Making Sense of Mission Alignment
When nonprofits consider mergers, acquisitions or strategic partnerships, finding “mission aligned” partner organizations is critical. But what does alignment actually mean? I recently came to a realization that shifted my understanding of mission alignment.
In 2022, after a decade of K12 education consulting, I joined a national nonprofit to work on youth civic learning & engagement. It was wonderful, but I found myself drawn back towards local youth work in DC. That role did not play out as planned & I've returned to EdPro Consulting, now putting my doctoral research expertise to use advising nonprofit leaders & boards on M&A.
When I first wrote that sequence of experiences down, they felt disjointed - education consulting, youth development, civic engagement, and mergers & acquisitions? These are very different things!
Then, while cleaning out some boxes, I found a letter of recommendation from my undergraduate advisor written in 1999. I was a senior at Loyola University Maryland, applying to a variety of post-college service opportunities. The form asked her to name three adjectives which described me. She chose: positive; competent; civic-minded.
Her choices still resonate with me 26 years later because they align with my own personal mission statement, drawn from the Jesuit tradition I soaked up at Loyola: To be a woman for and with others, using my skills to better the world around me.
That’s when I made sense of the alignment in my own career moves.
Each piece of work aligns with my mission. Supporting K12 schools, working to develop national programs for Gen Z to deepen their civic engagement, returning to local programming supporting young people in my own backyard - all are about putting my optimism & competence to work serving others while walking alongside them in their efforts. I chose each career opportunity because it aligned with my mission statement.
The world is in the midst of massive change. As I advise nonprofit leaders considering M&A, I encourage them to be creative in thinking through ways possible partners may be aligned. Mission alignment does not necessarily mean “shares the same mission." Potential partners may have common cause, share common values, work in a common community or hold assets and lead work which is orthogonal but complementary to their own work.
When nudged to think expansively, nonprofit leaders can begin to imagine the potential for strategic partnerships, mergers, and even acquisitions as opportunities for mission advancement, rather than the result of mission failure.
In my current work with leaders on M&A, I find mission alignment with my past roles: people need folks to walk with them in support, advising, thought partnership and just plain hard work as they face the current challenges. It’s an honor to be for and with leaders in their work as they make tough decisions to advance their missions in creative ways.
(This was originally posted on LinkedIn on September 11, 2025)
