Comments on: 3 Easy Steps to Alienate a Community

By: Friday Link Round-Up

Friday Link Round-Up — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:15:25 +0000

[...] 3 Easy Steps to Alienate a Community–Being transparent with stakeholders, remaining true to your organization’s core values and engaging if things get tough can help you avoid these mistakes. [...]

By: Michael J. Rosen, CFRE

Michael J. Rosen, CFRE — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 23:45:12 +0000

Richard, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree with you. Secrecy is generally not a good thing. Organizations that try to protect themselves by being secretive are often hurt instead. Sunshine is usually a very good thing. If what one is trying to do can’t withstand a bit of sunshine, it’s probably something not worth doing. I’m not suggesting that it’s always a bad thing to maintain a bit of secrecy along the way in a merger exploration; I’m just suggesting that secrecy should be carefully considered and very limited.

By: Michael J. Rosen, CFRE

Michael J. Rosen, CFRE — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 23:34:06 +0000

Christina, thank you for your comment and for sharing the story of your college’s merger. I get that there are times when secrecy is important. However, organizations should be secretive only in the most extreme cases when absolutely justified. Given careful consideration, most organizations will find that openness is usually a far more effective, appropriate, productive way to go.

My post “Nonprofit Mergers Can Be Like Dating” (http://michaelrosensays.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/nonprofit-mergers-can-be-like-dating/) is an examination of a nonprofit merger that went well.

By: Christina Rockwell

Christina Rockwell — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 12:58:04 +0000

When my college was “merged” with another University–they followed all but the last one. We students (and the staff) didn’t even find out through a press release or from the schools. We read about it in the NYTimes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/09/nyregion/marymount-in-westchester-to-become-part-of-fordham.html

While mergers of any organizations are always an emotional time for stakeholders, there are ways to mitigate the impact and make sure that rational nature prevails. These ways never involve secrecy.

By: Nonprofit Mergers Can Be Like Dating | Michael Rosen Says…

Nonprofit Mergers Can Be Like Dating | Michael Rosen Says… — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 08:04:13 +0000

[...] Contact Michael J. Rosen, CFRE « 3 Easy Steps to Alienate a Community | [...]

By: Richard Freedlund

Richard Freedlund — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:47:43 +0000

The lack of transparency and the failure to communicate effectively doomed this merger. This reminds me of a certain situation earlier in the year, where a major foundation made some radical changes in what organizations it funded, and the situation came back to bite them in the backside because they were not transparent and did not control the message. When organizations are considering major changes, they need to be open and let stakeholders know why they are considering them.