• Editor’s note: This is the second of a short series about nonprofit groups working together to overcome challenging economic times. LIHU‘E — Dedicated to helping island youth attain leadership skills, Kaua‘i Youth Network is another product of nonprofit collaboration
• Editor’s note: This is the second of a short series about nonprofit groups working together to overcome challenging economic times.
LIHU‘E — Dedicated to helping island youth attain leadership skills, Kaua‘i Youth Network is another product of nonprofit collaboration created by the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai‘i and the Young Women’s Christian Association.
Not suspecting they had anything in common, both organizations were pleasantly surprised when they discovered a way to cohesively “help change the system for youth,” YWCA of Kaua‘i Executive Director Renae Hamilton said at the Strategic Nonprofit Collaboration workshop hosted by the Kaua‘i Planning & Action Alliance last week.
The program nurtures and “helps the kids” receive skills they “don’t get at school, home or even in the community,” she said. It is something which would not have occurred if their organizations had never merged their ideas and resources.
“All this is really uncharted territory,” Boys & Girls Club Kaua‘i Regional Director Keith Cruickshank said, regarding the assimilation of the nonprofit organizations.
Taking a step back to remember “we just can’t do this by ourselves” is crucial right now, he said. “The financial crisis reminds us how to really do business.”
They have raised the bar for others now that they get to learn from one another, he said.
“It does take time, but the benefits far outweigh the challenges,” Cruickshank said.
Advantages of working together have also reached nonprofits such as Life’s Bridges and Circles of Light who recently teamed up as well.
Instead of “reinventing the wheel” the two collaborated to “meet the bereavement needs for children in the community” through art which is the “greatest vehicle,” Kaulukukui said.
“What we share is a passion for the community,” she said.
As the economy continued on a downhill trend, unemployment rose and several socioeconomic factors took place which increased the need for nonprofits, she added.
The question really was “how are we going to make ends meet?” Kaulukukui said. Working together was the answer.
Now they are able to hire one person for a program rather than two and have the chance to expand networking horizons, she said.
“It really is about attitude,” said Melinda Montgomery of Circles of Light when explaining how to overcome difficult financial times. In addition, “establishing relationships” is key.
For more information, visit www.bgch.com, www.ywcakauai.org or www.circlesoflight.org or call Kaulukukui for Life’s Bridges at 651-6637.
