NPGPS Mergers – Webinar Recording and Resources List

You can access this most recent webinar from Nonprofit GPS here. Resources are listed at the bottom.

If a Merger Is the Answer, What Is the Question?

This webinar reflects and explains a game-changing advancement in the national approach to nonprofit mergers that you will not want to miss. It features two stellar case studies: one (Ocean State Media) of a merger successfully completed, and another (Pioneer Village Museum) of a merger wisely deferred. Both stories are vivid and highly instructive, whether or not you are currently contemplating a merger, program asset transfer, acquisition, or structured partnership.

Video:

Accompanying Slides: Download here.

Transcript: Coming Soon.

Resources

If there is one thing nonprofits excel at, it is collaboration. We regularly collaborate as a necessary part of our day-to-day practice. Of course, most of that collaboration occurs within a range that leaves us with our organizational identity and autonomy. But when we, as nonprofits, venture into a range of collaboration where we may be relinquishing some of that autonomy, the stakes naturally become higher, and the issues of alignment or lack thereof are more important to thoroughly explore. Unfortunately, those nonprofits who might possibly be interested in exploring the merger option may be deterred because of beliefs and attitudes they and their funders hold that create both misinformation and a stigma attached to merger considerations. This stigma has long been recognized; a Nonprofit Quarterly article from 2012 called “Creating Fertile Soil for the Merger Option” describes it clearly and offers a prescient suggestion:

What if the whole [merger] proposition were lighted differently to focus on the potential benefits in terms of power, agility, influence, and effectiveness? Might the conversation be more attractive to nonprofit boards? Appealing to nonprofits in a way that reflects the real reasons why nonprofits merge might, in fact, be a better approach.

And, in fact, a few years after that piece was published, a national movement emerged to address the barriers to normalizing the full exploration of all forms of sustained collaboration. That movement, now called the Sustained Collaboration Network, includes pooled funds all over the country that confidentially support this activity. This webinar describes the important innovations to practice promoted by these funds.

Materials from the Sustained Collaboration Network

Unlocking the Power of Sustained Collaboration: Insights from Partnerships for Nonprofits and Consultants

“Sustained collaboration can be a strategic option for social impact leaders seeking greater efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. However, every social impact leader has also experienced ineffective collaborations. These collaborations never advance past the talking phase or lack the resources necessary to succeed. Sometimes, conflict or poor management undermines the goals of the collaboration. Throughout this research, we argue that there are critical lessons that social impact leaders (and the consultants that support them) can learn from how collaborations with documented positive outcomes differ from those without them. Based on a comparative case analysis of 14 collaborations with documented positive outcomes and 6 without them, the research highlights key lessons in collaboration design and management.”

Download the 2024 insights report.

Nurturing Nonprofit Collaborations: Insights for Philanthropic Funders

“Grantmakers who want to reduce duplication of services, improve capacity, and catalyze greater social impact among their grantees should consider funding strategic collaboration. Sustained collaboration is a strategic option for nonprofit and other social impact leaders seeking greater efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability. Many grantmakers encourage collaboration, at least implicitly, by asking nonprofits to name their collaborators in proposal forms. However, more support is necessary to make those collaborations sustainable and effective. The Sustained Collaboration Network, which funded this research and nominated their grantees, offers critical lessons for other foundations and grantmakers.”

Download these lessons for nonprofit grantmakers.