I watched at least a few minutes of the Winter Olympics every day of the Games. I was continually struck by the resilience of the athletes—some who were competing as teams, but many who were competing as individuals. I think about the skaters, skiers and snowboarders who triumphed and those who were reduced to tears. I was heartened by their competitors’ willingness to console, comfort and celebrate them.

It made me think about our own nonprofit sector. While we are one team in our sector, we most often “compete” as individual organizations. Last week, the Armstrong McGuire team led multiple conversations around how we move into greater collaboration even in what feels like a competitive environment.

It begs the question. Is nonprofit collaboration perceived as a strength, challenge, opportunity or threat?

I believe the answer is “D:” all of the above.

Collaboration is often framed as aspirational: a strength to be admired, an opportunity to pursue. But in practice, it can also feel like a challenge or even a threat to identity, autonomy and legacy. There’s no doubt that collaboration is harder than going alone. It requires trust, shared decision-making, time and often, a willingness to let go of ego, full control and familiarity.

And yet, more and more, the nonprofit sector is pursuing collaboration with greater urgency, intentionality and success not because it’s easy or comfortable, but because the current environment demands it.

Last week, we hosted Across State Lines: Key Trends Shaping Nonprofits in 2026, featuring four state nonprofit association leaders who are seeing these dynamics play out daily:

• Mariane Asad‑Doyle, Executive Director and CEO, Center for Nonprofit Excellence (Virginia)
• Ivan Canada, President and CEO, North Carolina Center for Nonprofits
• Kevin Dean, President and CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network
• Karen Riordan, President and CEO, Together SC

Across four states and hundreds of communities, a shared message emerged: collaboration is no longer optional. It is a core strategy for resilience and impact.

Collaboration as Strength

When done well, collaboration creates power that no single organization can achieve alone. Whether through joint advocacy, shared learning or coordinated service delivery, collaboration amplifies voice and influence—especially in moments of volatility.

Key Takeaway: Kevin Dean noted, power comes from a united front. In advocacy, funding and community trust, numbers matter. Collective action helps normalize nonprofit participation in policy conversations and strengthens the sector’s ability to respond to external pressures. And, Mariane Asad-Doyle reminded us that advocacy is education not lobbying.

Collaboration as Challenge

Collaboration is work. Speaking candidly, it can be a true challenge.

It takes time nonprofits don’t feel they have. It requires infrastructure many organizations were never funded to build. And, it demands skills like negotiation, governance and shared accountability that are not taught in nonprofit leadership 101.

Key Takeaway: Mariane Asad-Doyle described collaboration as a competency, not an instinct. It exists on a spectrum from informal coordination to shared services to full mergers. Organizations don’t have to leap to the far end overnight, but they must build the muscle intentionally.

Collaboration as Opportunity

In today’s funding and workforce environment, collaboration opens doors to new possibilities:

• Shared administrative functions that reduce overhead
• Co‑location or shared space that lowers fixed costs
• Joint fundraising or advocacy that increases reach and awareness
• Peer support that reduces leadership isolation and burnout

Key Takeaway: Ivan Canada emphasized that nonprofits have historically underinvested in sector-wide infrastructure. Collaboration is one way to correct that by pooling resources, sharing risk and learning together how to operate sustainably in periods of prolonged uncertainty.

Collaboration as Threat (and Why That Matters)

Perhaps the most honest part of the conversation was acknowledging why collaboration sometimes feels threatening.

For many leaders, collaboration raises hard questions: Will we lose control? Will our mission be diluted? What happens to our identities or even our jobs?

That tension becomes most palpable when the conversation turns to mergers.

Key Takeaway: Kevin Dean was unapologetic in naming the “M-word” and challenging the stigma attached to it. Mergers, he argued, are often framed as failures when in reality they can be mission-preserving wins. Karen Riordan reinforced this point from a business perspective, noting that duplication and redundancy sometimes within the same zip code in the nonprofit sector would never persist in other arenas. The question nonprofits must be willing to ask is not, “How do we survive as an organization?” but “How do we best serve our community?”

From Fear to Intentional Choice

What became clear across the discussion is this: collaboration becomes a threat only when it’s avoided, delayed or forced under duress. When approached proactively, grounded in trust, clarity and shared purpose, it becomes a strategic strength.

The path forward isn’t collaboration for collaboration’s sake. It’s intentional collaboration: aligned to mission, supported by clear agreements, understood and backed by boards and staff, and open to all options, including mergers, without ego or shame.

From SCOT to Strategy

On the same day as the Across State Lines conversation, I saw collaboration in practice during a Collaborative Fundraising Workshop I co-led with Senior Advisor Sam Wright and nearly 75 nonprofit leaders. The focus wasn’t whether to collaborate, but how to design collaboration that is clear, realistic, and fundable.

Participants surfaced common concerns including protecting donor relationships, crediting and receiving gifts, capacity and trust, not as reasons to avoid collaboration, but as design inputs to acknowledge. From there, they explored practical, near-term approaches such as shared assets, coordinated outreach and pilot efforts that could be tested within 30–90 days. It was a powerful reminder that collaboration grows through follow through, not perfection. Special thanks to Jones Advisors for hosting this conversation.

In 2026 and beyond, the nonprofits that thrive will not be the ones that go it alone the longest, but the ones willing to ask hard questions, share power and imagine impact beyond organizational boundaries. They will be the ones who like our Olympic athletes show the greatest resilience and keep cheering for one another even when outcomes don’t go the way they once dreamed.

If you missed the Across State Lines conversation, you can watch the recording and find the transcript here. (Passcode: h?n%*4P8)

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Shannon Williams is the Managing Partner of Armstrong McGuire and leads the team of Senior Advisors who help our clients with organizational development, leadership development, and fundraising.