From Competition to Collaboration: How nonprofits can and should work together for greater impact
“In the end, we want to make a positive impact on the lives of the people we serve. Sometimes that means getting outside of what we do and partnering with somebody else because they do it and they do it well.” – Glenn Cranfield
In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel President Jeff Jowdy speaks with Glenn Cranfied, president and CEO at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Their discussion is about why and how nonprofits must stop competing with one another and work together to increase the impact for the people they serve.
Glenn discusses topics including:
- The scarcity mindset and how it hurts the ultimate goals of nonprofit organizations
- What it looks like when organizations are in collaboration rather than competition
- What makes it hard for organizations to grasp the idea of collaboration – what stands in the way and how those obstacles can be overcome
About our Guest
Rev. Glenn Cranfield’s commitment to serving the homeless began while he was serving as pastor of a church in Oklahoma City and accepted an invitation to speak during a chapel service at a shelter in the downtown area.
During the chapel service, Glenn shared the stories of the Jewish religious leader Nicodemus in John 3 and the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, teaching that no person is so good they don’t need Jesus and no person is so bad they can’t have Jesus.
When a homeless man approached him after the service and shared his life story, asking if that could really be true — deeply moved by the idea that Jesus could love him after all he’d done — Glenn felt God clearly speaking to his heart. This was what he was meant to do with his life: communicate the love of God to the desperate, homeless and poor.
Glenn has served as president and CEO of Nashville Rescue Mission since 2012, after leading City Rescue Mission in Oklahoma City for nearly a decade prior. He is passionate about helping the homeless and hurting to encounter real, lasting life change by sharing with them the transformative love of God, cultivating hope and equipping them to build a new path forward.
Glenn’s experience leading these organizations and walking alongside the homeless year after year has given him a deep understanding of the systemic and individual causes of homelessness, what actually changes lives long-term and, ultimately, a genuine compassion for each person who experiences homelessness and hardship.
