Services
Services
Civic Strength Partners helps you plan strategically for organizational transitions, mergers and partnerships, and protection of assets. We help preserve the value of lessons, tools, and relationships that have driven the mission and impact of civil society globally.
Here’s our 5-step process
CONNECT & EXPLORE
Opening the conversation and understanding your context.
Welcoming interested organizations, clarifying needs, and exploring fit through relational, trust-building dialogue.
Organizations considering a transition are invited to fill out an initial intake form, which prompts our team to reach out and schedule an intake call. Our team will talk through your questions, priorities, opportunities and needs, toward finding the best matches and resource partners.
MATCH & RECOMMEND
Deepening understanding and confirming shared intent.
Providing guided assessments and reflection to clarify goals, readiness, and alignment – followed by a shared commitment to proceed.
We regularly review a growing database of social change organizations exploring collaboration. Following a discovery call, we’ll assess alignment with potential partners and resources – including merger matches, technical service providers, and regional or thematic funders. Participating organizations receive a tailored follow-up with match suggestions, relevant tools or frameworks, and options for continued engagement.
ALIGN & COMMIT
Co-creating a tailored engagement plan.
Presenting a proposed approach based on your goals and context, confirming the scope of support, and entering into a formal partnership.
Our team provides targeted, in-depth analyses of an interested client organization’s readiness to undertake a strategic transition. CSP helps to map each client’s value proposition, critical assets, internal structures, and ecosystem relationships – and begins to help identify key enablers and risks. This may include analysis of operational, legal, financial, and cultural dimensions. Each client receives a high-level synthesis capturing insights, alignment areas, and strategic considerations for next steps.
DESIGN & BUILD
Delivering support and strengthening the broader ecosystem.
Facilitating the transition process, while also contributing tools, learning, and infrastructure for the wider field.
For organizations that CSP is well-positioned to help directly through a strategic transition process, our team will design and propose a customized professional services support package. This may include expert input on governance, finance, legal structure, technology, safeguarding, or external communication – alongside project management and facilitation support. The goal: ensure each client transition is values-aligned, technically sound, and sustainable. This phase centers implementation – building what’s next while preserving what matters most.
TRANSITION, REFLECT & COMMUNICATE
Wrapping up with intention and amplifying learning.
Supporting a thoughtful hand-off, capturing insights, and equipping partners to sustain momentum – while feeding sector-wide learning and storytelling.
While very few organizations chose this moment of dynamism, the social sector’s responses have an enormous amount to teach – both other organizations navigating similar circumstances and organizations building a more resilient future. For CSP, it’s not only critical to be able to provide direct resources and support, but to measure, share, and iteratively improve upon what we learn along the way.
For Social Change Organizations
Around the world, many nonprofits are facing a funding crisis with mounting pressures. Leadership changes, political shifts, and shifting priorities add to the uncertainty. Too often, organizations are left to navigate these transitions alone — without the resources, support, or time they need. This can put valuable knowledge, tools, and community trust at risk.
Since early 2025, CSP has engaged with hundreds of organizations around the world exploring partnerships, mergers, and other transformations — helping them preserve what matters most while positioning for what’s next.
At Civic Strength Partners (CSP), we walk alongside organizations in these challenging times. Transitions take many forms: renewal, merger, or sometimes closure. We believe that in all cases, the process can be done with care, integrity, and responsibility — ensuring that knowledge, people, and communities are not left behind.
We do not provide direct funding, but we offer hands-on guidance, expertise, and connections to help organizations make confident choices about their future.
What We Offer
Matchmaking
We connect organizations with potential partners that share their mission and values. This includes identifying and introducing organizations ready to explore collaborations, mergers, or acquisitions through a safe and structured process.
Transition Preparation Support
We work with organizations to prepare for major changes with clarity and foresight. Our support includes:
- Assessing readiness for change
- Defining an organizational North Star and envisioning a purpose-driven future
- Developing strategies for leadership succession and long-term sustainability
- Strengthening legal, organizational, or digital resilience
- Planning responsible exits from programs or communities
- Preserving and sharing unique knowledge, data, and tools
- Supporting thoughtful wind-downs and closures when they are the most responsible path
Merger Accompaniment & Implementation
We accompany organizations through the practical and emotional work of merging. This includes facilitation, coordination with technical experts (legal, HR, financial), and ongoing support to ensure the merger process is mission-driven, equitable, and sustainable.
If you’re seeking funding or other types of support, our Toolkit includes links to helpful alternatives.
For Partners
As the development sector shifts and organizations transition, there is a growing number of networks that are providing communal workspaces, professional services, and infrastructure support to ease these shifts. Efforts range from amplifying strategic knowledge and advice to offering job listings and recruitment support networks. As we expand our work, we’re building a peer learning space that fosters shared knowledge and solidarity.
For Service Providers
Organizational transitions are complex and require a variety of expertise and resources. CSP is creating a large partner and referral network of ecosystem support partners and individuals with technical expertise that bring resources, specialist knowledge, ideas, and experience. We’d love to work with professionals who are focused on supporting high-integrity, high-impact options for aligned organizations.
