www.city-action.org

 

 

Overview

What is a Partnership?

Why use a third party broker?

Accreditation details

 

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Overview

City Action is aware that there is a growing desire within its corporate membership base to establish more formal, longer-term partnerships with local community organisations. It is a chance for the private sector to become involved in raising the standards and prosperity of the surrounding neighbourhoods. Many businesses are keen to engage in significant relationships with sustainable outcomes.

Particularly in light of the current economic climate, many community organisations are in greater need of secure, multi-faceted support from private sector partners. As the economy slows down, many charities are finding individuals and companies are giving less in terms of financial donations but also in terms of donations of time and expertise. Meanwhile, as a result of economic difficulty, many charities are also seeing a rise in the need for their services coupled with higher running costs.

City Action believes a Partnering approach is the best way to achieve measurable and sustainable outcomes that exist long after the partnership winds down and the partners move on. In this respect, we encourage our clients to view Partnering not as an end goal but as a means to achieving their objectives.

All City Action team members are able to act as a third-party, neutral broker during the launching, growing, sustaining or winding down of your Partnership. We are able to provide advice at any stage of your Partnership.

There are a number of roles we can take on, including:

• re-building broken-down relationships;
• maintaining transparency and accountability amongst partners;
• raising awareness and building capacity;
• ensuring partners continuously keep partnership objective in mind;
• assisting in clear, accurate communications;
• facilitating the wind-down/transition of the partnership.

Please remember that as a Partnership broker, our primary responsibility will be to ensuring a successful Partnership rather than pursuing the individual goals of any one partner. Above all, we will ensure that your Partnership is based on equity, transparency and mutual benefit.

All partnership brokering activity is offered for free to City Action clients.

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What is a Partnership?

We use the following definition for a Partnership:

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Why use a third party broker?

No matter where a company is in their partnership cycle - whether just starting out or re-evaluating the benefits of a longstanding relationship - a neutral, third-party broker can be of tremendous help.

Using a third party broker allows both sides of the partnership (charity and company) to rely on the broker's neutrality. City Action will help make sure the partnership stays on track and is mutually beneficial. We speak both 'languages' of the private sector and of the community sector and thus can help clarify misunderstandings or misinterpretations. City Action can also act as a confidant, when trust or communication has broken down.

City Action has a range of brokering tools at our disposal - from objective-setting exercises to partnership review templates - so we can provide advice and access to best practice at any point.

We are also able to provide you with a one-off, partnership assessment, during which we will speak with all partnership parties and identify partnership strengths and areas for potential improvement. To schedule a partnership assessment meeting, please contact us.

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City Action has received training from the International Business Leaders Forum and their Partnering Initiative. For more information please visit their website.