Mergers: A nonprofit solution?
Portland Business Journal
In this week's health care focus section, writer Aliza Earnshaw reports that area nonprofits are beginning to suffer from the merger-mania blues. As more local headquarters companies disappear into the acquisition black hole, nonprofits are finding it harder to attract board members with clout and to meet fundraising goals.
Maybe it's time nonprofit managers considered the problem from another angle. Many of them say they try to run their organizations like for-profit businesses. One of the ways those businesses stay healthy is by acquiring or being acquired. Mergers are often driven by inefficiencies in the marketplace, including duplicative services.
There is certainly a degree of overlap among Oregon's nonprofit groups. Nonprofit board members and managers of nonprofits tell us there is increasing competition among nonprofits serving the same client base for a finite pot of money. Many of these nonprofits are either newly chartered, or began life serving one need before shifting into another area.
Nonprofits should examine their mission statements and ask whether their clients could be better served by fewer service providers. In an era when corporate donations and board candidates are becoming scarcer, nonprofits won't be serving clients by standing pat. Mergers may be one answer.
Latest News |
Most Viewed Stories |
Most Emailed Stories |
