Live Q&A: Charity mergers and collaborations

The Guardian Voluntary Sector Network are having a live discussion with an expert panel to discuss how viable merging could be for your charity on Tuesday 9th August.  You can join the discussion.

There is an increasing focus on mergers in the charitable sector. Larger organisations can be more secure and partnering up often reduces competition for limited funds.

After the recent release of the open public services white paper, many charity professionals questioned whether smaller organisations would be able to compete with larger organisations for public service contracts ; strategic collaborations could go a long way to securing the third sector’s role in localism and big society.

However, the process of joining forces can be fraught with difficulties, as the collapse of Shelter’s and Crisis’s merger bore witness to. Williams says trustees have to make sure it is the “best option for the charity strategically and culturally” while also ensuring that “it adheres to the charity’s objectives and the interests of its beneficiaries.”

But do the risks involved in forming a consortium outweigh the benefits? In our Q&A we will discuss:

• What works better – mergers or collaborations?

• What factors to consider when brokering a partnership

• The benefits and difficulties of … Continue Reading