In “Why Nonprofit Mergers Continue to Lag,” published in the Spring 2014 issue of SSIR, Katie Smith Milway, Maria Orozco, and Cristina Botero discuss the reasons why there are so few nonprofit mergers and what leaders can do to overcome those hurdles and create more successful ones. One person who successfully merged two large and established nonprofits is Elisabeth Babcock, president and CEO of Crittenton Women’s Union, based in Boston. This merger is discussed in the article.
To help people understand how to create a successful merger we present three video interviews with Babcock. In each video she discusses one of the key impediments to a merger and what can be done to overcome it. The first video is about how to blend the boards of directors. The second video is about how to blend the senior staff. The third video is about how to blend the brands.
We created a plan whereby each of the founding boards would elect seven members to the new, merged board.—Elisabeth Babcock
One of the…special things about our merger was that it was really driven by staff.—Elisabeth Babcock
We brought in a marketing firm that basically tested both names for their market recognition.—Elisabeth Babcock
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