So…What else could we do together?
I just got home from a week of back to back weddings - love is in the air! All the toasts and speeches were what you’d expect: cute stories about how the couple met, became friends, and built a relationship to last through the ages.
I’ve often heard that the stages of a nonprofit merger are analogous to planning a wedding: dating and finding the right partner, getting engaged, and eventually tying the knot.
From contestants on the Golden Bachelorette to speed dating at cocktail parties, anyone out there looking for love knows - Dating can be awkward! So when it comes to nonprofit marriages. I mean, mergers… the same fears of rejection and uncertainty can prevent us from taking the leap. It’s no wonder leaders can struggle to start the conversation! Afterall, the best way to scare off a perfectly nice stranger is to talk about marriage on the first date.
In the absence of online dating profiles for nonprofits and societal expectations about who should propose to who, the first step is the hardest. So, if you’re a “single” nonprofit CEO looking for an organizational love connection - where do you start?
Like some marriages, collaborations and nonprofit mergers are most successful when they grow from authentic, long-term relationships. Think high school sweethearts or couples who started as friends. The organization you should merge with is the one you’re already collaborating with.
In the same way you have to muster the courage to ask someone on a date, the best way to start the conversation of more formal collaboration with an organization you’ve been eyeing is…to ask!
Let them know how pleased you are with your collaborations thus far. Point to specific outcomes you were able to achieve that you couldn’t have done alone. Then ask if you can have a confidential conversation about an emerging idea.
Still not sure how to break the ice? Send them this article!
Your e-mail could look something like this:
Dear fellow CEO,
Congrats again on ________ - I’m so glad we did it together! Our team has been raving about your incredible staff and they seem especially energized by what they learned about your ________ program. It’s inspired some great conversations around here.
I hope we can keep partnering on opportunities like this. I’ve already heard tons of positive feedback from several of our <constituents/families/youth/members>, too. It was really a win-win.
I recently read this article, and I wondered if you’d be willing to sit down with me for a conversation about an emerging idea. I’d like to keep this just between us right now, but I’m excited about the possibilities and I want to know what you think. Thanks for considering!
Signed,
Other CEO
Still need help? Sign up for a confidential conversation. Sometimes planning how to start the conversation sets the tone for a love story we can all get behind.
