Press Release Details

Contact:
Sabrina L. Smith
415.541.9000 SabrinaS@CompassPoint.org

The word “merger” may be a dirty word for many nonprofit leaders, who think of it as a synonym for “failure,” but mergers are actually key tools for an organization’s success. To demystify mergers, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and The San Francisco Foundation are pleased to announce the release of The M Word: A Board Member’s Guide to Nonprofit Mergers.

The M Word provides a road map to a merger’s expectations, processes and obstacles. Special sections depict seven organizations’ actual merger experiences, feature sample resolutions and worksheets, and highlight the key roles executive directors and funders also play in a merger. The guide also goes beyond the “M word” to offer advice on how to close down an organization.

"There have been many examples of well-executed mergers in the nonprofit sector.” Sandra Hernández, M.D., CEO of The San Francisco Foundation remarked, “The M Word should be seen as a tool for nonprofit boards and executives who are looking for best practices in researching and implementing mergers."

The M Word is based on CompassPoint’s extensive consulting on nonprofit mergers, as well as its own experience with merging. CompassPoint itself is the result of two mergers, vital steps in its advancement and ability to today celebrate 30 years of service to the nonprofit sector.

Topics in The M Word include:

• Common scenarios in which nonprofits consider mergers
• The benefits sought through mergers
• Alternatives to merger
• The merger process, step-by-step
• An analysis of a merger’s cost
• Merger myths
• Deciding not to merge
• Case studies

This guide is available for $12 through CompassPoint Nonprofit Services at 415.541.9000 or online at http://www.CompassPoint.org/bookstore.

The M Word was written by CompassPoint staff Alfredo Vergara-Lobo, Jan Masaoka, and Sabrina L. Smith with support from the San Francisco Foundation.

About CompassPoint Nonprofit Services

Founded in 1975, CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is the nation’s premier consulting, training and research firm focused exclusively on the nonprofit sector. With offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, CompassPoint strives to increase nonprofits’ effectiveness by providing the management tools and concepts vital for nonprofits to solve pressing social problems by affecting the social change to which they and their investors aspire. A nonprofit itself, CompassPoint works with organizations in areas including boards of directors, management & strategic planning executive leadership, fundraising, organizational change, nonprofit finance, and technology. CompassPoint is a university for nonprofit staff, an affordable consulting partner to the sector, a research institution and think tank, and a community organizer.