Strategic Restructuring for Nonprofits

La Piana Consulting was founded as a national consulting firm based on the foundation of its Strategic Restructuring Practice. This Strategic Restructuring knowledge was born from The Strategic Solutions project, a five-year field-building project funded by the James Irvine Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

The objective of the project was to develop and disseminate tools, resources, and training programs in the area of strategic restructuring (i.e., nonprofit partnerships including merger, joint venture, joint programming, and administrative consolidation). We conducted landmark research studies and published two books and numerous other materials to inform the sector on the appropriate use of strategic restructuring as a tool for improving organizational effectiveness.

From 1998-2003, the project directly served more than 5,000 nonprofit leaders, 600 foundation staff, and 400 consultants. These individuals participated in Strategic Solutions’ training programs and/or attended its many presentations and workshops. Our quarterly e-newsletter was delivered to approximately 1,000 individuals and organizations, and the original Strategic Solutions website hosted more than 4,000 individuals a month.

The findings of this research are included in a book — Strategic Restructuring for Nonprofit Organizations: Mergers, Integrations, and Alliances — by Amelia Kohm and David La Piana, published by Praeger Publishers in November 2003. The book provides 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.

Strategic Restructuring for Nonprofit Organizations is available for purchase at Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com

Download a PDF copy of the Phase 1 report from the Chapin Hall Center for Children website http://www.chapinhall.org