In today’s pop culture, the term strategic alliances often refers to players working together in a calculated manner to pick-off their opponents and remain the last survivor on the island. In this case, forging a strategic alliance is an effective survival strategy – and this strategy may be just as effective for nonprofit survival as well.
To explore the strengths of strategic alliances/collaborations for the nonprofit sector, Applied Materials brought together 48 nonprofit grantees in Austin, Texas for the Advancement Academy. The Academy is an annual training organized to increase efficiencies and community impact of the Applied Materials Foundation’s grants recipients.
Many companies support local communities through programmatic grants, but fewer funders venture into supporting nonprofit organizational effectiveness. Bucking the trend, the Applied Materials Foundation recently announced a joint venture with the Austin, Texas-based consulting group: Greenlights for Nonprofit Success, creating the Applied Materials Foundation Advancement Academy.