Are you a small nonprofit with a big idea?  Have you thought of partnering with another nonprofit in our community in order to qualify for our large scale grants to bring a project to life?   Here’s a recent success story we are proud to be a part of….

The relationship between Teachers Pet (TP) and Crossroads for Youth (CFY) was formed 13 years ago when Amy Johnson was doing her clinical internship at CFY.  She approached clinical director, Chris Veihl, with her own non-profit program idea – Teacher’s Pet. They arranged to run a pilot program with dogs and youth working to repair, mend, learn and grow together.  It was a tremendous success and it has been a wonderful partnership now for 13 years.

CFY and TP were awarded $102,000 in 2019 for their program pairing troubled youth with hard-to-adopt shelter dogs in order to heal both children and animals.  Their team met on multiple occasions to determine the best business plan and outline for the financial allocations. They have continued those discussions throughout the balance of the grant period to best determine the proper utilization of the Impact100 grant funds.  The pandemic experience has created the need for extreme flexibility and cooperation between the two parties, which they have both managed smoothly.

Despite being two different Nonprofits with separate missions and goals, they both share a desire and commitment to assist in the healing and improvement of all beings, whether they be two-legged and/or four-legged.

When forming a partnership and applying for a Grant with a partnering non-profit, here are some key takeaways:

-mutual commitment to the overall project

-mutual respect for one another’s agency values

-run a trial pilot program for the project idea

-open and consistent communication

-share the same passion and commitment for the project

-the need for flexibility and adaptability