Mergers as a Strategy for Success

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Registration is closed. Thank you for your interest.

8:30 - 9:00am - Networking and Coffee
9am - Noon - Workshop

Half-Day Workshop: $90

About this session: More and more nonprofits are merging today. There are real environmental issues driving nonprofits to consider a merger strategy: Medicaid expansion, government demand for managed care contracting, the need for diverse revenue sources, leadership succession, etc. Nonprofit executives and board chairs at the very least need to be prepared when the time is right to be able to use a merger strategy. In this workshop, learn:

1) the best and worst criteria for deciding to utilize a merger strategy;
2) the basic steps to identifying a merger partner;
3) how to complete the steps to a merger;
4) the costs and possible revenue sources to underwrite a merger; and
5) how to prepare an integration plan.

You will leave this session better prepared to develop a thoughtful strategy for merging, even if it includes the choice not to merge.

Who Should Participate: Executive Directors, Board Members, CFOs

About the Presenters: 

Mary Anderson is the managing director of Mission + Strategy Consulting, Inc.and works in all four areas of the practice – Strategy, Leadership, Culture, and Structure.  Mary has over 14 years of experience at the executive level at a variety of government and nonprofit organizations, with demonstrated success in diverse environments including start-up, established and turnaround situations. 

Mary has a passion for strategic management in the nonprofit sector and possesses an in-depth knowledge of fundraising, crisis management, board governance, strategic restructuring, strategic planning, systems analysis, feasibility studies, external strategy planning, and organizational management.  Examples of Mary's diverse client experience includes human service organizations, public interest legal organizations, policy advocacy groups, housing development and counseling organizations, healthcare organizations, and public education focused organizations, with budgets ranging from $400,000 to $150 million. 

Mary has a BA with high honors in political science and economics from Swarthmore College, a master's in public affairs from Princeton University Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and a JD from New York University.  Mary was a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow in 2008 and a German Marshall Memorial Fellow in 2011.

Jean Butzen, president and founder of Mission + Strategy Consulting, Inc. has been a leader in the nonprofit sector for 35 years serving in a variety of roles. Most recently, she served as President/CEO of the Chicago-based Lakefront Supportive Housing, a nationally recognized provider of supportive housing. Jean grew Lakefront from a start-up organization into a combined $12M operation with a portfolio of 1,000 units of housing for homeless adults and families in Chicago.

In 2004, Jean initiated a merger process with Mercy Housing, Inc., based in Denver, CO. At the conclusion of the merger, she launched Mission + Strategy Consulting, Inc., a firm specializing in nonprofit strategic re-structuring: mergers, partnerships, alliances. Since then, Jean and her team of consultants have facilitated mergers and partnership transactions totaling over $400MM in annual revenues. In 2016, Jean published the first study on nonprofit mergers, Mergers as a Strategy for Success.

Jean has been awarded several honors in her career including the 2001 Leadership Greater Chicago Distinguished Fellow Award, and in 2004, was identified as one of the leading women in the nonprofit sector by the Chicago Sun-Times in their series The 100 Most Influential Women in Chicago. She is also a member of The Chicago Network.

Jean has a BA from Antioch College, and a degree in business administration from Kellogg School of Management Institute, Northwestern University.