Featured Research
Making Sense of Nonprofit Collaborations
Joint programs, shared support functions, and mergers are frequent paths to scaling results in an era of collective impact. But few studies capture success rates and barriers. Our survey of both funders and nonprofits charts the landscape. Read more >>
Related Publications
Why Nonprofit Mergers Continue to Lag
Despite growing support for nonprofit mergers, promising combinations often stumble over three emotionally charged issues: getting the boards aligned, finding roles for senior staff, and blending the brands. Creating a due diligence process that overcomes these hurdles can increase the likelihood that a merger will succeed. Read more >>
Webinar: Nonprofit Collaborations—What Works; What Doesn't
Watch an archived version of our free, on-demand webinar to see results from our 2014 collaborations survey of nonprofit leaders and funders and discover key insights from leaders with deep experience in creating successful collaborations and mergers. Watch now >>Nonprofit Mergers: More Than a Tool for Tough Times
Often considered a last-ditch effort, mergers also provide leaders of healthy organizations a way to strengthen effectiveness, spread best practices, expand reach and—yes—to do all of this more cost-effectively. Unfortunately, few organizations or funders think of mergers in this way. Read more >>
Clinton Global Initiative University 2014: Scaling What Works
Can social innovators can better recognize opportunities to join forces? Should students focus less on starting up and more on scaling up? Are solutions to illiteracy, climate change, or HIV/AIDS truly transferable from one location to another? Bill Drayton of Ashoka; Katie Smith Milway from The Bridgespan Group; Deogratias Niyizonkiza of Village Health Works and Rosario Perez from Pro Mujer discuss these topics and more at the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative University in Phoenix, Arizona. Watch the discussion >>
Case Studies and Insights
Blog: Introductions to Mergers that Make a Difference
How and why do nonprofit mergers succeed? To explore the reasons, Bridgespan has combined forces with La Piana Consulting, The Catalyst Fund for Nonprofits, and The Lodestar Foundation to offer a collection of case studies and blogs on "Mergers that Make a Difference." We invite you to join the conversation. Read more >>
Case Study: Moving More Women to Economic Independence
Blog: Want a Successful Merger? Let Staff Plan It
Crittenton Women's Union president and CEO Elisabeth Babcock says tap your senior staff and trust their ability to provide valuable analysis on the potential upsides and roadblocks of merging. In the case of Crittenton, the staff at both legacy organizations envisioned a more streamlined and strategic organization that could propel a greater number of low-income women to economic independence. Read more >>
Case Study: Becoming a Leader in Psychosocial Cancer Care
Blog: Outside Spark Ignites a Nonprofit Merger
Kim Thiboldeaux, CEO and president of the Cancer Support Community, found that the answer to the question "does social and psychological care help patients fight cancer?" made all the difference in the nonprofit merger of The Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club Worldwide. Read more >>
Case Study: Combining Resources to Provide Long-Term Homes to the Homeless
Blog: Advancing the Mission, Not the Organization
By Serena Powell, Community Work Services
Serena Powell, the executive director of Community Work Services, a workforce development nonprofit, shares how her organization is doing just four months after a merger. So far, her organization has gotten all it hoped for, and more. Read more >>
Case Study: Broadening Scope for Greater Impact
Blog: Rebranding Your Merged Nonprofit: Is It Worth It?
Rebranding a merged nonprofit is a far greater challenge than most realize, says Linda Johanek, CEO of the Domestic Violence & Child Advocacy Center. Here's how her organization is enduring the short-term pain of a rebrand to realize the long-term benefits of a merger. Read more >>
Case Study: Acquiring Sites and Programs
Blog: For Nonprofit Mergers, Cultural Due Diligence Trumps
Sister Paulette LoMonaco and Laurie Williams of Good Shepherd Services discuss how their nonprofit approaches integrating staff members into its culture during a nonprofit merger. Read more >>
Case Study: From Streamlining to Strengthening Performance
Blog: Creating a New, Post-Merger Culture
For Steven Payne of Oakland East Bay Symphony, the process of forging a unified nonprofit identity from a merger was neither easy nor quick. The three performing arts organizations that merged to create the Symphony needed to develop a new culture to achieve their new mission. Read more >>
Case Study: A New Vision for HIV/AIDS Services and Advocacy
Blog Post: Keys to a Successful Nonprofit Merger
There's no room for egos in nonprofit mergers, says AIDS Action Committee's Rebecca Haag. Instead of thinking "How does the merger affect me?" nonprofits should ask "How does this enhance our nonprofit's ability to meet its mission?" Read more >>
Case Study: Merging to Advance the Common Good in Michigan
Blog: Power in Numbers-Joining to Create a Nonprofit Network
John MacIntosh of SeaChange Capital Partners says that truly mission-driven organizations—even healthy ones with ambitions for growth—recognize that achieving impact is a team sport, and that there may be ways to be more efficient, effective, or stable by joining forces than by going it alone. Read more >>
Four Lessons From Our Mergers & Collaborations Series
The nonprofit leaders whose stories we've published this past month show that collaboration does take courage and can be worth the initial pain. To help ease the process, we've identified four key lessons that every organization considering a merger or collaboration needs to consider. Read more >>
