As you consider an alliance, collaboration or merger, why ask Community Consulting Group for assistance?

From time to time, nonprofit organizations may find they need consultation and coaching to form a strategic alliance with other organizations. This assistance is often requested because the leadership has never attempted a partnership before, needs to have an objective facilitator so that all participants can pursue self-interests, or wishes to add temporary resources to move the partnership forward. Alliances can take a variety of forms including collaboration, strategic restructuring, back-office consolidation, or merger. Many factors can contribute to the need to form an alliance including:

• A sharp increase in the number of people served begins to strain agency resources.
• An agency decides to expand its target population or services into new areas.
• An alliance becomes the best strategy to achieve economies of scale and operating efficiencies.
• An organization wishes to increase its strategic alliances to better accomplish its mission.
• Collaboration is mandated by a funder or policymaker.
• Cutbacks have limited an agency's ability to provide services and ensure client outcomes.
• Leadership decides to stop offering a service or to close the agency.

What Do Alliance, Collaboration, and Merger services include?

Community Consulting Group uses several strategies to help organizations address collaborations and mergers. Assistance can be provided through group training, consultation, coaching with leaders, or some combination of these services. Although we tailor the process to the needs of each organization, a CCG consultant frequently will take the following steps:

1. Examine reasons to collaborate or merge.
2. Assess organizational readiness.
3. Identify and recruit potential partners.
4. Clarify the concepts behind collaboration or merger.
5. Design the collaboration or merger process with leaders.
6. Determine strategies, programs and services.
7. Create and execute charters, memoranda of understanding, and other written agreements.
8. Provide coaching and critical meeting facilitation.

Check out our presentations for a suggested process on forming an alliance. For more information on alliances, take a look at our publication Forming Alliances: Working Together to Achieve Mutual Goals.

Contact us for more information or to discuss your specific needs.