Mission + Strategy = Social Value

News Round-Up: Merger Stories from around the Nation: Fall 2009

Here are the stories on nonprofit mergers that made it into my Google in-box over the fall. I don't include stories about hospital mergers, (almost) no blog postings, and no links to marketing materials. I look for journalistic sources. Enjoy!

Phoenix, AZ, 9/2009 - Two Valley Agencies Come Together to Move Families from Homelessness Straight up the Ladder into Permanent Housing, source: Marketwire. Arizona's largest shelter for homeless families, UMOM New Day Centers, has merged with Helping Hands Housing Services.

Washington, D.C., 9/2009 - National Recycling Coalition Shuts its Doors, source: Earth911.com. After a failed attempt to merge with Keep America Beautiful, NRC announced Sept. 4, 2009 that it was closing operations.

Lebanon, Ohio, 9/4/2009 - Warren County United Way quits merger talks, JournalNews. The Warren County United Way elected to end merger discussions with two other local United Way agencies serving Butler County and Greater Cincinnati, ending the goal to create  a regional United Way office.

Norwich, CN, 9/13/2009 - Connecticut Red Cross merger cuts costs, NorwichBulletin.com. Seven Red Cross chapters have dissolved to form a single "Connecticut Red Cross Chapter," for the state of Connecticut, serving 3 million people and 147 towns.

Norwalk, CN, 9/13/2009 - Local United Ways join forces, head in new direction, The Hour online. Three United Way agencies have merged to form the United Way of Coastal Fairfield County.

Loveland, CO, 9/13/2009 - Single organization will run 24-hour shelter services from multiple locations, reporterherald.com. The day and night inclement weather shelters in Loveland will merge into a single entity.

Colusa County, CA, 9/22/2009 - Colusa Chamber to Merge, Sun Herald.com. The Colusa County Chamber of Commerce, Colusa County Economic Development Corporation, and the Colusa County Business and Visitors Center announced they will be merging. 

Juneau, AK, 9/27/2009 - Councils coming together, Juneau Empire.com. Alaska's two Girl Scout councils are merging to form the Girl Scouts of Alaska Council, as part of a national consolidation trend. 

Oklahoma City, OK, 10/1/2009 - Charity Inc.: Joining forces for a stronger sector, The Journal Record. A guest opinion by a nonprofit executive leader on the benefits of nonprofit mergers.

Cambridge, MA, 10/6/2009 - The Guidance Center Announces Merger with Riverside Community Care to Strengthen Child and Family Services in Massachusetts, PR Newswire. Just what the title says.

Fort Dodge, Iowa, 10/6/2009 - Northwoods Living to merge with Clear Lake agency, The Messenger. A merger of two behavioral health nonprofits serving people with disabilities announced they would merge.

San Francisco, CA, 10/12/2009 - Grassroots Science, San Francisco Chronicle. This is a blog  by Marina Park, who discusses the merger of five Girl Scout councils which became the Girl Scout Council of Northern California, which she leads today.

Hartford, CN, 10/19/2009 - Third of Region's Nonprofits May Close, Hartford Business.com. An article detailing the results of a survey of 1,900 nonprofit organizations in central and northeastern Connecticut. "About 25% of the nonprofits said they considered a merger during the last 12 months, up from 21% the year earlier."

Atlanta, GA, 10/19/2009 - Nonprofits budgets down, need up, Atlanta Journal Constitution. An article detailing the financial losses the local nonprofit sector is experiencing. "Mergers are still a popular possibility for nonprofits in the region," Lauren Welsh, VP, Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.

Boulder, CO, 10/18/2009 - Access Counseling closes Boulder, Longmont offices, DailyCamera. A story about a nonprofit agency providing low-income counseling, in financial difficulty, but preparing for a merger with the local YWCA.

Cape Code, MA, 10/28/09 - Musical Groups May Joint Forces, Cape Code Times. The Cape Cod Symphony orchestra and the Cape Cod Conservatory are contemplating a merger.

Princeton, NJ, 10/27/2009 - Princeton Borough, Township back plan to study merger, Central Jersey and Mercer County News. Did you know there are two Princetons? The borough and the township governing bodies are studying the concept of merging.

Charlotte, NC, 10/28/2009 - Initiative seeks to reinvent charities, charlotteobservor.com. A story about the effort by the Foundation for the Carolinas to launch the $5M Community Catalyst Fund, to aid struggling nonprofits. The fund will finance new nonprofit business strategies, including mergers and partnerships.

Columbus, OH, 10/30/2009 - CATCO, Phoenix, join forces, The Columbus Dispatch.com. Two theatre companies, Contemporary American Theatre Company, and the Phoenix Theatre for Children, announce they will merge.

San Diego, CA, 10/29/2009 - Two county humane societies merge, Signon San Diego. The San Diego Humane Society and the North County Humane Society announce they will merge.

Federal Bailout Spending Creates Re-Structuring Opportunities

I recently learned about an interesting example of a government-led collaboration effort focusing on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more commonly known as the federal bailout. The process of determining how to spend bail out dollars in metropolitan Chicago is is being led by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, or CMAP, the official regional planning body for northern Illinois. Recently I heard a presentation by Randall Blankenhorn who made a perfect argument for how it's critical, particularly when presented with such tremendous resources - $14billion for this part of the state - to use the funds to restructure the delivery of services in the region.

Mr. Blankenhorn explained that as early as November 2008, in the very early days of the discussion of a federal bailout bill, CMAP's board approved a set of principles for how the funds should be spent in northern Illinois. One of these principles is: The investments should be partnered for real reform. To prioritize local infrastructure investments that in a comprehensive way look beyond transportation benefits to include land use, economic, environmental, social, and other impacts. In other words, all of these issues are intertwined; so let's weave the strategies together to create comprehensive solutions and leverage the impact of the investment to reposition the region and its services for the future.

To accomplish its goals, CMAP is partnering with foundations, nonprofit organizations, and local government agencies throughout the region in a coordinated, accountable fashion. We are fortunate to have CMAP leading this process for investment of our American Recovery act funds. With all of the negative publicity about the American Recovery Act, it's nice to see a regional planning authority doing a good job with dispersing the funds. Do you have examples of good government collaboration you would like to share? Post a comment with your own example.

My clients the Badger Association of the Blind & Visually Impaired, and the Center for Blind & Visually Impaired Children just voted to merge this week. Congratulations to them both!