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.

Turner Publishing proudly presents a fully-updated edition of The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution FINALIST, Ben Franklin Awards, Independent Book Publishers Association, Business Category The world changes continuously and rapidly. It’s foolhardy to believe that strategies should not do so as well. Nonprofit leaders already know this, but traditional strategic planning has locked them into a process that’s divorced from today’s reality. That’s why plans sit on the shelf and why smart executives are always seeking workarounds in between planning periods. The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution offers a nimble and powerful alternative. 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. With it, your nonprofit will be able to identify, understand, and act on challenges and opportunities as they arise. At the heart of this practical book is the Real-Time Strategic Planning Cycle. Based on four years of research and testing with a variety of nonprofits, this proven process guides you through the steps to sound strategy. 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. This useful guide also includes exhibits and case examples showing how concepts play out in real-life; a total of 27 tools—10 of which are essential for forming strategies; Theory to Action sidebars telling you which tool to use for a given task; and a link to downloadable content with all the tools and interactive worksheets you’ll need, as well as a Facilitator’s Guide to Real-Time Strategic Planning that gives you everything you need: the day’s agenda, instructions for preparing flip charts, prework to be done, handouts, and worksheets. Use The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution and get the clarity and direction you need for maximum mission success.

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.

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.

NONPROFITS often use the terms "strategic planning" and "business planning" interchangeably, but a good business plan goes beyond the traditional strategic plan with its focus on mission and vision, goals and objectives. THE NONPROFIT BUSINESS PLAN, created by the nationally recognized experts at La Piana Consulting, helps your nonprofit organization understand what a strategic business plan is and why you need one, then provides a practical, proven process for creating a successful, sustainable business model. This groundbreaking resource further explains how your nonprofit can determine whether a potential undertaking is economically viable-a vital tool in today's economic climate-and how to understand and solve challenges as they arise. With detailed instructions, worksheets, essential tools, case studies, and a rigorous financial analysis methodology presented clearly and accessibly for executives, board members, and consultants, THE NONPROFIT BUSINESS PLAN is also an important resource for non-specialist audiences such as funders and investors. This innovative step-by-step guide will provide your team with a solid set of business decisions so that your nonprofit can achieve maximum results for years to come.

Turner Publishing proudly presents a fully-updated edition of The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution FINALIST, Ben Franklin Awards, Independent Book Publishers Association, Business Category The world changes continuously and rapidly. It’s foolhardy to believe that strategies should not do so as well. Nonprofit leaders already know this, but traditional strategic planning has locked them into a process that’s divorced from today’s reality. That’s why plans sit on the shelf and why smart executives are always seeking workarounds in between planning periods. The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution offers a nimble and powerful alternative. 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. With it, your nonprofit will be able to identify, understand, and act on challenges and opportunities as they arise. At the heart of this practical book is the Real-Time Strategic Planning Cycle. Based on four years of research and testing with a variety of nonprofits, this proven process guides you through the steps to sound strategy. 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. This second edition features a timely new preface and introduction; updated exhibits and case examples showing how concepts play out in real-life; five new tools, for a total of 32 —10 of which are essential for forming strategies; Theory to Action sidebars telling you which tool to use for a given task; and a link to downloadable tools and worksheets, as well as a Facilitator’s Guide to Real-Time Strategic Planning that gives you everything you need: the day’s agenda, instructions for preparing flip charts, prework to be done, handouts, and worksheets. Use The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution and get the clarity and direction you need for maximum mission success.

A fresh, compelling approach to establishing a sustainable, results-driven nonprofit business plan. Nonprofits often use the terms “strategic planning” and “business planning” interchangeably, but a good business plan goes beyond the traditional strategic plan with its focus on mission and vision, goals and objectives. The Nonprofit Business Plan, created by the nationally recognized nonprofit consultant experts at La Piana Consulting, helps your nonprofit organization understand what a strategic business plan is and why you need one, then provides a practical, proven process for creating a successful, sustainable business model. This groundbreaking resource further explains how your nonprofit can determine whether a potential undertaking is economically viable—a vital tool in today’s economic climate—and how to understand and solve challenges as they arise. With detailed instructions, worksheets, essential tools, case studies, and a rigorous financial analysis presented clearly and accessibly for executives, board members, and consultants, The Nonprofit Business Plan is also an important resource for non-specialist audiences such as potential funders and investors. This innovative step-by-step guide will provide your team with a solid set of business decisions so that your nonprofit can achieve maximum results for years to come.

Every Generation Is a First Generation Grinding poverty and brutal murder are the inheritance of a troubled young Sicilian-American who fights for survival on the mean streets of Los Angeles in this gritty, compelling multi-generational story. Sudden violence, against-all-odds teen love, a quirky cast of Sicilian and Chicano characters, and a redeeming sense of humor drive First Generation. In the 1920s Niccolo flees Sicily after an honor killing, settling his young family into a tenement on New York's Lower East Side. Twenty years later his daughter Gina meets John Russo, a soldier bound for North Africa and the Battle of Kasserine Pass. Another twenty years finds them married with a teenaged son, living in Pico Rivera, east of East L.A., where a different kind of war is raging. Like Sicily in the 1920s, East L.A. in the 1960s is defined by desperation, destitution, revenge, and fatalism. Growing up in the barrio the narrator becomes both participant and victim in the carnage. The old ways exert a powerful pull-as if born in his blood. Gun in hand, on the brink of murder, he struggles to decipher the secret behind a horrific scar. The truth shocks him but could also set him free-if he has the courage to give up everything he knows, including his last hope for connecting with his war-damaged father, his bone-deep need for revenge, and his dream of reuniting with Teresita, his first love. First Generation is the story of a young man's struggle to survive and of a family's journey to becoming American.