Nonprofit Mergers and Alliances: A Strategic Planning Guide (Nonprofit Law, Finance & Management) Book

After more than a century of proliferation and growth, the nonprofit sector has reached a crossroads. The continued success of an organization's mission no longer depends on fresh, new programs and the extension of services, but on innovative management and revitalized organizational structure. The time has come for all nonprofits to consider mergers and alliances in their strategic plans. For many, this may seem a distasteful alternative after decades of Wall Street mergers made at the expense of workers, communities, and consumers— but it doesn't have to be that way. In Nonprofit Mergers and Alliances, Thomas McLaughlin describes a context for nonprofit mergers and discusses the forces that shape their use. He demonstrates that nonprofit mergers are fundamentally different from corporate mergers, that they can be of immense benefit to the community as well as the merging organizations, and that failure to merge can be disastrous for everyone. McLaughlin focuses on the concerns of the nonprofit sector: achieving the mission, retaining tax-exempt status, behaving responsibly in the community. He shows nonprofit managers and board members how to make their way through the merger process without repeating Wall Street misbehavior. Using real-world examples and case studies, Nonprofit Mergers and Alliances offers clear, practical, step-by-step guidance through the merger process from preliminary considerations to actual implementation— pointing out pitfalls and offering insightful commentary along the way. This immensely helpful volume provides: A penetrating discussion of the reasons to collaborate The C.O.R.E.TM model, a merger/alliance analysis framework Advice on partner selection Structure choice analyses Step-by-step guidance through merger and alliance processes A disk with forms and worksheets that any nonprofit can customize for its own needs. Supplemented with easy-to-use checklists and analytical tables, Nonprofit Mergers and Alliances helps nonprofit board members and managers make the right decisions, monitor the entire process, anticipate problems, and find solutions quickly. The information contained in this book will help any nonprofit organization ensure the successful continuation of its mission in the immediate future as well as for years to come. "We have two goals for this book. The first is to describe a context for nonprofit mergers, including a discussion of the forces helping to shape nonprofits' use of mergers and alliances. It is important that nonprofit managers and board leaders be aware of both the similarities and the differences in their sector's merger patterns and techniques. Ultimately, a nonprofit sector that knows well how to collaborate will be far more effective in the pursuit of its public-spirited mission . . . . The second goal is to provide concrete guidance based on actual nonprofit mergers." —From the author's Preface. "Tom McLaughlin thoroughly addresses the subject in his timely and excellent new book Nonprofit Mergers and Alliances. It is a must for every nonprofit professional and board member." —Jere B. Ratcliffe Chief Scout Executive Boy Scouts of America. "In a time when all nonprofit managers need to re-evaluate how to most effectively leverage the total assets of their organizations in support of their social mission, McLaughlin provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how to evaluate one's own organization and the tools needed to effectively link with potential partners." —Jed Emerson Executive Director The Roberts Foundation "As the government continues to reduce both grants to and contracted services with nonprofits, some organizations are going to be forced to consider mergers and alliances. The key, as Tom so rightly points out, is to be prepared for change before there are no choices left. As usual, Tom is out in front of yet another business trend in the nonprofit sector." —Paul Clolery Editor in Chief Nonprofit Times. "Invaluable advice from a leading specialist in nonprofit management. At last here is a clear road map for nonprofit managers and board members, plus many practical tools and case examples. McLaughlin shows how to think clearly and act strategically on a controversial, often distorted set of organizational challenges." —Robert M. Hollister Dean, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Research and Professional Studies Tufts University. .Read More