Success Factors in Nonprofit Mergers - Minnesota Council of ...

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Success Factors in nonprofit mergers Factors proven to make nonprofits mergers more likely to succeed Facilitation The most common functional role for an external consultant is to help facilitate merger processes. Respondents from 28 of the mergers studied described consultant functions related to general facilitation of the merger process. Respondents, in general, described the major role of the consultant was to move the process forward. Consultants help to create and document the merger plan to guide and track processes during the integration. This role of nonprofit merger consultants often represents project management of the entire merger process from beginning to end. The consultant helped outline the major issues that needed to be considered, helped develop the plan/process we would go through, provided coaching and advice to the executive directors, and facilitated both board and work group meetings. –Executive leadership Consultant facilitation of the merger process more specifically includes tasks intended to bring stakeholders to the table and, once stakeholders have been engaged, facilitate meetings. These gathering and facilitation tasks may include scheduling meeting times, developing agendas, and working through the meeting processes. [The consultant’s role] was to make sure that we followed the Robert’s Rules of Order and help facilitate the meeting. –Volunteer Establishing communications with and between stakeholders is another common responsibility for consultants facilitating merger processes. [The consultants] oversaw the communication between the two organizations, helping them communicate effectively with each other, until the two organizations interacted and had their own face time. The consultants helped in keeping the communication open between the two organizations until we were able to communicate effectively with each other without anyone in between. They kind of ran interference for us. –Board of directors or governance Success Factors In Nonprofit Mergers 41 MAP for Nonprofits & Wilder Research 2012
Success Factors in nonprofit mergers Factors proven to make nonprofits mergers more likely to succeed Role of the interim executive director One way to bring in outside expertise when organizations are considering future options is to hire an interim executive director. Experienced individuals are often able to ask a series of strategic organizational questions which may be difficult for those internal to the organization to ask objectively. Two consultants interviewed as part of this study were interim executive directors for one of the pre-merger organizations. The role of the interim executive director is to provide internal leadership, and a continued passage through the sometimes daunting period of change. Wise boards often use this time of change and the perspective brought by this experienced change manager to establish a safe harbor that allows the organization, its staff and programs to relax in what William Bridges calls a "neutral zone". (Referenced in Managing Transitions… Making the Most of Change, W. Bridges, Da Capo Press, Philadelphia, 2009) –Kathleen Corley and Linda Tacke Interim executive directors have a responsibility to learn a great deal about the organization in a relatively short time including the nature and types of services delivered, the market in which the services are delivered, and the financial framework supporting the organization. They often raise the following questions: • Has the organization established a set of strategic criteria which it uses to assess challenges and opportunities • What is the current business model Does it work in the current environment • What are programs really costing, and who is paying for them • Are the systems, policies, and procedures of the organization strong and flexible and able to withstand the stress of change • What is happening in the market place Who else is providing services to the population identified by the mission Has there been a collective and collaborative analysis of who is providing what to whom to measure the potential of a strategy of collective impact • What is the focus of the change Survival of the organization or survival of the necessary services to the community • How can the collective energy and intelligence, the wisdom accumulated through time, and the resources contributed and earned be re-structured to best meet the needs of the community Once these questions are raised and answered, and while the organization is still in the described "neutral zone,” the interim executive director has the responsibility of finding a way for the organization’s work to continue. It is this discussion that provides the board an opportunity to consider dissolution, downsizing, merger, or a new and alternative structure that will provide a consortium of services. This discussion calls for leadership that is mature, focused, confident, clear-eyed, creative, and committed to its community. –Kathleen Corley and Linda Tacke Another advantage the interim executive director may have is the fact that there is no expectation that the role will exist indefinitely. Thus, in any potential restructuring, it would not be difficult to either replace the interim executive director, or eliminate the position if the organization’s strategy is to pursue a merger with another organization in which there is an executive director already present. Success Factors In Nonprofit Mergers 42 MAP for Nonprofits & Wilder Research 2012
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Merger study master interview Bibli
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4a. Are you currently involved with
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LOGIC FOR DETERMINING WHAT SECTIONS
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13. Was one of the pre-merger organ
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[IF MORE THAN ONE CHAMPTION > ASK A
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23. I am going to read a list of co
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2. Merging process My next question
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