Charity Mergers Gain Currency in Massachusetts

Massachusetts charities are warming to the idea of mergers as a way to save money and maintain operations amid the economic downturn, the Boston Herald reports.

Four mergers or alliances involving nine nonprofit organizations have taken place in recent months, and 300 people attended a symposium on the issue in Boston last week.

“When we first started talking about this in advance of the economic crisis, I think there was a big pushback,” said Paul S. Grogan, chief executive of the Boston Foundation, which found in a June 2008 study that the number of charities in Massachusetts had nearly doubled in recent years despite no growth in population or funding sources.

“There was a lot of unhappiness that we were even raising the issue,” Mr. Grogan said. “I think that’s really changed.”

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