Community-engaged research (CER) relies on a multiplicity of partnerships that can be formed and maintained only through sustained reciprocal practice and institutional support. This article examines these webs of relationships through a collective autoethnography conducted by a team of community-engaged researchers. We found that effective CER depends on and is facilitated by relationships within and outside the university and communities. However, the limited discussion of the multiplicity of relationships within academic spaces and the daily efforts required to maintain them contributes to insufficient formal institutional understanding and support. Accordingly, we argue that as part of a commitment to community engagement, universities should pursue everyday and systemic change to better foster such relationships, thereby bolstering CER project development and delivery. This reflective essay contributes to CER literature by highlighting the multiplicity of partnerships critical to success and recommendations for better supporting partnership formation and maintenance.