Strengthening Communities Through Nonprofit and Church Partnerships.

By Cathy Larsen, Program Director

This past month, nearly 40 people filled the community room at The ELM Foundation, all eager to engage in an essential conversation about partnerships between local churches and nonprofits. In an era of shrinking federal budgets, we find ourselves with a remarkable opportunity for churches and nonprofits to transform the way we approach poverty alleviation. Instead of relying on government handouts for both agencies and individuals—which often foster dependency—we discussed an innovative model that urges us to embrace local, relationship-driven assistance. Through deep collaboration between churches and nonprofits, communities have the potential to provide far more effective and efficient support to those facing poverty.  

Agents from nonprofit organizations and representatives of various faiths came together for an hour to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s primary challenges. This collaborative effort had several layers of complexity:

• Both groups aimed to identify and understand their greatest organizational obstacles, fostering mutual empathy and a foundation for partnership.

• Challenges discussed often included issues such as limited resources, different organizational priorities, trust-building, differing approaches to service, and occasional discomfort or misunderstanding between secular and faith-based perspectives.

• Faith communities sometimes face internal divisions, concerns about issues being politicized or drawn into political debates, and differences in beliefs or practices, all of which can complicate collaboration.

• Nonprofits—whether faith-based or secular—reported common barriers such as competition for limited funding, lack of a common language or shared goals, and protection of organizational interests ('turf protection").

  
  

Despite these challenges, the group recognized that such discussions could help build trust, enhance partnerships, and coordinate efforts to address issues such as poverty. Because the topic was so important, the 60-minute meeting wasn’t enough to create a full community plan. Instead, it was decided that this meeting would serve as a starting point for follow-up meetings focused on developing a community plan to strengthen the partnership.

Please mark your calendar for our next meeting scheduled for the evening of Thursday, September 18, 2025.  The time and location of the meeting will be confirmed soon and shared via an email to follow. All church and nonprofit leaders are invited to a continued dialogue around the principles of effective church-nonprofit partnerships. If you’d like to join the conversation, we look forward to seeing you there. Consider who else you might invite to the September discussion. Partnerships between churches and nonprofits allow us to combine our strengths and better serve the community by leveraging our individual abilities and working together.

Contact Cathy at cathy@elmhsv.org if you would like to join this conversation or have any additional questions.