Publishers Note: A version of this column first appeared in Philadelphia Business Journal.

By Bob Madonna

When I first took over as President and CEO of Surrey Services, I approached the organization with the same philosophy as I would a for-profit company.

I believe that nonprofit organizations should work together for mutual benefit, not look at each other as competition and that nonprofits should look to for-profit companies for assistance and support.

To that point, I established relationships with many organizations: Community Volunteers in Medicine of West Chester now has a full dental office in Surrey’s Devon location; Meals on Wheels operates out of 3 of Surrey’s four locations; TE Connectivity, a technology company with its US headquarters in Berwyn, not only provides Surrey with financial support, its employees are actively engaged as volunteers.

I often cite a TED Talk by Dan Pallotta as a great way to understand and combat the double standard that exists for the nonprofit sector. Pallotta, a humanitarian activist and author, advocates dramatic change in the nonprofit sector. “If charities are to solve the world’s greatest social problems they must have the space to dream big, spend money and take risks.”

To this end, one of the first things I did was ask all employees to submit a BHAG – Big, Hairy, Audacious, Goal. Some of the ideas were timid, some were outrageous, but the goal was to demonstrate that it was ok to think big.

My staff has begun to try new strategies and tactics. I am very open about sharing best practices. Collaboration helps everyone no matter what industry you work in.

Let’s use this column to shine a light on the great work and innovation being done by nonprofits in Chester County. Share your ideas, best practices and successes for this column by emailing me at bobmadonna@surreyservices.org.