August 10, 2000 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Nonprofit Mergers Workbook: The Leader’s Guide to Considering, Negotiating, and Executing a Merger
by David La Piana
The author provides steps for the executives of non-profit groups to follow when considering a merger with a like-minded institution.
“The consensus among people studying mergers seems to be that economic conditions are driving the sector toward a shake-out and consolidation,” writes Mr. La Piana, who founded a consulting firm in Oakland, Calif., that specializes in non-profit mergers.
Welfare restructuring, growth in the number of non-profit organizations, the emergence of businesses that provide health and social services, and the demands of employees who draw top dollar all play a role in the decision to consolidatea decision that might have been unthinkable a few years back, Mr. La Piana says.
He intends to make the process easier. He examines the planning, negotiating, and execution of mergers among organizations that share similar missions.
Mr. La Piana covers the options for structuring a merger, such as transferring assets. He provides tools for conducting a self-assesment to determine if an organization is a good candidate for a merger, as well as tips on how to promote one’s group as a potential partner.
He explores common problems in mergers, delineates negotiation strategies, and explains how to create a sample budget for the merger.
The book includes several worksheets, as well as sample contracts for agreements, and a chapter designed just for consultants in which he offers his perspective on dealing with the stress surrounding mergers.
Stay cool, he writes. “The consultant must represent hopefulness, even as he or she embodies helpfulness.”
Publisher: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 919 Lafond Avenue, St. Paul, Minn. 55104-2108; (651) 659-6024 or (800) 274-6024; fax (651) 642-2061; books@wilder.org; http://www.wilder.org; 228 pages; $28 plus $4 postage and handling; I.S.B.N. 0-940069-21-0.
