You and Me and How Can We Agree?

I’ve worked in the nonprofit sector for many years and one of the lessons I’ve learned is – many hands make light work! I am constantly looking for ways to partner with others to share and leverage ideas, resources and finances. Why do alone what I could better accomplish with others?

On February 20, the day of our second snowstorm of the year we held our third Nonprofit Resource Connections Expo in Morris, MN. Resource Connections started out as a grassroots effort of nonprofits and Bremer to network and explore ways to better work together to promote local nonprofits and help them find more volunteers. The Expo is one of the programs we initiated three years ago to help do just that.

This year, 35 nonprofit organizations participated in the event. From the 2012 evaluations one participant reported making five new contacts – possible volunteers!

This year the Expo committee worked with a local 4-H group to serve the lunch, the local Kiwanis singers who provided entertainment and a UMM college student who volunteered his help on the marketing and promotion of the event.

The NEXT big step is that the Resource Connections initiative is coming under the umbrella of our local Chamber of Commerce and will be an official committee of the Chamber! The nonprofits will now have a stronger voice in the community/county through it’s partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and hopefully membership in the Chamber will be boosted.

So, here are a few examples of how working together benefits YOU and ME and I think on that we can all agree!

Holly Witt, NRS Alexandria Charter