In this groundbreaking book, strategy expert David La Piana introduces "Real-Time Strategic Planning," a fluid, organic process that engages staff and board in a program of systematic readiness and continuous responsiveness. You'll find tools for clarifying your competitive advantage; generating a strategy screen--criteria for evaluating strategies to be able to respond quickly; handling big questions; developing and testing strategies; and implementing and adapting strategies.

Drawing on the findings of the most ambitious national study to date on nonprofit strategic restructuring, the authors provide nonprofit managers, board members, consultants, and foundation executives with research-based information to use in making tough decisions about whether and how to pursue a range of organizational partnerships—from jointly managed programs and consolidated administrative functions to full-scale mergers. The authors investigate two widespread assumptions—that strategic restructuring leads to greater organizational efficiency and that nonprofit consolidations are similar to corporate consolidations. Six in-depth case studies of actual nonprofit restructurings highlight the costs and benefits associated with this increasingly adopted course of action, a trend that is expected to remain on the upswing for the foreseeable future.

The nonprofit sector has never been under greater pressure to prove itself. With missions expanding and funding never more competitive, the sector suffers from a general impression that it is less efficient and more wasteful than its government and private competitors. Its funders, be they governments, charitable foundations, or individual givers, have never seemed so insistent about economy and results, while its clients, be they communities or individuals, have never been more demanding about efficiency and responsiveness. How the nonprofit sector does its work is becoming almost as important to funders and clients as what the sector actually delivers by way of goods and services.The problem is that there is virtually no agreement on just how nonprofits can improve. Unlike the federal government, the nonprofit sector is still at the beginning of its reform journey and its networks of consultants, management associations, and scholars are only beginning to develop the research base to know what reforms might work under what conditions. In Making Nonprofits Work, Paul C. Light charts the current trends of management reform in the nonprofit sector and assesses the climate for reform at the local and national levels. Light examines the four popular philosophies, or "tides," being advocated— scientific management, liberation management, war on waste, and watchful eye—offering examples and caveats from a portfolio of recent experience. Drawing on confidential interviews with leaders in nonprofit management reform, a detailed search of Internet sources, and a survey of state associations of nonprofit organizations, Light's findings suggest that the nonprofit sector has a remarkable opportunity to prevent the excesses and fadism that have dominated reform efforts in government and the private sector. He cautions leaders in the nonprofit sector to recognize the limits of various reform models, to set priorities carefully, and to limit investments of reform energ

This book details six stories of nonprofit leaders who chose a merger strategy for their nonprofit organizations, and in the process, became "mission-centered" leaders who refuse to be ruled, or biased by their fears about their own career. Mission-centered leaders help their organizations' impact grow and go on to prosper themselves. The book details six common steps in the letting-go process each leader went through, and includes advice for other leaders who are considering a merger strategy.

Nonprofit organizations are arguably in a perpetual state of change. Nonprofits must constantly scan, analyze, and adapt to the implications of the changing needs of clients, the community, funders, and government policy. Hence, the core competencies and capabilities of nonprofits must include how to effectively manage change. The knowledge, skills, and abilities of employees, volunteers, and managers must include the competencies required to formulate and implement strategies to manage planned and unplanned change. This book brings to the forefront the challenges and opportunities of change by combining insights from practice, research, and theories of change management to examine nonprofits. It incorporates interdisciplinary perspectives to examine the dimensions, determinants, and outcomes of change in nonprofits. It offers managers, researchers, and students case examples on how to develop, implement, and manage change in the context of nonprofits. Readers will better understand the dimensions of change that are unique to nonprofits and how these should be integrated into strategy and day-to-day operations, including reflection for both the change agent and the change recipient.

Nonprofit mergers are on the rise. Executive directors and board members are discovering the advantages: comprehensive service delivery, better finances, more powerful fundraising, increased market share. Bottom line, mergers make more mission possible. From assessing reasons and readiness, to finding a partner, to negotiating the best path, to budgeting and implementation, author David La Piana guides you through the maze of options with a steady hand. Based on experience with more than sixty mergers, this handbook is the perfect starting point for any nonprofit exploring a possible merger and a basic resource for all nonprofit managers. You'll find: how to decide what kind of structure from collaboration to merger meets your goals how to know your own motivation and keep your mission forefront what kind of merger best fits your goals, structure, and financial situation how to seek merger partners and objectively assess the pros and cons of each how to manage the boards essential role in merger considerations; how to exercise due diligence and write the merger agreement how to deal with the rumor mill what you can do yourself, when to call in attorneys and consultants, and how to select them typical roadblocks and how to beat them how to move past old history and build new traditions as you integrate staff, management, boards, systems, and corporate cultures how to budget for and raise funds to implement the merger and much more! Full merger case studies, decision trees, twenty-two worksheets, checklists, tips, milestones, an extensive resource section and many samples including the minutes of a completed merger negotiation give you concrete assistance with your own merger plans and implementation. A special chapter written for nonprofit organizational consultants explains their roles and responsibilities in assisting clients interested in merger.

You've completed the merger agreement. Now, how do you make the merger work? Nonprofit Mergers Part II helps you create a comprehensive plan to achieve integration. It addresses large, strategic issues as well as small practical ones. Integration issues and how to handle them Section I: Going the Distance provides a broad view of integration, its challenges, and how to meet them. Topics include the basic tenets of organizational change; what success looks like in a well-implemented merger; the purpose and content of an integration plan; how to address people issues through leadership and planning; and the relationship between effective leadership, effective communication, and their combined contribution to integration success. How to create a useful integration plan Section II: Creating an Integration Plan takes you step-by-step through this essential process. You'll learn about integration of boards, cultures, management, staff and volunteers, programs, communications and marketing, and systems—one by one, in detail; the steps needed to create each section of the plan; common challenges, roadblocks, and crises that will arise, and how to respond when they do; and processes, procedures, and interventions likely to be most helpful and necessary. Software helps you create an organized plan Included with the book is a CD-ROM with a detailed integration plan template. Use it to keep your planning organized and on track. This useful guide also includes sample integration plans, worksheets, checklists, and tips and quotes from leaders of merged organizations. Nonprofit Mergers Part II is a must-read for anyone considering, embarking on, of just completing a merger!