The Manchester-Bidwell Hybrid

In this week's reading, the idea of parntering with business to advance the mission and impact of a nonprofit was not a new idea. Similar to many of you, I have noticed the changing trend of businesses partnering with or otherwise supporting nonprofits. In reading the appendix section of the article, I was excited to see the piece on the Manchester-Bidwell Corporation. I heard Bill Strickland speak at a conference a few years ago and was really inspired by his vision.

What the article doesn't share is that the two schools Strickland opened in Pittsburgh were opened in one of the lowest income, highest crime neighborhoods, where Strickland himself had grown up in poverty. After an art teacher had invested in him as a high schooler and helped him discover his own love for pottery, Strickland wanted to see opportunities for other students who had lived similarly difficult lives as himself. He worked with several corporations to build what is now an incredible community center, as the article describes. When computers were first becoming household items, Strickland worked with IBM to train individuals who would then become employed by IBM upon completion of their training. Both sides won - unemployed individuals, many of whom had hardly received a GED, recieved training and marketable skills, while IBM was able to acquire a huge workforce to meet its growing needs. Now, the organization, as mentioned in the article, continues its committment to the arts and to vocational training. Single mothers are taught cooking lessons in a state of the art kitchen by world class chefs, and most of this is funded by Heinz.

I am glad to have seen Strickland speak and to have read his book on how it all got started "Make the Impossible Possible" (which I am happy to lend if anyone is interested) to see the real ways in which the parnterships with business and nonprofits can work. While it is disappointing that nonprofits have to use an angle that convinces businesses of their own profitability through the partnership, this approach offers significant oppotunities for advancing a nonprofit's mission.