The sage advice, “we can do more together, then apart” has echoed in the minds of leaders throughout philanthropic history. The idea of collaboration is intriguing, often yielding incredible benefits for communities, return on investment for funders, and expansion of services for partners. However, the task of making collaboration effective across multiple organizations is a tall order that requires commitment and patience. During this session, we explored the intricate details of what makes a new initiative, Hunger Volunteer Connection, successful based on insights and learnings from more than a year of planning and implementation.