In the spring of 2004, an anonymous donor made a five-year gift to underwrite the National Black Arts Festival’s (NBAF) use of venues on the The Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center’s campus—which includes the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, and Young Audiences.  The gift (and its forthcoming expiration) served as the impetus for NBAF to explore possible ways of working with The Woodruff that would institutionalize a relationship of mutual benefit and enhance the sustainability of both organizations.

In this case study, Vanessa Whang chronicles the details of the process between NBAF and the Woodruff (and its affiliated organizations) as they sought to explore synergies and shared interests toward the development of a mutually beneficial relationship. Grounded in general “partnership rules of thumb,” Whang documents the meetings that invited staff and leadership from each organization to define a collective vision based on programmatic collaboration; and to consider the larger concerns of a potential lasting relationship that would enhance NBAF’s sustainability and further Woodruff’s institutional goals. Further, Whang deconstructs the elements of the partnership development process, including stumbling blocks and success factors, in an effort to encourage and guide organizations beginning new partnerships

In the spring of 2004, an anonymous donor made a five-year gift to underwrite the National Black Arts Festival’s (NBAF) use of venues on the The Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center’s campus—which includes the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, and Young Audiences.  The gift (and its forthcoming expiration) served as the impetus for NBAF to explore possible ways of working with The Woodruff that would institutionalize a relationship of mutual benefit and enhance the sustainability of both organizations.

In this case study, Vanessa Whang chronicles the details of the process between NBAF and the Woodruff (and its affiliated organizations) as they sought to explore synergies and shared interests toward the development of a mutually beneficial relationship. Grounded in general “partnership rules of thumb,” Whang documents the meetings that invited staff and leadership from each organization to define a collective vision based on programmatic collaboration; and to consider the larger concerns of a potential lasting relationship that would enhance NBAF’s sustainability and further Woodruff’s institutional goals. Further, Whang deconstructs the elements of the partnership development process, including stumbling blocks and success factors, in an effort to encourage and guide organizations beginning new partnerships