In April 2019, the Mississippi Association of Grantmakers and the Mississippi Center for Nonprofits joined forces to create a new entity, the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy. All aspects of the alliance, including its structure, programming, leadership, and partnerships, now focus on building strong relationships and creating opportunities for mutual learning, sharing, and networking between grant makers and nonprofits.
The Mississippi Alliance is built on the belief that nonprofits and grant makers are in the same business, working toward shared goals. As a result, the group is committed to breaking down the power dynamics that have historically existed between donors and nonprofits.
Other goals of the alliance include increasing collaboration to create strategies and actions that lead to better results, creating opportunities and expectations that learning will be shared, and ensuring that advocacy efforts are integrated into the work.
Today, the alliance serves as a convener, facilitator, mediator, trainer, and policy advocate actively matching the interests of donors with service-providing nonprofits to produce better results for Mississippi’s children, families, and communities.
The alliance also offers a certification program to service-providing nonprofits and grant-making organizations. The certification indicates that a group has the operational, leadership, financial, management, program, evaluation, and communication capacity to achieve results and sustain services, thereby ensuring a better return for those donating to it. For those organizations achieving certification, the alliance also brokers connections between potential donors and nonprofits seeking funds.
For other organizations interested in merging or creating coalitions that serve as a bridge between grant makers and direct-service nonprofits, here a few lessons that may help along the way.
Accept that the old ways of doing business have not produced the results that philanthropy and nonprofits desire. Let this recognition serve as the catalyst for stakeholder conversations about aspirations and opportunities.
Staff and board leaders must be open to the exploration and agree to keep an open mind. Keep an eye out for unintended turf battles or a desire to protect the current way of doing business, even when that does not serve the best interest of the respective camps.
Most people in the nonprofit sector are people of good will. Actions that run counter to collaboration and helping the community stem from a lack of knowledge or awareness, rather than intent to disrupt or cause harm.
Communication is critical; when in doubt, overcommunicate. During times of change and uncertainty, people tend to fill in the blanks themselves, possibly with inaccurate information. Repeating messages minimizes confusion and misinformation.
Be patient. Adequate time for conversations is vital; the issues are rooted in a familiar way of doing business. Change usually happens gradually, as we embrace new possibilities.
Define a process, budget, structure, and timeline as soon as stakeholders agree to begin the exploration. Having these provides focus and direction for the exploratory conversations and will help to ensure resources are available and roles/responsibilities/expectations are clear.
Dedicate staff to the discussions to keep them focused and moving forward as the day-to-day work of the organizations continues. If possible, seek a planning grant to support the exploratory phase.
Define and mutually agree on a vision, mission, and value(s) statement. Do this as early as possible.
Expect challenges, conflicts, and tensions during all stages of the process. Use the vision, mission, and value(s) statement to remind participants of why the work is being undertaken and what you hope to achieve.
If you agree to move from the exploratory phase to the design phase, create a comprehensive written document to define the scope of work, including key tasks, responsibilities, dependencies, and timelines. This living document will drive the process. Be sure to dedicate adequate staffing to manage the project.
Implementation is nearly always more difficult and takes longer than anticipated. You likely will need to address structural, leadership, governance, staffing, organizational culture, accountability systems, policies, procedures, and programming issues.
Board leadership and/or staffing changes may need to be made to fully implement the new business model. Accept that some staff and board will not fully embrace the new way of operating — address this before the possibility of unintentional sabotage (usually because of strong commitment to the old model or turf protection) occurs.
Do not view the new approach as a cost-saving measure. Working collaboratively is difficult, and it takes time to do it well. Focus on the improved results you can have instead.
Carefully think through the structure, branding, messaging, and communication materials for the new entity. Creating the merger plan and the supporting collateral material takes considerable time and resources. Our merging groups received a two-year planning grant of approximately $350,000 to complete this work. We encourage others to use our materials rather than reinventing the wheel — that can reduce time and expenses considerably. Leaders at the Mississippi Alliance are more than willing to share what we learned with others. If you want to know more, get in touch with us.
Diversity, equity, inclusion, acceptance, and belonging are critical considerations. Whenever possible, build these discussions into every aspect of the plan.
Strategic partnerships are critical, including with the public sector. Start to make connections early in the process, even if a partnership begins with limited actions, and work to strengthen partnerships throughout the process. Continuously think about what you can do better together, rather than separately.
