategic planning processes that integrate systems thinking and partnership-building strategies—so that collaboration becomes a core capability, not an afterthought.
We’re here to help you build the mindset, skills, and structures needed to partner with purpose—and to move your mission forward with strength and intention.
If that’s the direction you’re heading, we’d be honored to walk that path with you.
📩 info@saathpartners.com
🌐 www.saathpartners.com