Arthur Blank Family Foundation

ATLANTA, February 9, 2004 - Collaboration grants can help nonprofits exchange skills and ideas and develop innovative and creative work, concludes a new report released today by The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The Foundation is distributing the report, Getting Better, Together, for the first time at the Council on Foundations' 2004 Family Foundation Conference held this week in New York.

The Foundation commissioned the report to explore 14 grants that it awarded in December 2002 after extending a special request for proposals (RFP) to all its grantees for voluntary collaborations. The Foundation’s goal was to help organizations share ideas and practices, based on its belief that making connections between programs can dramatically increase impact.

"This report demonstrates that many nonprofit partners are able to grow and add value to one another by working together,” said Deva Hirsch, vice president for program at the Foundation. “Through this report, we are pleased to share the knowledge that we gained with other foundations and nonprofit organizations, and hope it will spark more interest in collaboration as a vehicle for social change.”

In addition to providing recommendations for foundations, the report discusses the impact of collaborating, and lessons drawn from the challenges and successes of the collaborative process. The grant initiative created new programs, allowed exchanges of skills and methodologies, and improved organizations and programs in many small ways, the report observes. It reveals that organizations should be careful to understand the capacity of all partners when developing collaborations, and that good planning and logistics are key to success. The report, developed by Atlanta consultant Jessie Bond, also includes profiles of five funded collaborations.

Getting Better, Together is available by clicking here. Foundations and nonprofit organizations interested in obtaining a printed copy of the report may e-mail their request to grantinquiries@ambfo.com.

Arthur M. Blank founded The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation in 1995 to share his civic values and the joy of giving with his family. Since that time, the Foundation has awarded more than $100 million in grants to support youth development, sustain the arts, preserve green space and improve the quality of life. Mr. Blank is a co-founder of The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, and the owner and CEO of the Atlanta Falcons.