The fortunate fundraiser considers donors as friends – to the organization, of course, but also to the fundraiser who nurtures and stewards them. But there are two other friends that every fundraiser should be cultivating – colleagues in finance and those working in program.

In its simplest form, a nonprofit organization has three parts that make up the whole: Management and General (M&G; things like human resources, facility management and finance or accounting); Program (those who make sure the mission is fulfilled); and fundraising (those who raise the funds to support both M&G and Program).

Sometimes these three teams can seem like they are in competition with one another. There’s a lack of understanding at best and distrust at worst. But the truth is, colleagues working in finance and on the program side can be the best champions of a fundraiser – when there is a deliberate effort to understand that each other is doing and what is needed to be most successful.

Some of the ways your finance colleagues can help is to provide information on what needs funding so you aren’t oversubscribing programs, or supply the reports you need to report on use of donations. (They may even be able to produce them in a format that is more donor-friendly if that’s a challenge with the current reports.) Plus, your friends in finance often can assist in putting together a proposal for a donor, especially one who wants a detailed budget. They are also exceptional partners to ensure your receipting program is not only donor-centric, but also in compliance with requirements so your donors have the substantiation they need for their tax filing.

Program staff can give you a fresh set of eyes into the work that is being done, but you can also be fresh eyes for them when you help them know what is fundable and what is less fundable in its present form. When you both understand the other side, you can work together to possibly add aspects to a program to give it broader donor appeal or “translate” program-speak into terms that resonate with donors. You can also work together to gather resources. If the stories your program staff provide are always falling short of what you need for fundraising, ask yourself, “Have I explained what I need and shown them how I use the material they provide to cultivate donors?” Often sharing information about our fundraising efforts and our materials opens the door to a great partnership that results in raising more money – and that means more programs are possible.

Henry Ford put it this way: “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Your goal may not be the Model T, but your fundraising can truly take off when you forge partnerships with colleagues in other departments.