Becoming a National OrganisationJess WatkinsonNational Director, Development

Why Merge?• 12 different Member Associations working towards

different goals

• Broad purpose

• All delivering a range of services

• Dwindling membership base

• No national voice

The not-for-profit landscape in Australia is changing rapidly

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The not-for-profit sector is becoming increasingly crowded and competitive…

SOURCE: JBWere, ‘The Cause Report’, 2014; Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, ‘Australian Charities Report’, 2014

Cumulative charities established

Charities established per decade

…while funding is concentrated amongst those with scale

The largest 5% of charities received 80% of the sector’s income in 2014

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Why Merge?Not-for-profits that thrive have:

• Clear and consistent purpose

• Narrow and deliberate activities

• Distinctive impact

• Invest resources efficiently

• Agile

• A compelling engagement strategy

How did the process begin?• AGM 2014 – How do we create the best possible YWCA?

• Commenced with the Sustainability Project – to develop a case for change

• Convention 2015 – Stronger focus on considering possibilities of merging

• 2016 National Merger Project established

Who was involved?• Engaged McKinsey to provide low bono facilitation, advice and

recommendations on commencement

• Established a dedicated Merger Team

• Committed Operational Executive Team of Member Association CEOs

• Committed YWCA Australia Board and Governance Group (made up of YWCA Presidents and Board Directors from around Australia)

Who was involved?• Norton Rose Fullbright were engaged pro bono as the

legal team

• Clayton Utz, PwC, EY and Nous Group all provided low bono support

• Other legal companies provided low bono support and advice to existing Member Associations

What was involved?• Regular face to face meetings

• Negotiation

• Consideration

• Collaboration

• Merger working groups in all Member Associations

• Clear communication

What was involved?

60 days of face to face meetings over 2 years

I did 124 830 kms of plane travel

How did we do it?• Benchmarked Best Practice

• Analysed current performance

• Synthesised insights into a vision

• Built the recommendations

• Investigated legal options

How did we do it?

• Respectful communication

• Ensuring regional voice

• Consideration of red line issues

• Strong respect for the women who got us where we are

• Passion for the organisation

How did we do it?Following significant consultation and wonderful Pro Bono legal support, we decided on Schemes of Arrangement as the legal transaction to effect the merger

What were the barriers?• Fear of “Eastern Seaboard” takeover

• Concern that we would lose regional voice and local focus

• Everyone started on the journey, not everyone merged

When did it happen?

1 June, 2018

Where are we at now?• Business as Usual services

• Combining 9 sets of:• Accounts• Policies and procedures• IT systems• Websites• Social media accounts• HR practices

Where are we at now?• Established National Management Team

• National Strategy was presented at AGM 24 November 2018

• Annual Operating Plans being developed across regions

What are the organisational learnings?• Things will take longer than originally estimated

• Stamp Duty

• Some people do not like change

• It will take longer than you think for things that seem simple

What were my learnings?• Its going to take longer than you think to get there

• Its going to take longer than you think for the benefits of the decision to shine through

• Make sure you or someone else records the process and does their Masters or Doctorate on it!!!

What were my learnings?• Always make sure you ask the niggling questions

• Reading a constitution 10 times does make the words swim

• Be ready to go from a CEO to a National Director position

• Queensland is a pretty good state to move to!

What would I do differently?• If we didn’t have such a committed pro bono team we would need

to consider commercially engaging legal team

• Engage a larger Merger team to manage the significant workload

• Start the work on aligning some things prior to the actual merger for a smoother (and quicker) transition

Would I do it again?

VISION: All women, young women and girls are safe with equal access to power opportunity and resources

Becoming a National OrganisationWhy Merge?The not-for-profit landscape in Australia is changing rapidlyWhy Merge?How did the process begin?Who was involved?Who was involved?What was involved?What was involved?How did we do it?How did we do it?How did we do it?What were the barriers?When did it happen?Slide Number 15Where are we at now?Where are we at now?Slide Number 18Slide Number 19What are the organisational learnings?What were my learnings?What were my learnings?What would I do differently?Would I do it again?