When is it acceptable to use other people’s ideas for your enterprise’s benefit? In the social sector, an homage (or straight-out plagiarism) is acceptable in some circumstances. A successful gala becomes a template for others to replicate. An annual appeal (or annual report) is quickly adopted by peer organizations. A new source of engaged and effective board members is mined heavily by numerous causes. Network affiliates frequently hire (poach) development and marketing professionals from their peers, asking them to replicate successful campaigns.

However, there are times when fishing from another organization’s pond can be problematic. Attempting to recruit an Executive Director navigating the crux of stabilizing a local nonprofit or intentionally scheduling a last-minute ask (cutting the line) with a major donor just before another enterprise makes their pitch for a leadership campaign gift. Or a board member who takes confidential information from one meeting to another cause, foregoing their duty of loyalty to the source of the information.

How might we establish processes that allow the sector to thrive and our peers to succeed but retain our superpower to fuel the journey we have embarked upon? What trip wires and circuit breakers have you established to balance fidelity and partnership?