July 13, 2000 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Collaborations among charities are most often prompted by three forces, a new University of Chicago study has found.
In a study of 192 charities that have merged or made formal alliances with other groups, researchers found that the main motivations were:
- A sudden change in the status quo, such as when a leader departed or a new opportunity to obtain funds arose.
- A forward-thinking leader promoted the idea.
- Outside forces, such as a potential reduction in government support, prompted a re-examination of how an organization operates.
The Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago based its report on a study of social-service and cultural organizations nationwide that had participated in such formal collaborations in the past five years or so.
The report identified two primary types of partnerships: “alliances,” in which non-profit organizations share some decision-making power or have a common operating agreement but don’t fundamentally alter the organizations’ corporate structures, and “integration,” in which groups modify their structures — whether by starting a joint venture together or merging into a new entity, for example.
Thirty-two percent of the groups in the study had undergone mergers.
Among the groups surveyed, 81 percent said the most important reason for restructuring was to improve the provision of services to their clients. Other reasons cited were to increase program offerings with partner organizations (cited by 79 percent) or to increase competitiveness (69 percent).
Cited less frequently as motivations were alliances to prevent the organization from closing (18 percent), to prevent the organization from decreasing in size or scope (22 percent), or to appease grant makers (25 percent).
The report noted that when charities were asked what challenges they faced, no one problem was identified as “significant” or “very significant” by more than one-third of the respondents.
The most common problems were concerns about autonomy, building trust among participating organizations, staff members’ adjusting to new roles, and conflicting organizational cultures. The least common problems were staff layoffs and dealing with constituents and donors.
Copies of the report, Strategic Restructuring: A Study of Integrations and Alliances Among Non profits in the U.S., are available for $8 each from the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, 1313 East 60th Street, Chicago, 60637; (773) 753-5900; fax (773) 753-5940. It can be downloaded from the center’s Web site: http://www.chapin.uchicago.edu.
