Resources

In the News

• Interest in Nonprofit Mergers and Partnerships Unexpectedly High, Study Suggests
  Chronicle of Philanthropy
• Governing a Collaborative Organization
  Stanford Social Innovation Review
• Better Together Fund Backs Collaborative Nonprofits
  Dallas Innovates
• How to Save a Nonprofit: The Care Steps Required in Mergers and Acquisitions
  Nonprofit Quarterly
• The Stigma Against Fiscal Sponsorship Needs To End
  Rainier Valley Corps
• Curating Change: The Merger of Two Historic Women’s Organizations
  Nonprofit Quarterly
• Possibility and Scale: The Merger of Race Forward and CSI
  Nonprofit Quarterly

The Strategic Alliances & Restructuring Landscape: Foundational Resources

• The Bridgespan Group’s Mergers & Collaborations Resource Center
  The Bridgespan Group
• The Collaborative Map
  La Piana Consulting

Getting Started

Preparing for an Alliance or Strategic Restructuring

• Mergers as a Strategy for Success Toolkit
  2016 Report from the Metropolitan Chicago Nonprofit Merger Research Project
• A Walk Through The Partnership Matrix
  LaPiana Consulting
• Laying the Groundwork for Collaboration
  Giving in LA
• Making Sense of Nonprofit Collaborations
  The Lodestar Foundation & The Bridgespan Group
• Three Ways Boards Advance Nonprofit Collaboration
  La Piana Consulting
• The Courage to Collaborate: Four Lessons from Our Mergers and Collaborations Series
  The Bridgespan Group
• Which Comes First: The Partnership or the Plan?
  CausePlanet linked from the La Piana Consulting Collaboration and Strategic Restructuring insights webpage.

Tools for Partnership

• Collaboration Toolkit: Creating an MOU
  Colorado Nonprofit Association
• Model Guidelines for Nonprofits Evaluating Proposed Relationships with Other Organizations
  Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
• Financial Self-Assessment Worksheet
  Nonprofit Finance Fund

Case Studies

• Merger creates one-stop shop for Minnesota Nonprofits
  Star Tribune
• Newtrax: Turning a Shift in Funding into New Efficiencies
  The Power of Possibility
• Carson Valley Children’s Aid: Coming Together to Expand Services to Families in Need
  The Power of Possibility
• HopeFound: Discovering Complementary Efforts to End Homelessness in Boston
  The Power of Possibility
• Youth Services Network: Sharing Technology Innovations to Better Serve Homeless Youth
  The Power of Possibility
• Cancer Support Community Becoming the National Leader in Psychosocial Care
  The Lodestar Foundation and The Bridgespan Group
• How the Arts Can Prosper Through Strategic Collaboration
  Harvard Business Review
• Strengthening the Field of After-School Enrichment
  The Power of Possibility
• Putting a Year of National Service on the Map
  The Power of Possibility
• Transforming a Community’s Response to Domestic Violence and Child Abuse
  The Power of Possibility
• Alleviating Confusion and Costs in Support of Cancer Service
  The Power of Possibility
• Partnering to Continue a Long History of Serving Families in Upstate New York
  The Power of Possibility

For additional case study examples, visit the Collaboration Hub on Grantspace, a service of The Foundation Center. The Hub includes a comprehensive searchable collection of more than 650 profiles of vetted collaborations submitted for the Collaboration Prize in 2009 and 2011. Readers can search collaborations by location type and subject area.

Articles & Research on Strategic Alliances and Restructuring

• Creating a Partnership Strategy: A Field Guide
  Community Wealth Partners
• Strategies to Scale Up Social Programs: Pathways, Partnerships and Fidelity
  The Wallace Foundation
• Board Openness to Strategic Alliances & Restructuring
  The Power of Possibility
• Advancing the Mission, Not the Organization
  The Bridgespan Group
• Nonprofit Collaborations: Why Teaming Up Can Make Sense
  Forbes
• Making Sense of Nonprofit Collaborations
  The Bridgespan Group 
• Merging Wisely
  Stanford Social Innovation Review
• Synopsis: Success Factors in Nonprofit Mergers
  Propel Nonprofits and Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
• Mergers as a Strategy for Success: 2016 Report from the Metropolitan Chicago Nonprofit Merger Research Project
  Metropolitan Chicago Research Project
• MergeMinnesota: Nonprofit Merger as an Opportunity for Survival and Growth
  Propel Nonprofits
• Preparing for Strategic Restructuring: Understanding Nonprofit Ownership
  La Piana Podcast
• Nonprofit Mergers that Work
  Stanford Social Innovation Review
• Mergers as a Strategy for Success Toolkit
  Mission + Strategy Consulting
• Why Nonprofit Mergers Continue to Lag
  Stanford Social Innovation Review
• Nonprofit Mergers and Acquisitions: More Than a Tool for Tough Times
  The Bridgespan Group