Episode Summary

For too many nonprofit leaders, the word merger lands like a verdict, a sign something has gone wrong. Staci Barfield, Senior Director of Consulting Excellence at Armstrong McGuire in Cary, NC, argues the opposite: a merger belongs early on a leader’s strategic menu, not at the end. Drawing on her work facilitating the Arise Collective and MATCH (Mothers and Their Children) merger, Staci walks Patton through the full continuum of collaboration and unpacks the five factors every leader should weigh: mission alignment and strategic rationale, organizational and cultural fit, governance and leadership readiness, financial health and due diligence and capacity to manage change while continuing to serve. She makes the case that funders are increasingly convening these conversations and that the strategic exercise itself has value even when it doesn’t end in a merger. Listeners walk away with a practical framework for assessing any form of collaboration, and a sharper read on when a merger isn’t a retreat but a way to magnify mission.

About Staci

Staci Barfield is Senior Director of Consulting Excellence at Armstrong McGuire, where she leads the methodologies, tools, and resources that equip the firm’s advisor team to deliver consistent, high-impact client work. She came to the philanthropic sector after a long corporate career in information technology and business process improvement at Gap, Inc., Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), Sprint, AT&T, and Springs Industries. The pivot was catalyzed when a Hurricane Katrina deployment with the American Red Cross showed her that her business skill set translated directly to mission-driven work. From there she went on to serve as Vice President of Development for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Eastern NC Chapter, Executive Director of National Students of AMF, and CEO of Children’s Flight of Hope, before joining Armstrong McGuire. Across all of it, Staci has been driven by the same instinct: maximizing an organization’s opportunities for success through both strategic and operational initiatives.

Resources

• Connect with Staci on LinkedIn

• Case study referenced in the episode: Arise Collective + MATCH (Mothers and Their Children)

• Shared services model referenced in the episode: Ascend Nonprofit Solutions (Charlotte, NC)

• Companion episode: #350 with Andre Anthony: What Every Nonprofit Leader Needs to Know About Mergers

• Staci’s book recommendation: I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times by Mónica Guzmán

• Follow Your Path to Nonprofit Leadership and please leave a review!

• Learn more about Staci’s work and Armstrong McGuire's leadership resources.

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