Tips and Answers to Your Questions
Deciding to Restructure

Why Merge? Keeping the Motivators in Mind

Why merge? Mergers occur for a variety of reasons - economics, social opportunities, leadership challenges, a tired board, to better serve the community or for reasons specific to the organizations involved. All these reasons are valid reasons to merge two (or more) organizations. However, no one motivator makes the process any easier. Bringing two organizations together, no matter how similar they might think they are, is not simple. The negotiations process can be long and arduous and at times seem hopeless. It is at this time that the reason for merging is most important.

More often then not, the participants in a merger hope for benefits that are immediate and quantifiable. That is, they hope it will save money and bring down the fundraising goals. However, this is usually not the case. It costs money to merge (lawyers, consultants, printing, moving and other start up costs) and any savings from a merged organization will quickly be used by other needs. The real benefits of a merger are not short-term but medium- to long-term and strategic. Whether it be better market positions, a larger market share, a higher public profile, greater political influence, more strategic fund raising, or a larger staff, which allows for specialization of functions, all these reasons take time, money and planning to implement.

Because the real reasons to merge are harder to visualize, it is easy to forget them as you go through the negotiation process. As you hash through the details of what the new organization will look like, the participants at the table may find themselves getting petty about the small issues. At this point, it is good to take a break and have everyone restate the reasons for the merger. We have found it very useful to have the reasons up on a poster or easel paper, where they may be easily pointed at. Or, print them on a sheet of colored paper and distribute them when needed. This should help bring clarity to the discussion and help the participants navigate through the negotiation process.