INSIGHTS
Making Mergers & Affiliations Part of Your Strategic Plan
The most challenging part of implementing nonprofit M&A as a strategic solution is that the relationship building process between organizations can often take time and success is not guaranteed. However, mergers and affiliations can be used to reach a level of scale that can’t be achieved organically, which may be a necessity to remain competitive, sustain payroll, address succession, or to improve an organization’s ability to meet the demands of those being served. Mergers are a vehicle that will allow leaders to fulfill their strategic needs at scale.
5 Reasons to Start Strategic Planning Today
With 2023 quickly approaching, many purpose-driven organizations may be thinking about designing new strategic plans to help ensure long-term sustainability and viability.
Whether you operate in health and human services, higher education, credit unions, or associations, our strategic planning consultants have 5 reasons for you to start strategic planning today.
The Top 3 Areas to Address when Transitioning from Strategic Planning to Implementation
The nonprofit strategic planning process is a time that unites leadership and teams to collaborate, innovate, and ultimately create a solid plan that will guide the organization into the future.
But what comes next?
When the planning process is complete, many nonprofits are left to wonder how to implement the plan and meet the goals that have been set forth. The enthusiasm begins to wane and is replaced with feelings of unease and uncertainly as bigger and more timely decisions must be made.
If you have felt this shift, then you are not alone. Our nonprofit consultants have recommended 3 areas to address when transitioning from strategic planning to implementation.
Leading Through Times of Organizational Change
Change involves going from the current way of doing things to a desired future state. Throughout the change process it is the organization’s leaders—the sponsors of change—who play the most critical role in determining the success of the effort. It’s easy to lead when all goes according to plan. However, organizations typically experience challenges with implementation. While these challenges can be temporarily uncomfortable, organizational leaders should not let that deter them. Instead they need to embrace change and view it as part of their role. Organizational leaders need to be adaptable by being able to detect and respond to change. That begins by embedding change and innovative thinking into the organization’s culture.
5 Nonprofit Strategic Planning Tips for Senior Leadership
A dynamic and effective nonprofit strategic plan is arguably one of the most integral parts of any organization’s viability and success in today’s landscape. Get 5 Tips from our nonprofit consultants to make your strategic planning project a success.
4 Steps for Taking On Technology Today!
Complexity is a word that today's nonprofits are all too familiar with and the manner in which leaders address it can mean the difference between success and failure.
What is making the difference for many leaders and giving them the competitive edge, is the understanding, adoption, and implementation of improved and scalable technology solutions.
However, the adoption of new technology and digitalization can be a culture shift for many nonprofit organizations. The multitude of options, new terminology, and projected costs can - at times - make it feel as though it would be easier to maintain the status quo. For new systems to be successful, it requires an organization-wide commitment to learning, exploration, and buy-in. This begins with senior leadership making a commitment to the change.
Clarity, Capacity, or Capability? 3 Methods for Improving Team Performance Today
As a nonprofit organization implements new strategy or experiences growth, there are oftentimes roles within that organization that require new skills and capabilities, and deeper levels of understanding by management. Whether it be the ability to manage more complexity, learn new skills, increase the sphere of oversight, and/or operate with an increased level of strategic perspective, some team members embrace the challenge and exceed their perceived limitations while others may struggle to succeed in a new or expanded role.
Learn how to better structure the roles within your organization to support success or identify areas where change is necessary.
New Nonprofit Partnership Opportunity! Blue Skies Ahead?
Effective partnerships have always been critical to accelerating impact. On the other side, poor partnerships have drained significant resources, energy, and good will.
While many organizations focus on the legal aspects of forming partnerships, it is also critical to consider some of the softer issues necessary to identifying and developing effective relationships. Here are some of the issues and questions that you and your team should discuss before signing on the dotted line.
Ten Steps to Reinvigorating a Partnership Gone Bad
Nonprofit partnerships are wonderful when they work as intended. Great partnerships can help amplify your story, augment your capacity, accelerate impact, and much more.
But what about when they do not go as planned? Even when both parties have done their due diligence before signing on the dotted line, there are times that partnerships require renegotiating or unplanned, early closure.
While it may feel easier to let a not-so-great partnership to slowly fade, it's actually better in the long run to lead with a professional, proactive approach to addressing issues in a constructive way.
Follow our ten steps for reinvigorating a nonprofit partnership and get back on track today!
The Driving Forces Behind Nonprofit Mergers & Affiliations and Why Leaders Should Address Them
As organizations navigate the external forces and internal disruptors that are impacting and shaping each sector, we are seeing the pace of mergers and affiliations (M&A) accelerating with no signs of slowing.
While some organizations are being forced to consider M&A as a strategy for survival, others are embracing it as an opportunity to better serve their clients, build upon the beneficial work they are already doing, expand their reach geographically, and offer more to their employees.
Most nonprofit leaders today are aware of the forces driving mergers and affiliations, but any decision on what force or forces to address can’t be made without understanding how the organization(s) may benefit.
Springwell and BayPath Announce Merger
Congratulations to our client Springwell & Baypath on their nonprofit merger announcement.
Realign or Redesign: The Nonprofit Response to Disruptors
In order to remain relevant in the rapidly changing environment, nonprofits must face the current disruption, reassess their strategy, and decide on a path forward. Some disruptors may require just a heightened awareness while others may require a pivot in strategy.
Incorporating Innovation into Nonprofit Strategic Planning
A dynamic and effective nonprofit strategic planning process is one of the most integral parts of any nonprofit’s viability and success. From evaluating and defining the eco-system to designing the vision and focus for the future, present day strategy must go beyond the conventional to incorporate innovation through the adoption of new services and the refining of existing services..
3 Ways to Reignite Your Why When Facing Leadership Fatigue
On any given day, part of being a leader means facing and working to overcome challenges. Whether it be budgetary, staffing, or customer related, it is often considered ‘part of the job’ and, in turn, strategies are developed to help manage the stress while maintaining continued progress.
Today, having pushed so hard for so long to get their organizations through the crisis, many leaders are finding themselves experiencing leadership fatigue. Given the pace of change is not slowing down and that focus must remain on ensuring organizational viability, sustainability, and relevance, it is more important than ever for leaders to find ways to get re-energized.
How to Talk with Your Nonprofit Board About Mergers and Affiliations
Making the decision to explore a nonprofit merger and affiliation can feel challenging enough. However, once that decision is made, it’s time to approach your Board of Directors. As nonprofit merger and affiliation consultants, we are hearing more and more from CEO’s and Executive Directors that want to know where and how to begin. Learn how to get started and what to do along the way.
Learn How to Reinvent Your Business Model & Reclaim Your Future
Ultimately, exploring new nonprofit business model ideas is about being intentional when preparing for the future and taking the lead on reinventing your own services before the competition comes along with their own improved or new service offerings. Our team of nonprofit consultants recommends following a process that focuses on the following three areas: Value, Capacity, and Viability.
M&A Success: Keeping It Local While Taking It Global
2022 is here and it has brought with it the on-going organizational strategy of nonprofit mergers and affiliations (M&A) as a means of growth, competitive positioning, and increasing resources to retain staff. While some organizations are considering this strategy for the new year, many others are just now beginning to experience the success that is a result of their efforts.
What is the the secret to their success?
Well, as nonprofit merger and affiliation consultants, we’d tell you it’s not much of a secret at all.
The Journey Is On
It is that time of year again when we find ourselves reflecting upon the past and setting goals for the future. For leaders, each new year also brings with it the opportunity to asses where their organizations are today and what needs to be done to achieve long-term sustainability. This can often mean reinventing their organization and taking advantage of opportunities that will propel them in to the future.
While you cannot control many of the factors that will challenge your organization in the year ahead, what you can do is to adapt and evolve by reinventing the way you deliver service, add value, and build sustainability.
Mapping a Milestone Higher Education Strategy
The Great Resignation following the pandemic is a signal to us all as Higher Education leaders that our progress is slow when it comes to developing our professionals and our teams. Change is healthy but often scary and intimidating for most leaders and direct reports but if it is broken anyway, why not? Start fresh, re-organize and create the ideal work place. It is time to brainstorm who you need and what must happen and how and when.
3 Challenges to Address Today to Ensure a Better Tomorrow
During a time of sweeping change, an organizations ability to evolve is often what will determine whether it can achieve long-term sustainability.
Today, this evolution begins with being prepared and responding to the predominant challenges brought forth by the widespread workforce crisis, the evolution of business models, and the rising level of competition.