Can you accomplish your mission alone?

Almost every nonprofit easily develops program partnerships to refer clients or share information or training. But what if that isn’t getting you far enough?

    • Do you have a great program but no fund development department to keep it operating?
    • Is your ED/CEO worn out from wearing every hat?
    • Are you competing against organizations who are much larger or offering programs much different than yours?

Over the past several years, we have worked with client organizations to make critical decisions about whether they can better accomplish their missions in partnership or on their own. We have seen a great program join a larger organization in order to be able to scale faster and with more credibility. We have seen an overburdened ED thrive as a new senior staff member of a larger organization. We have seen leaders of successful organizations create a joint vision to serve their clients better together.

The process is simple but the work is complex

Like any relationship, you can explain a collaboration or merger in simple terms but getting everyone on the same page is always harder than expected. Following are the steps of a typical process:

1

Step 1

Getting acquainted and assessing compatibility of programs, leadership, values
2

Step 2

Reviewing potential options and structures
3

Step 3

Board approvals - Committing to formal discussions with intent to merge
4

Step 4

Planning and conducting negotiations, preparing board recommendations
• Mission/Programs
• Financial/Operations
• Leadership (staff and board)
• Communications
• Legal
• Implementation prep
5

Step 5

Recommendations to boards of partners to merge (if desired)
6

Step 6

Board approvals
7

Step 7

Implementation

About Bryan Orander

Charitable Advisors’ president Bryan Orander has 20 years of leadership and consulting experience. Bryan Orander was one of the first consultants in the country trained in the Executive Transition Management (ETM) model developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Averaging 15 searches a year, Charitable Advisors has done more nonprofit searches in Central Indiana than any other firm, by far.

Take the first step with no obligation – a FREE 20-minute phone consultation

If your organization is will be more impactful with a strategic partner, let us help you navigate the exploration. Executive partnership services are priced from $7,500.

Complete the form below or contact Bryan Orander for a brief 20-minute phone conversation about your project needs and budget to see if we are the best fit.