M&A Trusted Service Provider List
Curated by America’s Promise Alliance
In 2025, America’s Promise Alliance launched our M&A Practice to help our member organizations as they navigate the surge in interest in mergers and strategic partnerships that is sweeping the field this year. On this page, you’ll find a list of trusted service providers who are available to support Alliance members to support organizations through different stages of the nonprofit M&A process.
Providers are only on this list if they’ve been vetted and verified by us that they offer aligned and relevant services and have the capacity and willingness to work with and/or prioritize work with Alliance member organizations. In some cases, we’ve negotiated reduced rates or pro bono services for Alliance members. We’re especially grateful to Deloitte for providing a 50% discount on all services to Alliance members. Direct financial assistance for M&A support is also available through SeaChange Capital Partners.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Parvathi Santhosh-Kumar, APA’s Vice President of Community Impact.
Overview of Providers
Click on a partner to learn more about their offerings
Services Provided:| Financial Modeling | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting
Services Provided: Diligence | General Consulting
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support
Services Provided: Grantmaking
Services Provided: Grantmaking
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | General Consulting
ervices Provided: Diligence | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
Bellwether
Website | Key Contacts: Evan Coughenour, Partner (evan.coughenour@bellwether.org); Alex Cortez, Partner, (alex.cortez@bellwether.org)
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
About Bellwether
Bellwether helps education organizations improve long-term sustainability, address fiscal challenges, and navigate mergers and other strategic partnerships so they can achieve greater impact per dollar. We can support organizations across every stage of partner identification, exploration, negotiation, and integration. We help our clients define their strategic “why,” due diligence in identifying strengths and risks, decision-making support, board engagement and coaching, and integration/implementation support. We combine deep experience in education stemming from our 600+ organization client base, our strategic planning and implementation expertise, and a strong mission orientation to help our clients quickly and successfully navigate strategic inflection points.
Services and Pricing
General coaching on mergers: $5K+
Landscape and partner analysis: $20-50K
Formal due diligence and negotiation: $50-150K
Work with an organization from initial merger landscape scans through due diligence, post-merger integration, and a combined strategic plan for the new combined organization: $50k-300K+
Change Elemental
Website | Key Contacts: Natalie Bamdad, Co-Weaver, nbamdad@changeelemental.org
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
About Change Elemental
At Change Elemental, we see the growing complexity of today’s problems as a call to combine our energy and wisdom in ways that will catalyze lasting, transformative change, and uproot long-standing challenges to love, dignity, and justice.This moment calls for effective connection and collaboration. This moment calls for inclusive and imaginative solutions for deep change.
Services and Pricing
Transformative Strategy in Chaos & Complexity: We work with our partners to develop strategic frameworks that provide a clear sense of direction and to cultivate a culture of strategic thinking, learning, and adaptation within their organizations, foundations, and networks. This could look like a rapid strategic alignment session over one to two days or more in depth process with a more robust data gathering and analysis component.
The cost for a strategy project ranges from $10,000 (for a 2-day rapid strategy session) to $100,000 (for a long-term participatory strategy project) and depends on scope, level of stakeholder participation, length of project, etc.
Liberated Finance: Change Elemental’s liberated financial consulting supports nonprofits in aligning financial strategy with organizational values by strengthening systems, embedding liberatory practices, and offering interim leadership to foster collective, sustainable stewardship.
A project in the $6,000-10,000 range would include creating a financial snapshot that supports the team in understanding the organization’s current financial position and future trajectory via a review of accounts, grants, projections, etc. to help ground the leadership team in the organization’s financial story as well as a review of financial systems and recommendations for improvements.
Coaching and Board Facilitation: We partner with organizations, foundations, and networks to develop and support individual and team leadership at multiple levels, to clarify roles and responsibilities, define or re-invent decision-making processes, and create equitable, inclusive environments that build and share power in ways that advance your mission.
In general, coaching contracts start at $2,500. For a larger project, $6,000 would be typical of a governance project to help identify new board members or ongoing leadership coaching for a codirector or other small team; $30,000 would provide ongoing leadership training to a small team or board to help strengthen shared decision making, structures, etc with a combination of virtual and in person sessions. We also offer individual coaching which is budgeted hourly.
For more detailed information on the offerings above, click here.
Doug Sauer Consulting
Website | Key Contacts: Doug Sauer, Principal, doug@dougsauerconsulting.com
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
About Doug Sauer Consulting
Doug Sauer and Susan Weinrich (DSC_TS) are nonprofit capacity building experts that have conducted countless trainings on M&A related topics and have collectively assisted hundreds of strategic restructuring engagements. We know nonprofits inside and out and bring to our engagements considerable firsthand, lived M&A experience. DSC-TS emphasizes “form follows function” with mission as the guiding focus throughout the restructuring process. We start withassessing where the client(s) are, including their individual “readiness” as well as understanding what conversations have already taken place. We work with our clients to establish a facilitated, informed and documented due diligence and negotiating process that best accommodates the needs, interests, and goals of the contemplated affiliation. Agreements and legal structures are shaped to accommodate those interests.
Services and Pricing
Specifically, services available through DSC-TS may include, but are not limited to: neutral facilitation; collection and risk or comparative analysis of relevant due diligence materials (governing documents; board/committee minutes; personnel policies and practices; budgets and financial statements; financial and personnel policies; strategic plans; program information and contracts, etc.); board and organizational structure modeling; logistical meeting support; documentation of the process (such as minutes); drafting non-disclosure and negotiating agreements, resolutions, bylaw amendments, etc.; and, operational integration consultation. Please note that we do not provide legal services, and drafted documents may be subject to review by legal counsel if so decided. Also, although we can do budget analysis and consolidation, DSC-TC services are limited with respect to complex financial modeling.
Pricing & Availability: America’s Promise members will be eligible to receive a free, one-hour consultation. If a proposal is requested, we will ask for select documents to be forwarded for our review and a tailored scope of services will be provided. Our rates range from $150 to $190 per hour of professional services rendered (depending on the complexity of the project) and $130 for administrative assistant support, inclusive of all incidental expenses. A one-time engagement fee between $500 and $900 will be included. The total cost and timeframe is totally dependent on the individual circumstances and the time and effort involved. Our services are available throughout the country. Travel time and expenses are dependent on the location.
Education Innovation Ventures
Website | Key Contacts: Jessica Haselton, Managing Director, JHaselton@ecmc.org
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
About Education Innovation Ventures
Education Innovation Ventures (EIV) is ECMC Foundation’s program-related investment arm, designed to make catalytic investments in early-stage nonprofit and for-profit ventures that aim to improve postsecondary outcomes and economic mobility for underserved learners. By offering risk-tolerant capital, EIV helps ventures scale innovations that address systemic barriers in education. ECMC Foundation itself is a national philanthropic organization committed to eliminating gaps in postsecondary completion by 2040, using a blend of strategic grantmaking and investments to drive systemic change. In the context of consolidations, mergers and acquisitions, EIV’s resources and expertise could help organizations align missions, streamline operations, and expand their reach while maintaining a focus on learner outcomes. As the postsecondary landscape evolves—especially amid funding challenges and shifting market dynamics—EIV’s support could be instrumental in helping mission-driven institutions and edtech ventures merge or acquire strategically to better serve students and communities.
Kate Harris Group
Website | Key Contacts: Kate Harris, Owner & Founder, kate@kateharrisgroup.com
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
About The Katie Harris Group
The Kate Harris Group is a consulting firm for nonprofits and community organizations who want to grow through collaboration. With a blend of insight, dedication and real-world experience, we bring a thoughtful, hands-on approach to every partnership, helping organizations navigate change with clarity and purpose.
Services and Pricing
Discover: $2,500-$4,500
Assess: $7,750-$20,500 per organization
Negotiate: $14,000-$40,000 per organization
Implement: $2,500-$8,000 monthly, renewable every 90 days
Integrate: Costs vary, consider budgeting at least $10,000 or 2-5% of the joint entity’s annual budget to support integration
For more information on the offerings above, click here.
La Piana Consulting
Website | Key Contacts: Lara Jakubowsk, Partner & Head of Growth, jakubowski@lapiana.org
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
About La Piana Consulting
Pioneering new solutions for foundation and nonprofit leadership development. Strong leaders create stronger outcomes. Instead of simply answering an immediate need for management training, we take a holistic view of your nonprofit’s leadership needs, examining and evaluating how contributions from people at all levels interact to advance – or inhibit – your mission. We believe every part of your organization is capable of exerting leadership. We help you bring out the best in each of your colleagues.
Services and Pricing
Note that we would customize any budget to meet client needs.
Webinars: $2,500 - $12,000 depending on length, customization, etc.
Mergers and Alliances Assessment Tool (Readiness Assessment and debrief): $2,500 - $3,500 per organization
1:1 bank of hours: $350/hour for Partners; $250/hour for Senior Consultants
Negotiations: $20,000 - $50,000 (to be split among the parties)
Partner Assessment/Partner Identification – $5,000 - $15,000
Deloitte
Website | Key Contacts: Sarah Brayton, Senior Manager I, sbrayton@deloitte.com
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
About Deloitte
Navigating mergers and acquisitions can be transformative for nonprofit organizations seeking to advance their missions in an evolving landscape. Deloitte’s nonprofit M&A practice is uniquely positioned to serve nonprofits, bringing together social impact strategists from Monitor Institute by Deloitte and our commercial M&A capabilities. This hybrid approach ensures our teams offer deep sector knowledge, rigorous methodology, and solutions tailored to your organization’s values and goals.
Services and Pricing
M&A/Growth Strategy: Clarifying the Path Forward: We help nonprofits explore growth opportunities using our “build, borrow, buy” framework, developed with mission alignment at its core. Together, we clarify which growth ambitions are best suited to organic growth, strategic partnerships, or mergers and acquisitions. An M&A strategy project equips senior leaders and boards to initiate or respond to M&A conversations with confidence. Our process includes:
Facilitated strategy sessions to define growth ambitions and impact goals
Objective assessment of growth options
Alignment on target criteria
Creating shortlists of potential partners or acquisition targets
Typical duration: 6-10 week
Typical nonprofit fees: $250-400K | APA-member discounted fees (additional 50% discount): $125-200K
Due Diligence: Safeguarding Mission and Value: Deloitte helps nonprofits conduct rigorous due diligence to ensure moving forward with the merger is in the best interest of the parties involved. We focus on the factors that matter most—strategic and operational considerations with a focus on surfacing key value drivers and potential risks. Our approach includes:
Pre-due diligence dialogue to surface alignment with leadership teams/boards
Deep dives across six key areas: mission/strategy, financials, landscape, programs, impact, and culture/talent
Stakeholder interviews to gauge areas of alignment and divergence
Alignment workshops to arrive on a shared vision of the combined entity
Risk identification and mitigation
Typical duration: 6-12 weeks
Typical nonprofit fees: $250-450K | APA-member discounted fees (additional 50% discount): $125-225K
Integration Planning & Execution: Once a merger has been agreed to by both sides, our teams support detailed integration planning and, if needed, execution support. Whether your organization requires high-level guidance or hands-on project management, we deliver what’s needed to position the combined entity for lasting impact and smooth operational transition.
Pricing: Every integration is unique—we tailor our support to your needs.
SeaChange
Website | Key Contacts: info@seachangecap.org
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
About SeaChange
SeaChange—through its affiliated funds—makes seed, exploratory, and implementation grants to encourage and support mergers, joint-ventures, shared back office, programmatic alliances and other types of formal, sustained collaboration between nonprofits. These funds include the New York Merger and Collaboration Fund (New York), the SeaChange-Lodestar Fund for Nonprofit Collaboration (National), the Nonprofit Repositioning Fund (Greater Philadelphia) and the Transformational Partnerships Fund (Higher Education). Although we will consider supporting collaborations in any issue area and involving organizations of all sizes, we only make grants where independent, flexible, and fast funding can play a material role in the successful exploration, structuring or completion of a potential transaction. We will not consider grant requests for transactions that have been completed, or that appear to be on-track and well-funded. As a neutral, credible, experienced outside party willing to invest time and money, SeaChange seeks to work constructively with the funders, boards, and leaders of organizations considering collaboration as a strategy to take their missions forward in an effective, efficient, or sustainable way. We are pleased to be a founding member of the Sustained Collaboration Network, a network of nonprofit funders and intermediaries dedicated to making nonprofits more efficient, effective, and sustainable through collaboration.
Volution
Website | Key Contacts: Jacquelyn Davis, jdavis@volutionadv.com
Services Provided: Diligence | Financial Modeling | Market Analysis | BOD Facilitation | General Consulting | Post-Merger Integration Support | Grantmaking
About Volution
We combine deep knowledge of the nonprofit, charter, and for-profit social-impact sectors with proven expertise in strategic growth, sustainability, and mergers and acquisitions. We know the landscapes of issues and organizations and can quickly assess viablepartners. We have led mergers and acquisitions across all these sectors and have a strong understanding of the patterns, issues, and also unique challenges and opportunities organizations face.
Our team provides end-to-end guidance throughout the M&A process for nonprofits, charter schools, and for-profit social impact organizations. With deep experience and expert knowledge with mergers and acquisitions, we help organizations make informed, confident decisions.
Services and Pricing
Strategic Advisory – Assessing opportunities, building alignment across stakeholders, and developing a vision for growth or consolidation.
Partner Identification – Finding and vetting the right partners for merger or acquisition opportunities.
Tactical Guidance – Addressing operational integration, financial modeling, and organizational culture alignment.
Talent Transition & Integration – Supporting humane transitions for leaders exiting and thoughtfully mapping and retaining critical talent within the combined organization.
Regulatory & Legal Navigation – Understanding compliance, governance, and fiduciary responsibilities unique to nonprofits and social-impact organizations.
Transaction Leadership – Managing negotiations, due diligence, and execution to keep processes on track and outcomes successful.