How One Nonprofit is Generating Millions in Revenue-Generating Partnerships to Fund Vital Services – with Dorella Walters - Episode 33

I had the opportunity to interview Dorella Walters, who is the Chief Business Development Officer for God’s Love We Deliver in New York.  Her job is basically to prospect for, and develop revenue-generating partnerships that do two main things: they diversify the organization’s funding portfolio, and bring in the dollars that allow them to serve a substantially greater number of people who desperately need their services. 

She’s facilitated well over $10 million in revenue-generating partnerships for the organization, and she’s on track to do much more.  She shared some very powerful insights about how she develops these partnerships, but also what it takes inside the organization to accommodate and embrace that kind of growth.  And to be constantly looking forward, looking to figure out new ways to build relationships and partnerships that will allow them to meet the tremendous need that they know exists.

We talked a lot about strategic relationship development and messaging, which are critical in this process. But we also talked about vision, leadership and organizational culture, and how to develop a culture that embraces growth and change on an ongoing basis. 

In this episode, Dorella shares her insight and advice on:

• How to center vision and mission as you build revenue-generating partnerships 
• How strategic relationship building in policy circles and with business partners can overlap and serve to strengthen your credibility and influence
• How to build champions throughout a partner organization’s decisionmaking hierarchy
• Ingredients of a successful strategic partnership-building team
• How to cultivate and sustain a culture of innovation and growth throughout your organization 
• How to engage your board in your partnership-building work 
• How to support growth and learning for every team member in a meaningful way 

If you enjoyed this episode and found value in it, please reach out to Dorella and let her know.  You can find her on LinkedIn @Dorella Walters, or you can email her at dwalters@glwd.org. 

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