Our first Collaboration Lab brought nonprofit leaders and community partners together to explore what we can accomplish when we work together. Pictured here: Keagan Monteith (FWRD Transylvania), Cara Bradshaw (Pisgah Health Foundation), Stephen Blount (Dogwood Health Trust), Sarah Hankey (SparkPoint), Rick Houck (Dogwood Health Trust), Ann Tran (Dogwood Health Trust), Peter Tyliszczak (Dogwood Health Trust), Julie Heinitsh (Pisgah Health Foundation), and Jerry Kenney (Dogwood Health Trust).
What happens when we create space for people to step outside their day-to-day work, make new connections, and imagine what's possible together?
On October 23, we welcomed 50 nonprofit leaders, community partners, and funders from Haywood, Madison, and Transylvania counties to the Mary C. Jenkins Community Center in Brevard for our first Collaboration Lab.
The morning was built around a simple idea: some of our region's most complex challenges can't be addressed by any one organization working alone. But meaningful collaboration takes more than good intentions. It requires relationships, trust, shared purpose, and a willingness to explore new ways of working.
Rethinking How We Work Together
We were delighted to welcome Jerry Kenney, Vice President of Impact & Community Investing at Dogwood Health Trust, for a conversation about collaboration and innovation—and what it takes to move beyond talking about partnerships to actually building them.
Jerry shared a memorable analogy about Dogwood's approach to philanthropy: looking for the "smoke"—signs of local leaders and community champions already mobilizing around a shared vision and determined to solve a problem.
His message reinforced a central theme of the morning: meaningful collaboration begins with the relationships, resources, and determination already present in our communities. Funders can help fuel those efforts, but the vision and ownership remain local.
“Once we see that smoke, that’s y’all’s fire. That is not Dogwood’s fire. You’ve got some kindling. What Dogwood can bring is some wood, some more fuel, some more kindling. But the fire belongs to the communities that are trying to solve it.”
Collaboration in Action
We also heard from Sarah Hankey of SparkPoint and Keagan Monteith of FWRD Transylvania, who shared how collaboration is taking shape through the Wellness Rooted in Connection and Community Connectors programs.
The initiatives focus on strengthening community connections and helping residents access resources, relationships, and support. Their stories offered a tangible example of what can happen when organizations build on their complementary strengths, identify shared priorities, and work toward a common goal.
The Collaboration Canvas
The second half of the morning belonged to our participants.
Using a Collaboration Canvas, attendees explored opportunities at different stages of partnership—from making initial connections to strengthening established collaborations.
Participants shared challenges, identified common interests, and explored ways to combine knowledge, relationships, and resources.
Not every collaboration needs to become a formal partnership. Sometimes a new connection, shared resource, or conversation is an important first step.
What's Next?
The Collaboration Lab was more than a one-time gathering. It was an opportunity to listen, learn, and explore how we can better support collaboration across our region.
Looking toward 2027, we're gathering feedback and exploring ways to build on these conversations by connecting partners, creating opportunities for shared learning, and strengthening relationships that extend beyond grantmaking.
The conversations have started. We're excited to see where they lead.
Want to experience some of the conversations and connections from the morning? Watch highlights from our first Collaboration Lab below, and explore the photo and video gallery captured by Jeff Bannister of SparkPoint.