How to collaborate on charity services

Charities are facing reduced funding, rising costs, and an increase in demand for their services. Working efficiently is crucial if they are to deliver, and continue to deliver, services for those they support. One way of doing this is to work collaboratively with another charity (or charities) to deliver services.    

 

 

What are the benefits of partnering on services?

 

Partnering with other charities on service delivery is an increasingly important way of providing the best possible support. Importantly, it’s a good way to avoid duplicated services. Duplication occurs when one or more charities work on similar causes, in the same location, supporting the same service users. The result can be wasted resources, unnecessary competition for funding, and fragmented support for service users.

 

On the flipside, when charities work together they can pool resources, share knowledge and expertise, and consolidate support from fundraisers and volunteers. And with 80% of charities saying they need to cut costs, partnering on services is one way to make the most of stretched resources.  

 

 

Four key elements to partnering on a new service

 

Finding the right partner

 

The first step is to find the right charity to partner with. According to the Charity Commission, before you decide to work with another charity you must be sure that working together is: “in the interests of your charity’s beneficiaries, and is a good way to meet your charitable purposes”.

 

For your charity, there might be an obvious fit – like a homeless charity linking up with a mental health charity in a specific location. But it might take some time and thought to find the right match.

 

One way to identify potential partners is by searching the charity register for organisations with similar purposes. Then get to know them – find out about their expertise and the resources they can offer, and if they complement what you can bring to the project.  

 

 

Developing a plan, working with key stakeholders

 

Work together to create clear objectives and a robust plan to achieving them. As with any project plan, make sure it’s super clear who is responsible for what, and by when. It might take some time to get to know colleagues from your partner charity but get a good understanding of everyone’s experience and skills – and then play to strengths when allocating tasks.  

 

You might need to get legal advice on how best to work together and draw up appropriate agreements. The NCVO shares some comprehensive guidance to running collaborative projects, including a checklist for working through how to staff them. You might also look through the government’s guidance on working with other charities.

 

 

Keeping your focus on service users

 

When you’re partnering on a new service, it’s likely there will be teams who haven’t worked together before. But if your service is going to be effective, it’s crucial to keep your focus on the people who will benefit from it. That means being clear on what people need and want from your new service right from the start of development.

 

Putting users at the heart of service planning and delivery is the key way to making sure it’s effective. That might include:

• One-to-one interviews for in-depth understanding of what people need and want 
• Gathering a core group of users, who can give their input at various points throughout the process
• Including service users at design workshops, to resolve gaps, solve problems, and help to make sure the service is accessible and inclusive

Read through the NCVO’s guidance on how to include service users in the design and delivery of services or take a look at Homeless Link’s toolkit.    

 

 

Applying for funding

 

Joint grant proposals can take the pressure off funding and increase your chances of success. Firstly, applying for funding with another charity helps to avoid competition with a similar applicant and eliminates any duplication of services in the long run.

 

Secondly, by combining your expertise and resources you’ll be able to achieve more than if you worked independently. And thirdly, the fact that you are partnering on services demonstrates your commitment to shared goals to funders and can increase your credibility. 

 

Make these benefits clear in your application, in particular showing how working together adds value and makes your charities more efficient. And, if you’ve partnered on services previously, spell out how they were successful. We share some more tips for writing successful funding bids.

 

 

Find out more

 

Our 2025 Reimagining Service Delivery Summit unlocked new perspectives on service delivery and how charities can maximise value to service users. Click here to watch the session recordings for free.

 

Our Reimagining Services Hub features regular articles, podcasts, and webinars to support charities in delivering services. Click here to learn more.