Working with Nonprofits and Crown Corporations: Models Federal Departments Can Use

Government departments and Crown corporations increasingly find themselves under pressure to demonstrate community impact, transparency, and value for money. Yet the most effective way to achieve those outcomes often lies outside traditional bureaucratic structures—in partnership.

Across Canada, some of the most successful federal initiatives in recent years have been those that collaborated with nonprofit organizations and Crown partners to reach citizens, deliver programs, or celebrate milestones. But while the benefits are clear, many directors hesitate: partnership models can seem complex, and accountability requirements are real.

Here are five practical models that federal leaders can consider to build stronger, safer, and more effective partnerships—without adding red tape.

1. Co-Hosted Initiatives: Shared Purpose, Shared Platform

One of the simplest yet most visible forms of collaboration is the co-hosted event or campaign. A federal department aligns with a nonprofit or Crown corporation to deliver a joint activity—a symposium, a public awareness initiative, or a community gathering—under a shared banner.

Co-hosting allows departments to tap into the credibility and audiences of their partners while maintaining federal oversight. It also helps citizens see government as a participant in community dialogue, not just a sponsor.

For instance, imagine you co-host a national awareness campaign on healthy aging with a respected research organization. By sharing the platform and audience, you could double your earned media coverage compared to previous years—all while strengthening credibility and public engagement.

2. Sponsored Impact Projects: Funding with Purpose

Sometimes the department’s role isn’t to co-host, but to enable. By funding or sponsoring projects led by trusted organizations, departments can extend their mandate’s reach and experiment with community-led innovation.

The key is to treat sponsorship strategically, not transactionally. Ask: does this project align with policy objectives? Can we learn from it? Will it strengthen future programming? When structured properly, sponsorships generate real-world outcomes and useful data—both of which are valuable for annual reporting and Treasury Board performance indicators.

For example, imagine you fund a small grant program that supports Indigenous youth entrepreneurship through an interdepartmental sponsorship model. By structuring it this way, you create measurable social and economic outcomes while demonstrating your department’s commitment to partnership-driven impact.

3. Knowledge-Exchange Partnerships: Learning, Not Just Funding

Not all partnerships need money to be effective. In fact, knowledge sharing can be just as valuable. Departments hold data, research, and communications infrastructure that many nonprofits lack. By opening access—within privacy and policy limits—government can empower partners to deliver on shared missions.

Conversely, community organizations bring cultural insight, grassroots trust, and lived experience that departments often struggle to access directly. Mutual knowledge exchange strengthens both sides.

For instance, imagine you create a recurring roundtable that brings together Crown agencies and community organizations to exchange insights on accessibility in public communications. By facilitating that dialogue, you help improve outreach practices across all participants — and position your department as a leader in inclusive engagement.

4. Collaborative Communications Campaigns: Many Voices, One Message

Public awareness efforts often overlap across jurisdictions. Instead of multiple agencies producing separate campaigns on similar topics, collaborative campaigns create a unified national message with shared branding and local adaptation.

This model increases efficiency, avoids audience fatigue, and reinforces government coherence. It also helps nonprofits and Crown partners amplify their work without duplicating spend.

For example, imagine you lead a pan-Canadian environmental awareness initiative that unites messaging from three departments and two Crown corporations. By pooling resources and aligning your communications, you could save 30 percent in creative and media costs while reaching a broader, more engaged audience nationwide.

5. Long-Tail Engagement: Partnerships Beyond the Event

True partnership isn’t measured by launch-day attendance but by what happens next. Long-tail engagement means sustaining relationships after the ribbon-cutting: co-developing follow-up content, collecting feedback, and finding new intersections between mandates.

Federal departments that commit to ongoing dialogue with their partners build institutional memory, which translates into trust and smoother collaboration the next time around.

For instance, imagine you host a national recognition event and make a point of staying in touch with your nonprofit co-host through quarterly planning calls. Two years later, that ongoing collaboration results in a joint education program that reaches three times the audience of your original event—proving the value of long-term partnership and continuity.

Strong partnerships expand public value while easing departmental workloads. The goal isn’t to outsource responsibility—it’s to multiply impact by aligning with others who share your mission.