Photo Courtesy of Mobilize Dot Org.
It's no surprise that the economic downturn has presented new challenges for many in the nonprofit sector. But as organizations faced tough decisions over how to cut costs, raise new funds and maintain their mission, some nonprofits began to consider new opportunities as well. Although not often a popular solution among nonprofit leaders, some nonprofits even began to think creatively about how strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions might improve their efficiency, reach and services.
Early this year, a pair of Millennial-led organizations chose this path less traveled, and Mobilize.org announced that it would acquire Generation Engage. We wrote about the announcement on Social Citizens, and speculated that this decision to rock the boat would ultimately pay off for the organizations and the Millennials they serve. Now almost a year later, I asked Mobilize CEO Maya Enista to give us her honest take on the growing pains, obstacles, triumphs and benefits of a nonprofit acquisition.
What was the most important factor that set you up for a successful acquisition?
In retrospect, I’m extremely impressed with how well executed the acquisition was. For this, I think Justin Rockefeller and Decker Ngongang, the leadership of Generation Engage, deserve the most credit. They were clear on their commitment to increase the impact and reach of their network and they recognized that Mobilize.org was a good partner in that.
Another important factor that was essential to our success was our ability to articulate our expectations and requests; whether it’s that a logo color change or a staff member’s salary be maintained, we created a comprehensive MOU [(memorandum of understanding)] that outlined everything so we went into the relationship clear on benefits, potential challenges and next steps.
To any organization considering a similar move, I strongly suggest the detailed MOU over the unnecessarily long, legal contract which often does not speak to how staff members will talk about the acquisition/merger, who will hold relationships, what will happen to emails and how the culture of the organization will be maintained or how the history of both organizations will be respected.
What challenges or sacrifices have Mobilize.org and Generation Engage had to face to make this work?
There was significant work to be done, legally, in transferring trademarks and other assets but we had a wonderful team (legal and financial) working with us to make this a smooth process. The challenge that I most worried about was how to integrate the programming and network of Generation Engage into Mobilize.org in a way that was authentic, to both groups, and how the staff members would come together under one umbrella. I was pleasantly surprised on both counts and we now have an even larger, active and engaged network that is managed by a talented, passionate staff that is comprised of former Generation Engage staff members, long-time Mobilize.org staff members and new team members who have joined since the acquisition.
There are definitely times when we needed to clarify roles, needed to change our vocabulary and practice our talking points, but when Decker and I are both asked often to “spill the dirt” on the acquisition and we always laugh about it. We’re very fortunate to have a partnership of mutual admiration, respect and working towards a common goal to make our collective work stronger than the sum of our parts. Most importantly, we have fun and never lose sight of how fortunate we are.
What has been challenging for you personally as the leader of this transition?
Significant growth, literally, happened over night. I went from managing a team of three to a team of eight and a budget that almost doubled. It was an exciting time, although at times, overwhelming. I credit the Board of Directors of Mobilize.org in helping me navigate this opportunity and ensuring that I think through (and prepare for) every possible scenario. I have learned a great deal about organizational management, what I do well, what I do not do well and most importantly, how important it is to appreciate your colleagues and praise them for their unique contributions to our work.
What has the merger allowed you to do?
Work proactively. It’s been such a blessing. I’ve spent a long time working reactively; to funding requests, to media, moving from event to event, and at times – losing sleep about payroll. Due to the increased support, capacity and funding, we’ve been able to take a step back and ask ourselves important questions about our impact, how we’re telling our story, what we’re doing each day (week, month, year) to increase opportunity, access, relationships and resources for Millennials through our work.
What advice do you have for other nonprofits considering a similar move?
DO IT. There’s too much work to be done, and we need to be smart about how we do it and most importantly, we need to do it together. Coincidentally, I’m writing about this on the heels of an interesting article in Fast Company, written by a woman whose work, opinion and energy I admire greatly, Nancy Lublin (Founder of Dress for Success and currently, CEO of DoSomething.org). She hits the nail on the head when she says, we need to work to put ourselves out of business by SOLVING problems, not measure our success of how large our staff is or how much our budget grows. Nonprofit collaborations, true collaborations, are rare and acquisitions and mergers, are even more so and I know it sounds scary, or suspiciously like failure, but it’s not about your ego, or the logo, or what your organization is called – it’s about the work that we (the royal, non-profit we) have ahead of us.
I offer myself, and Decker, as resources in this process and we’re happy to share our experiences and evangelize for the importance of increased strategic collaboration in our field.
What's next for Mobilize.org?
We’re planning our 10th Democracy 2.0 Summit in April, convening Millennials to work collaboratively to propose solutions to the most pressing issues that they’re facing. This round of Summits (called Target 2020: My Education. Our Future.) will be focused on the community college crisis that our country is facing; engaging students in North Carolina, New York, California, Michigan and Florida to take a leadership role in improving access and success for all our nation’s students. During each Summit, Millennials will award funding to the solutions that they believe will be most successful in increasing completion rates in their areas (up to $50,000 per Summit).
You can read more about our upcoming Summits and our Target 2020 work by visiting our website and to receive updates on our work, join the Mobilize.org network.