Merger is sometimes considered a four-letter word, but in the land of 10,000 nonprofit organizations (Minnesota), nonprofit mergers can be a good thing.

Published in 2009 by MAP for Nonprofits, MergeMinnesota aims to awaken nonprofits to a new reality - mergers may be the best strategic path to preserve community services. This helpful resource is now available online. Click here for more.

See what others are saying here!

MAP Board Stars Announced!

Each year, MAP seeks nominations from nonprofits for Board Stars -- board members recruited by MAP's Best on Board^SM program. Click here to learn more about our 2010 Board Stars!

Community Realignment Fund Reaches Halfway Point

MAP's Community Realignment Fund has reached $100,000, halfway to its $200,000 goal, thanks to generous grants from The Jay and Rose Phillips Foundation, the Knight Foundation and most recently, the McKnight Foundation! The Community Realignment Fund is dedicated to helping struggling nonprofits save vital services through various forms of strategic realignment up to and including mergers. Proceeds from the fund will enable 25-40 nonprofit organizations to use MAP's Project ReDesign services. Read more.

What Comes Next?

Judith E. Alnes, executive director of MAP, wrote a commentary for the Winter issue of Giving Forum (published by the Minnesota Council on Foundations) on how the nonprofit sector can get ready for what's coming next. The article includes these five points:

1."Scrub Down" Won't be Enough
2. We Aren't Going Back From Where We Came
3. Strategic Investments Aren't Optional
4. We Must Do a Better Job Measuring and Take the Postive Results to Scale
5. We have to Innovate and Be Bold

Click here to learn more about these five points, along with some bold questions to ask -- to jump start innovation.

MAP Services Help Nonprofits in Tough Economic Times

Our current economy has placed many nonprofits in the position of trying to meet an increasing demand for services, while simultaneously facing funding cutbacks.

These customized MAP services are especially relevant during these times:

• Project ReDesign, helping nonprofits explore and implement mergers, joint operating agreements, program transfers, joint ventures, parent subsidiary relationships, and dissolution;
• Governing in economic downturns, board training and consultation;
• Strategic decision-making, facilitating board and management decisions relating to difficult situations, and bold strategic moves;
• Outsourced

  

  MAP has met all standards and is qualified to display the Charities Review Council Seal, which demonstrates MAP's accountability to donors and funders.

  technology and accounting solutions. Affordable professional services;
• Financial analysis, helping organizations to understand their financial position and options;
• Legal advice, assisting organizations in downsizing and lease and contract changes;
• Leaders Circles®, providing peer support cohort groups and change-ready nonprofit leaders. 

MAP unleashes the power of the nonprofit sector by increasing the capacity of individual nonprofit organizations to achieve their missions and providing leadership for the effective management of the sector.

MAP is a 'management service' organization, which means we provide services and consulting to other nonprofits. This includes accounting, board and leadership development, board recruitment, legal services, strategic planning, marketing, mergers and more. We know nonprofits because we are one. Each year, MAP serves more than 500 nonprofit organizations. To learn more about our services, click on Nonprofit Services. To see our latest annual report, click here.

Volunteers: If you want to learn more about becoming a MAP Volunteer Management Consultant or being placed on a Nonprofit Board of Directors, click here.