Grow Your Nonprofit
Collaborations to Mergers
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” African proverb
Nonprofit organizations are experienced at working together collaboratively. Collaborative partnerships between your organization and others can have substantial benefits such as amplified community impact, increased service ability, enhanced visibility, accessibility, and operational efficiency.
“Strategic alliances” is a catch-all term that can run the gamut from collaborations to more formal alliances like administrative consolidation, joint programming, or corporate integrations like mergers. If your organization is considering any form of alliance, it is important to be strategic and make sure there is clarity about the partnership and agreement about how to move forward.
Types of Strategic Alliance
Collaboration
Nonprofits collaborate to combine expertise or resources, amplify messaging, share wisdom, and coordinate action. Compared to other types of strategic alliances, collaboration does not require a change in how partner organizations are structured.
Formal Alliance
Organizations can join together in a formal strategic partnership to provide services or programs, operate a revenue-generating social enterprise, or pool administrative resources. This type of alliance requires formal agreements between partners (such as memorandums of understanding) but each organization maintains its individual autonomy.
Corporate Integration
A corporate integration is a change to corporate control or structure, including creation or dissolution of entities. The three main types of corporate integration are amalgamation, mergers, and dissolutions.
Corporate Integration Services
A corporate integration requires in-depth discussion and plans around mission, vision, communities served, programs and services, finances and more that involve board, staff, funders, donors, sponsors, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
If your nonprofit is considering corporate integration to shift from two separate organizations to a new integrated entity, IntegralOrg can help.
Phases of Corporate Integration
Phase 1: Exploration
A facilitated process that leads your organization and potential partners through a formal exploration of the options for a different future together.
Phase 2: Due Diligence Review
A review of elements to ensure that all decision-makers, especially board members, have enough information to make an informed decision about whether to move forward with the alliance based on the liabilities the other party may bring to the merger.
Phase 3: Planning
In-depth planning to develop the future model including how the various elements of the proposed alliance will occur.
Phase 4: Integration and Implementation
Includes transferring assets, dissolving entities, CRA approval, etc. IntegralOrg can assist in the related financial and legal aspects.
Dissolution Services
There may come a time in the lifecycle of your nonprofit when you may wish to dissolve the organization. Perhaps the need that the nonprofit filled has become less acute over time or other organizations have stepped in to fill the need. The process of dissolution, what happens to the assets of the organization, and other matters related to dissolution are complex and it is important to make sure all is done the right way.
Corporate
Integration or
Dissolution
Services
for Your Nonprofit
If you are interested in corporate integration services
for your organization, contact us:
