Hand over the key
Handing over the work
A founder steps back, two groups join, or a program ends. The paperwork is the easy part when the board starts early.
Sooner or later the person who started the shelf wants a Saturday off. Done well, a handover is a calendar, a handful of documents and one honest board conversation. Done late, it is an emergency.
We help the board plan the change: a new executive director, a merger with a neighbor or an orderly close that sends what is left to another exempt organization.
How we plan a handover
The shape depends on the change; the first steps are usually the same.
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Step 1: Start with the board
A meeting to say what is changing and by when, with a short written plan the board adopts.
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Step 2: Write down what the founder knows
Where the accounts, keys, filings and relationships live, in a form the next person can use.
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Step 3: Choose the structure
A new executive director, a merger or a dissolution each has its own steps, approvals and notices. We lay out the one you need.
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Step 4: Finish cleanly
Transfers of property and contracts, notices to funders and the state, and a final set of filings if the organization closes.
Questions about handovers
When should a board start planning a founder's exit?
Earlier than feels necessary. A year ahead is comfortable; the same plan on a month's notice costs more and leaves out the quiet steps.
Can two nonprofits merge?
Yes. It takes votes from both boards, a plan for the programs and staff, and notices to funders and the state. We walk through the order.
What happens to the assets if we close?
A tax-exempt organization's assets generally have to go to another exempt purpose, not to the people who ran it. Your documents and state law say how.
Bring us the document, or the idea
A short note is enough. A lawyer writes back to say whether this is something we can help with and what a first meeting involves.