Crain's Chicago Business: Nonprofit Mergers - Not Happening That Much

The topic of nonprofit mergers, and whether or not they are happening to the degree they have predicted in the sector, was discussed in an article in Crain's Chicago Business in the Aug. 24th issue. Yours truly weighed in saying "not so much," which is what it feels like. That unscientific response is more or less corroborated by the demand for collaboration dollars at the Chicago Community Trust, our local community foundation which provides much of the philanthropic support for nonprofit mergers in our sector, and also, a survey by the Nonprofit Finance Fund found that only 5% of the respondents said that they planned to seek a merger, or already had merged with another nonprofit. The reporter got a couple things wrong in my quotes. First, I believe one of the problems with nonprofits seeking mergers and collaborations is the lack of knowledge about collaborations; one way to address this is to create dedicated funding sources that can help educate grantees and walk them through the process of becoming familiar with the strategies. In communities where such dedicated grant programs exist, there is more collaboration activity going on. Second, I don't believe we should wipe out the entire nonprofit sector; but given the opportunity to think creatively in our current circumstances, we might do things differently, including not maintain the status quo. If you'd like to read the article, go here.