Our own evolution brought us to a place where we recognized that, with our community service focus on education, it might be a good idea for us to engage in a partnership with our local university.
As for us, Private Ocean has always been a supporter of the local community. Over the years, we’ve sponsored 10,000 Degrees in its efforts to prepare and help underserved young people gain access to higher education. We’ve supported Junior League of Napa-Sonoma, Boys & Girls Club, Ritter House, Center for Domestic Peace, Lifehouse and other organizations because we strongly believe in the services they provide. Our own evolution brought us to a place where we recognized that, with our community service focus on education, it might be a good idea for us to engage in a partnership with our local university.
As a result of this realization, several years ago, we began to have conversations with Dominican University of California around mutual educational opportunities. Richard Stone, our chairman, was invited to join Dominican’s Board of Trustees. Throughout this time, as an alumna of Dominican and the COO of Private Ocean, a couple of things became abundantly clear to me. First was that we were two local organizations that many people had never heard of, especially outside our own very small geographic area. Second was that surely there must be some way for us to participate in, and provide education for, our clients and the community about what we know best—wealth management.
It was around that time that we began to talk with Dr. Denise Lucy, director of the Leadership Institute, along with others at the university to consider how Private Ocean might work with Dominican to not only raise the visibility of both organizations but to also support each other in education. It was baby steps in the beginning. As with any new partnership, it takes time to get to know one another and understand each other’s culture, and we believe that the cultural fit between the partner organizations is as important as the common goal.
Over time, we began to be more involved by participating in events and getting to know the university. At that point, Lucy was working with Elaine Petrocelli (owner of Book Passage, a local bookstore) on bringing exceptional authors to speak at Dominican, and she brought the idea of being a lead sponsor to us. On one hand, this was a big step for a small firm and, on the other, it was a wonderful opportunity. Since that time, we’ve embraced our role as lead sponsor of this phenomenal lecture series and have found other ways to partner with Dominican to support each other and the local community. In addition, Richard is now on the advisory board of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging which, in turn, has a relationship with Dominican University in the area of research and education. There’s nothing to say that a partnership can’t expand beyond two, three or more.
For Private Ocean, the focus is education, because we believe it can be instrumental in making all boats rise. What’s most important is to look around your neighborhood and find the organization that fits you—culturally and in community. If you’re a for-profit organization, which nonprofit in your area focuses on your passion? If you’re a nonprofit, go out and talk with the community relations people at local for-profit companies to get a sense of their values and community goals.
We’ve found that the best way to begin a partnership is to build the relationship. Get to know each other informally over a lunch and formally by attending events or meetings that help you understand each other’s mission. As mentioned previously, culture is a huge component because it focuses on people. Having individuals and teams in both organizations who want to make the partnership work is critical. Though these partnerships may take time and patience to develop, we believe the end result benefits both organizations in various ways. Most important, though, is that together, through collaboration, we begin to build a stronger community—and that’s really what it’s all about.
Susan Dickson is principal and chief operating officer of Private Ocean. She’s previously served on several local nonprofit boards. She’s currently an adjunct professor in the School of Business and Leadership and a board member of the Women, Leadership, & Philanthropy Council (WLPC) at Dominican University of California. She’s also a member of Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco and the AAUW.
