In a challenging funding environment, many nonprofits are weighing mergers as a strategic move to unlock efficiencies and maximize resources. Curious what helps them succeed, we asked Senior Fellow Cary Paine to study nonprofit consolidations. Below is the story of one, between Idaho Community Foundation and the Idaho Nonprofit Center.
We share this to spark thought and surface lessons, not to take a position. The Murdock Trust has no view on whether consolidation is right for any organization. This is part of our own learning alongside the organizations we support.
Idaho Community Foundation (ICF) and Idaho Nonprofit Center (INC) merged in November 2024, bringing together two statewide organizations serving Idaho’s philanthropic and nonprofit communities. While some consolidations are driven by financial distress or resource constraints, this one emerged from a place of strategic strength and a recognition that the two organizations could do more together than apart.
"There was no need for the organizations to merge. But there was opportunity to increase our impact," says Tim Adams, former board chair of INC.
A Decade of Trust Between Two Idaho Nonprofits #
The conversations that led to this merger began long before consolidation was ever considered. Steve Burns, President and CEO of ICF, and Kevin Bailey, now Vice President of Impact at ICF and former CEO of INC, had been meeting regularly for years. Their organizations had already collaborated on statewide initiatives alongside United Way, including disaster relief funds and the Idaho Gives campaign. Bailey describes the relationship as having had a "shared sister organization feel" from the start.
From Collaboration to Merger: Strategic Consolidation #
While both organizations operated successfully as separate entities and close partners, there was also a mutual acknowledgement of a changing nonprofit landscape. Eventually, the question became: what could we accomplish together that neither organization could accomplish alone?
Out of their history of trust, Steve and Kevin started exploring the answer. They invited their board chairs and additional board members from each organization into the process, embarking on a thoughtful set of conversations around what was best for Idaho. Doug Oppenheimer, board chair of ICF, recalled, “We had wonderful conversations. No debates…a safe space was provided.”
By considering their respective missions as something to steward, and by realizing the ripple effects of community impact their merging could unlock, the committee concluded that INC’s mission could continue to flourish as a dedicated center within ICF. Kevin Bailey relinquished his title as CEO of INC to become Vice President for Impact for ICF under Steve Burns’s leadership.
Legally, ICF became the surviving entity and INC dissolved. But its programs kept running as a distinct center inside the Foundation, Kevin kept leading that same work, and nearly every INC board member joined the ICF board. "This did not feel like one organization absorbing another," Kevin says. "A new organization was created."
The Challenges and Payoffs of Integration #
The conversations that led to the decision to merge came relatively easily, largely because the two organizations were already aligned. The harder work came after. Strategic alignment came quickly, and every INC staff member was offered a place at ICF. But integrating two organizations' financial systems, technology, reporting processes, staffing structures, governance practices, and cultures proved more demanding than expected.
Despite the slower, messier integration, the payoffs after eighteen months exceeded expectations. Philanthropic resources have grown, educational programming has expanded, organizational capacity has increased, and statewide nonprofit support is stronger.
Six Takeaways for Nonprofits Considering a Merger #
Every merger is different, and no single story translates neatly into a formula. But a few things stood out to the people who lived through this one:
- This merger came from strength, not necessity. Both organizations were financially stable and could have continued independently. The decision to merge was about expanding impact.
- Trust came before any formal talks. Steve and Kevin's relationship, and the collaborative history between their organizations, existed well before merger conversations began.
- Both leaders were willing to put mission ahead of title. Kevin's decision to step down as CEO is one that several people involved described as a turning point without which the merger might not have survived.
- INC's identity was preserved deliberately. Continuing its programs as a named center within ICF, and keeping its leadership and board presence intact, helped maintain trust throughout the transition.
- The hardest work came after the decision was made. Integration — not the choice to merge — is where most of the real time, cost, and adjustment happened.
- A shared north star question made all the difference. Every leader returned to the same question: what's best for Idaho? That question, more than any single structural decision, seems to be what carried the two organizations through eighteen months of challenging work.
At a moment when strategic collaboration is increasingly part of how nonprofits are solving hard problems, this is one story of what it looked like for two strong organizations to choose to become one.
Thank you to Steve Burns, Kevin Bailey, Tim Adams, and Doug Oppenheimer for sharing their time and candor, and to Cary Paine for the research behind this story.
If you’re interested in exploring consolidations, watch Nonprofit Association of Oregon’s webinar “Consolidating for Greater Impact: Exploring Nonprofit Mergers,” or connect with your nonprofit state association for local examples and resources.