The document discusses 11 recent mergers between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the international aid sector. It notes that while NGO mergers are still less common than in the for-profit sector, they are becoming more frequent as donor funding declines and organizations seek to expand their impact. The mergers discussed aimed to increase efficiency, leverage resources, gain expertise in new areas, and ensure program continuity in the face of financial or operational challenges.

1. NGO Mergers and acquisitions
A growing trend?
11 recent mergers between NGOs
in the aid sector

2. Mergers
and
acquisi-ons
between
NGOs
in
the
aid
sector
are
not
new.
In
fact,
one
of
the
biggest
and
oldest
aid
groups,
Interna-onal
Rescue
Commi?ee,
was
born
in
1942
out
of
a
merger
between
the
Interna-onal
Relief
Associa-on
and
Emergency
Rescue
Commi?ee.
NGO
mergers
and
acquisi-ons,
though,
are
few
compared
to
those
in
the
for-­‐profit
sector.
But
they
are
becoming
more
frequent
as
donor
funding
dwindles
and
the
desire
to
go
local
and
widen
impact
increases.
Here
are
11
recent
mergers
and
acquisi-ons
between
NGOs...

3. Mercy
Corps
and
NetAid
Merged
2007
This
wasn’t
the
first
merger
entered
into
by
Mercy
Corps.
In
2004,
it
joined
up
with
the
Conflict
Management
Group
to
build
its
peace-­‐
building
and
crisis
preven-on
exper-se.
With
NetAid,
Mercy
Corps
hopes
to
broaden
engagement
of
the
youth
and
“inspire
them
to
take
ac-on
for
a
be?er
world.”
Before
the
merger,
NetAid
struggled
to
develop
a
consistent
revenue
stream
beyond
the
receipts
from
the
simultaneous
televised
rock
concerts
in
1999
that
launched
it,
and
its
large
staff
and
pricey
New
York
headquarters
were
draining
its
finances.

4. Self
Help
Development
Interna>onal
and
Harvest
Help
Now
known
as
Self-­‐Help
Africa
Merged
2008
It
was
a
rare
case
of
cross-­‐border
deal
in
the
nonprofit
world
(Self
Help
Development
Interna-onal
was
based
in
Ireland
and
Harvest
Help
was
headquartered
in
the
United
Kingdom)
and
was
meant
to
“re-­‐engineer
our
business,”
noted
Self
Help
Africa
CEO
Ray
Jordan
in
an
interview
with
the
Financial
Times.
The
merged
en-ty
wanted
to
move
away
from
direct
implementa-on
to
research
and
advocacy.
Jordan
noted
that
the
merger
decreased
management
and
administra-on
costs
while
increasing
capacity
to
do
more
for
Africa.
In
the
process,
270
people
were
let
go,
bringing
the
size
of
staff
to
105.

5. Task
Force
for
Child
Survival
and
Interna>onal
Trachoma
Ini>a>ve
Merged
2009
The
two
NGOs
said
the
decision
to
merge
was
a
way
to
leverage
their
resources
and
scale
up
efforts
to
eliminate
trachoma,
the
world’s
leading
cause
of
preventable
blindness.
ITI
is
now
a
program
under
The
Task
Force
for
Global
Health,
the
new
name
of
Task
Force
for
Child
Survival.

6. Ac>onAid
and
Mellemfolkeligt
Samvirke
Now
known
as
Ac>onAid
Denmark
Merged
2010
Call
it
an
“arranged
marriage”
not
a
takeover
by
Ac-onAid
of
MS,
said
former
MS
Uganda
chief
Mads
Benedictus
Jorgensen,
as
the
merger
serves
the
interest
of
the
two
organiza-ons:
Both
wanted
a
stronger
voice
and
presence
in
the
South.
MS
said
the
merger
would
reduce
its
transac-onal
costs,
providing
more
resources
to
its
democracy
and
an--­‐poverty
work.

7. Helvetas
and
Swiss
Founda>on
for
Development
and
Interna>onal
Coopera>on
Now
known
as
Helvetas
Swiss
Intercoopera>on
Merged
2011
The
merger
sought
to
strengthen
the
voice
of
the
two
organiza-ons
in
the
Swiss
and
European
development
stages,
boost
their
poten-al
to
secure
new
projects
and
funding
and
increase
their
efficiency
and
impact,
former
Intercoopera-on
CEO
Felix
von
Sury
told
Devex.
Intercoopera-on,
he
said,
was
keen
to
pursue
the
merger
because
it
“had
lost
its
somewhat
privileged
rela-onship”
with
the
Swiss
Agency
for
Development
and
Coopera-on,
leaving
it
with
two
op-ons
—
either
to
start
raising
funds
from
the
public,
which
he
said
was
expensive
and
risky,
or
become
a
consultancy-­‐type
of
an
en-ty,
which
would
not
sit
well
with
its
NGO-­‐minded
staff.

8. Première
Urgence
and
Aide
Médicale
Interna>onale
Now
known
as
Première
Urgence-­‐Aide
Médicale
Interna>onale
Merged
2011
The
idea
of
a
merger
came
from
AMI,
which
had
been
“experiencing
difficul-es,”
Thierry
Mauricet,
head
of
Première
Urgence-­‐Aide
Médicale
Interna-onale,
said
in
an
interview
for
Gro-us
Interna-onal.
He
called
the
merger
“an
alliance
of
trades
and
skills.”
Before
their
union,
the
two
humanitarian
NGOs
collaborated
on
several
occasions
such
as
in
the
Hai-
earthquake
and
Pakistan
flood
response.

9. FHI
and
AED
Now
known
as
FHI
360
Purchase
agreement
signed
2011
In
March
2011,
AED
announced
plans
to
sell
its
assets
and
transfer
programs
to
another
organiza-on,
following
a
decision
by
the
U.S.
Agency
for
Interna-onal
Development
to
temporarily
suspend
new
funding
to
the
nonprofit
due
to
irregulari-es
uncovered
in
its
work
in
Pakistan
and
Afghanistan.
Three
months
later,
it
named
Family
Health
Interna-onal
as
its
sole
buyer.
Then
AED
President
and
CEO
Gregory
R.
Nible?
told
Devex
that
AED
opted
for
acquisi-on
to
“ensure
the
smooth
transfer
of
our
programs
and
projects
and
our
staff
into
a
new
home,
so
to
speak.”

10. CDC
Development
Solu>ons
and
U.S.
Center
for
Ci>zen
Diplomacy
Merged
2012
Not
even
five
years
in
its
existence,
USCCD
became
financially
unviable,
as
it
relied
on
a
sole
donor
for
its
resources.
Today,
it
is
a
division
of
CDC
Development
Solu-ons,
and
as
per
the
announcement
of
the
merger,
USCCD
will
keep
its
exis-ng
programs,
website,
name,
staff
and
offices
in
Des
Moines,
Iowa.
Founder
Ann
Olsen
Schodde
said
the
merger
“strengthens
the
USCCD’s
posi-on
for
the
future
–
making
it
more
sustainable;
its
resources
more
robust;
its
network
more
broad.”
For
CDC
Development
Solu-ons’
part,
the
partnership
with
USCCD
will
allow
it
to
replicate
its
global
corporate
volunteer
program
in
the
United
States.

11. Plan
Interna>onal
USA
and
CEDPA
Purchase
agreement
signed
in
2012
The
transac-on
involved
transferring
CEDPA’s
assets,
including
eight
USAID
subwards,
founda-on-­‐funded
grants
and
programs
implemented
by
its
Nigeria
office,
to
Plan.
It
doesn’t
cover
CEDPA
India
Society,
which
will
remain
independent.
In
an
interview
with
Devex
on
the
heels
of
the
acquisi-on,
Plan
Interna-onal
USA
CEO
Tessie
San
Mar-n
said:
“Olen-mes
because
we’re
so
focused
on
doing
good
and
fulfilling
our
mission,
we
don’t
think
enough
of
our
long-­‐term
view
when
it
comes
to
making
investments
in
ourselves.
We
need
to
start
looking
at
acquisi-ons
as
strategic
tools
much
more
seriously
than
we
have.”

12. Fundación
Luis
Vives
and
Acción
contra
el
Hambre
Merged
2012
The
merger,
said
Ac-on
Against
Hunger-­‐Spain
in
its
2012
annual
report,
enabled
the
iNGO
to
start
working
inside
Spain,
which
reels
from
a
lingering
economic
crisis.
Ini-al
projects
promoted
social
and
professional
inclusion
of
those
most
affected
by
the
crisis,
through
entrepreneurial
ac-vi-es.
Fundacion,
prior
to
the
union,
worked
to
empower
Spanish
civil
society
groups.

13. In
announcing
the
merger,
Merlin
said
the
move
was
meant
to
“secure
a
sustainable
future
for
[its]
lifesaving
work.”
Save
the
Children,
its
spokesperson
told
Devex,
believes
the
partnership
will
help
it
achieve
its
2010-­‐2015
strategy.
The
transi-on
is
expected
to
last
within
18
months
from
July
2013
and
would
culminate
in
the
phased
transfer
of
Merlin’s
program
opera-ons
and
head
office
teams
to
Save
the
Children
Interna-onal.
Save
the
Children
works
in
all
of
Merlin’s
16
countries
of
opera-ons
save
for
Chad
and
the
Central
African
Republic.
Save
the
Children
and
Merlin
Merged
2013

14. Are NGO Mergers and acquisitions a
growing trend?
Read more:
A game changer for Save the Children?
Merlin: Anatomy of a doomed iNGO business model
How Merlin merger can help Save the Children local partners
Are iNGO mergers the wave of the future?