An Innovative Approach to Collaboration: United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

Abstract

Summary

United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (UWGPSNJ) was recently formed by merging seven regional United Ways: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May and Cumberland Counties in New Jersey and, in Pennsylvania, Southeast Delaware County and Southeastern Pennsylvania. UWGPSNJ’s mission is “to harness, leverage and strategically invest the collective power of donors, advocates and volunteers, to drive measurable results that improve the lives of people in our region.” The regional United Ways recognized that by leveraging their collective strengths and developing a more cohesive message, they could develop and deliver a common donor experience and more strategically and effectively move from being grant makers to engaging local communities in making real change across the region. The ability to scale up while maintaining local presence and meeting local community needs evolved through initial exploratory conversations into a collaborative process that resulted in a decision to merge on July 1, 2012. While each United Way was individually successful at meeting its local needs, delivering on the collective brand promise was difficult. After months of thoughtful conversation and planning, the groundwork was laid, meaningful trust was established and merging seven United Ways into one large regional organization to collectively deliver one cohesive and consistent message—while meeting local community needs and capitalizing on local relationships—became possible. Through this unique collective process, their successful merger and expected trajectory towards sustainability make it a promising model for national replication.

Nonprofit mergers are increasing in prevalence for various reasons. Many nonprofits are merging because they are serving similar populations or providing similar services, and through merging they can reduce back-office costs (LaPiana, 2010). Factors within the environment such as an increase in organizational competition or a decrease in foundation or donor funding encourage nonprofits to contemplate mergers (Dewey & Kaye, 2007). Because of the current economic downturn, there is increased competition for more scarce financial resources. When nonprofits with similar missions choose to merge, capacity to compete successfully for limited funding streams and donations can increase. Yet will that alone suffice in ensuring success of the surviving organization?

The merger between the seven regional United Ways is an example of a successful one. This merger demonstrates that a positive union can result from financially and programmatically viable organizations when approached from a position of strength, collaboration and trust. The new regional United Way will continue to focus on strategies to drive lasting change in the areas of education, income and health while working towards providing a greater breadth and depth of programming in local communities over the long term.

These seven local United Ways engaged in a very thoughtful and deliberate process through strategic dialogue and conversation, considering varying factors such as local decision-making processes and key volunteer, donor and corporate relationships. Thus, they were more prepared to prosper once the merger was completed because they understood many of the issues they would need to address to support continued success. This deliberate process can provide insight for other organizations interested in learning and or designing effective mergers aimed at increasing organizational efficiency, improving programs and delivering collective and collaborative results.