Mergers as a strategy to ensure more seamless service delivery

Interesting article from the US by  Bob Harrington about the benefits of a merger between two not- for- profit organizations as a way of creating a more seamless service delivery system to address client needs.

"As the facilitator of this merger (and a former executive director with experience in behavioral health), the most compelling outcome was the creation of a seamless service delivery system to address the needs of clients in a more holistic way.

By unifying services to address substance abuse addictions, mental illness, homelessness, and to provide job training and primary health services, this merger will help to ensure that client needs do not slip through the cracks of a fragmented delivery system.

In the mainstream dialogue about nonprofit mergers, the focus is often on efficiency and costs savings   but ultimately these alliances must make sense from a mission perspective: How can services be integrated and provided in a more effective manner? What will payers – in this case the City and County Department of Public Health – find attractive for contracting?

The landscape of services in San Francisco is fragmented, with many separate organizations providing numerous different services addressing specific client needs.  However, in most cases, they are not comprehensive, integrated services. The merger of Haight Ashbury Free Clinics and Walden House creates a more seamless approach, such that clients do not have to go in search of services from multiple entities to get the care they need"

Lessons from the near collapse of a small NGO

Cate Steane runs a small Californian not-for-profit providing shelter for families between homelessness and a home. Twelve months ago the agency faced collapse as government funding and donations dried up, and its invested reserves disappeared during the financial crises. The agency had to confront the reality that it had run out of money and would have to close its doors. Twelve months on the agency faces a brighter and more secure future.

This situation is very familiar to many small and medium sized NGO's in Australia, for whom viability is a monthly, even weekly proposition.

On the US not-for-profit website Blue Avocado Cate has written an important piece about the strategy the agency pursued to keep the doors open.

Reading Cate's intelligent and honest piece about what not-for profits can do when facing such a crises, and drawing on my experience with small agencies, ten lessons emerge:

1. Act quickly, don't accept denial of the problems and be completely transparent and frank with all stakeholders about the depth of the crises of and what is needed to overcome it (this includes beneficiaries and service users, funders, politicians, donors). Take all stakeholders along on the difficult journey
   
2. Withhold nothing from staff and Board and make use of the diversity of opinion about how to move forward (even when management is doubtful) and acknowledge and work with the negatives.
   
3. Develop a brief Plan (and clear message) of how the agency intends to overcome the crises
4. Mobilise and act in service of the agency's core social mission which is to address social problems and meet social needs. Ensure that the social/community need that the agency exists to address is not compromised
5. Be clear about what and who the agency is there for and what has to be preserved
   
6. Explore all possible angles, including new and better ways to make use of government funding and new sources of funding and be prepared for scenarios that cannot be foreseen in the beginning
7. Keep well informed about the policy context in terms of how these may affect the agency's survival and possible opportunities
   
8. Raise funds through the agency's network of supporters and constituents who understand and support the agency's mission and values, regardless of the size of their donations (don't just pursue big donors). Corporate funding and donors is not a high priority.
   
9. Build and protect the agency's reputation for excellent services, frugal stewardship and scrupulous honesty
10. Develop and retain a strong constituency base and appeal to them to assist in a multitude of ways
    

Interesting US blog on the "Non Profit Mind"

An interesting blog on the US Non Profit sector is The Life of the Non Profit Mind which is the blog of David La Piana, who runs La Piana Consulting a specialized US based non profit consultancy (The website of La Piana Consulting is here)

Well worth a visit. There is much to learn from David's knowledge and perspective on the sector