Friday Notes

Friday, June 8, 2007

Dear Friends of ConnectMichigan Alliance:

Why Merge?

Earlier this week the ConnectMichigan Alliance (CMA) Board of Trustees transitioned the organization to a new level when they agreed to merge with the Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA).

The question I been receiving most is, “Why merge?” You have two very strong organizations and neither is in crisis. So, why merge? The answer is that it’s the right thing to do and the perfect time to do it. Still there is often disbelief. Why? There are several reasons, I am sure, but one large issue is that collaboration is tough to do and even tougher to explain and teach. Great resistance forms as players think about collaborating. You all know better than anyone that collaboration requires vision, determination, sacrifice and often times a lot of luck. But I also wonder if it doesn’t also include something intuitive—an ability to know what goals you have in common with others and are willing to share to achieve. Perhaps, what I do know is that it becomes ever-increasingly difficult for me to find ways to, “share the magic” that is CMA and MNA. Whether due to my inability to communicate effectively or to fully understand the perspective of others, it is difficult for me to help others start what we all have built together in Michigan. However, I do believe there is something going around. Let me give you a couple of examples.

Points of Light Foundation and Hands On Network

Destined to be together might be the theme of this first example. Two national organizations focused on the role of volunteers in a community would appear to be a match made in heaven. On the one hand you have an established national brand in the Points of Light Foundation that sees Volunteer Centers across the nation as one of its primary customers. On the other hand, you find a newer and rapidly growing organization in Hands On that is focused on episodic volunteer opportunities with a great model for engaging for-profit organizations in the work of community strengthening through volunteering. It’s a perfect match, right? Well, maybe. These two organizations are engaging in merger talks now just to determine if a “marriage” is a good idea and under what terms. Set aside the changes that Washington, D.C.-based and Alanta-based companies have to deal with regarding geography, culture, leadership and so forth. These are two truly different players in the same marketplace having to figure out if it is better to work together or apart for their customers.

But there is hope, since their customers (Volunteer Centers and Hands On affiliates) are working to determine what this all means for them. In some cases these customers are ahead of their national organizations, as many are affiliates of both the Points of Light Foundation and Hands On.

Michigan’s Promise / Michigan’s Children

Sometimes collaboration can prove to be the best form of flattery. In the case of Michigan’s Promise, Michigan was a leading state in building an infrastructure for a state model reflecting the youth focus of America’s Promise. Michigan has a network of some 30 Communities of Promise that strive to bring the Five Promises to children in their respective communities. The original model tried to tie relationships between nonprofits and for-profits to bring “resources” to kids.* While some success was made in raising awareness of need and in development some local partnerships, sustainability and focus became a challenge. America’s Promise then decided to refocus its efforts on promoting public policy that supports the Five Promises and on helping children displaced and affected by Hurricane Katrina** and the other related hurricanes. Today, America’s Promise provides a strong voice in the public policy arena and has formed a strong partnership with First Focus, a child advocacy organization that specializes in public policy. Where does this leave the many states and local communities that were geared and structured around youth service, providing resources to youth, and brokering of local resources?

Again, there is productive movement. Michigan’s Promise is working to build a similar partnership. Through the successful brokering of a grant from First Focus, Michigan’s Promise is partnering with Michigan’s Children, a youth advocacy organization, to increase the awareness and action of our Communities of Promise and others toward supportive state and federal public policy around the Five Promises. As with the national partnership, Michigan is seeking to bring together the strengths of two organizations to better support the work at the local level.

CMA & MNA Even Stronger Together

Now CMA and MNA have demonstrated the lessons of collaboration. For the past 18 months, the leadership of the Michigan Nonprofit Association and the ConnectMichigan Alliance has been in discussions about closer alignment. Now, both boards are in the final stages of a merger plan. How did we get here? The same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Practice. We practice the tough slog of collaboration. Sometimes we get it right, other times we demonstrate the need for improvement. But we still practice it. I will be the first to say that I have personally made some mistakes even as we close the merger of MNA and CMA. That is expected. We have to be open to these mistakes and not allow them to derail what we all know to be the right thing to do.

Moving forward, this collaboration will have a profound effect on Michigan’s nonprofit sector. The Michigan Nonprofit Association will return to a broadened mission that includes service and volunteering. In addition, MNA will open seats on the board and the advisory committee to the CMA Endowment to Volunteer Centers of Michigan, the Michigan Campus Compact, and the Michigan Community Service Commission. That broader mission and expanded leadership to both the public and private sectors (the Michigan Community Service Commission is a state governmental agency) will make the nonprofit sector stronger and the volunteer infrastructure even more valued. The work of the ConnectMichigan Alliance will be continued through its partnership and the support of the ConnectMichigan Alliance Endowment, and the exemplary legacy of MNA will be ensured for the short and long term future of Michigan.

Thank you for being a part of this broader mission and for your leadership! And thank you for helping to share the magic that is CMA and MNA.

Kyle

P.S. Friday Notes is a regular communication to supporters, leaders and friends of the ConnectMichigan Alliance. Please feel free to provide feedback on these or any other Friday Notes to me directly at kyle@connectmichiganalliance.org. Also, please feel free to share this Friday Note with others or add them to the distribution list by sending their email address to Brandon Seng at bseng@connectmichiganalliance.org.

*Originally the America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth branded the Five Fundamental Resources for youth success and then re-branded the model to Five Promises
**Katrina’s Kids was developed for relief efforts in the Gulf.

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