The latest episode of Anatomy of Partnership features a compelling conversation between Betsy Blanchard of Youth Business Alliance (YBA) and Akira Nakano of the Fox Family Foundation. Their collaboration serves as a blueprint for how small nonprofits and private foundations can move beyond traditional “transactional” funding toward a transformative, mission-aligned partnership.
Transcript
Eric: Welcome to Anatomy of Partnership. I am joined by Betsy from Youth Business Alliance and Akira from the Fox Family Foundation. This partnership is exactly what we hoped would happen from our first Partnership Summit. Betsy, can you tell us about YBA?
Betsy Blanchard: We provide career and business education in high schools across low-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles. We work with about 2,500 students across 24 schools with a small team of three full-time employees and two AmeriCorps interns.
Akira Nakano: At Fox Family Foundation, our mission is to break the link between poverty and disability, with a focus on vision loss. We are currently driving a program called “Innovating Inclusion”.
Eric: Betsy, what was YBA trying to solve when you attended the first summit?
Betsy Blanchard: As a small nonprofit, organizations can sometimes be protective of their partners and contacts. I loved the summit because it was the opposite—a platform to create new synergies and get everyone pulling in the same direction. Our budget this year is just over $500,000, and we rely heavily on our network of 300 volunteers to provide guest speaking and mentoring to students who might not ordinarily have access to those connections.
Eric: Akira, what does Fox Family Foundation typically offer to nonprofits?
Akira Nakano: Our board likes to work with smaller organizations to kickstart programs. With YBA, we proposed bringing a “disability lens” to their existing entrepreneurship program. They worked with one of our master instructors to weave our curriculums together so students would consider the disability community when innovating.
Betsy Blanchard: It became a “living laboratory”. We were writing curriculum, delivering it to classrooms, getting immediate feedback, and refining it for the next piece.
Akira Nakano: We also hired people of all abilities—neurodiverse individuals and those with visual impairments—to go into the classrooms and mentor the students.
Eric: There is a lot of talk about the “power dynamic” in funding. How do you ensure this is equitable?
Betsy Blanchard: It comes with experience, but I was bold in sharing what would and wouldn’t work for us. Fox Family was very open to that dialogue, which allowed us to troubleshoot issues together rather than explaining away challenges.
Akira Nakano: I agree. When Betsy pitched for a second round, there were pieces that wouldn’t work for our board, but we talked it out to figure out how to make it work. That relationship is vital. If we meet face-to-face at a Haven event, follow up! Those “over the transom” grant applications aren’t considered as seriously as those with an established relationship.
Eric: How has the partnership evolved over the last year and a half?
Akira Nakano: We’ve built trust through smaller “trial grants”. YBA is now a trusted delivery partner for us.
Betsy Blanchard: Having multi-year commitments is a game-changer for us. It allows us to forecast our budget and gives us the stability to grow.
Eric: Any final advice for the sector?
Betsy Blanchard: Be present. If you’re doing great work and nobody knows about it, they don’t know how they can help you or spread your message.
Akira Nakano: Build relationships. Reintroduce yourself, make the phone call, or send the email. That is how you get your foot in the door.
The Challenge: Resource Scarcity vs. Collaborative Potential
Small nonprofits often operate in a state of “protectiveness” over their partners and contacts due to the highly competitive nature of the sector. With an annual budget of approximately $500,000 and a lean team, YBA was looking for more than just a check; they sought a platform to create new synergies and scale their impact in providing career education to 2,500 students in low-income neighborhoods.
The Catalyst: Intentional Matchmaking
The partnership began at the first Partnership.LA Summit, an event designed to connect community-focused organizations with institutional stakeholders. A brief 15-minute meeting sparked an immediate realization: while their specific missions differed, their underlying goals for student success and community inclusion were perfectly aligned.
The Model: A “Living Laboratory” of Inclusion
Rather than forcing a “plug-and-play” solution, the two organizations collaborated to weave a disability lens into YBA’s existing entrepreneurship curriculum.
- Curriculum Co-Design: Fox Family Foundation provided a master instructor to work with YBA’s program director to ensure universal accessibility was built into student business ideations.
- Direct Mentorship: Foundation staff of all abilities, including those who are neurodiverse or visually impaired, served as mentors and judges, providing students with face-to-face interaction with leaders of different abilities.
- Iterative Feedback: The program functioned as a “living laboratory,” where curriculum was written, delivered to classrooms, and refined based on immediate student feedback.
Lessons in Equity and Sustainability
For Akira Nakano, the success of the partnership was rooted in YBA’s commitment to follow-up. On the foundation side, Akira emphasizes that foundations act as “internal advocates” who must go to bat for their grantees before a board.
“If you’re doing great work and nobody knows about it, they don’t know how they can help you or how to help spread your message.” — Betsy Blanchard
This relationship has now evolved into a multi-year commitment, providing YBA with the stability needed to forecast growth and sustain their core infrastructure.