A Not-for-profit Merger Case Study: New Media BC and the Wireless Innovation Network of BC

By Rochelle Grayson

On October 20, 2009, New Media BC and the Wireless Network of BC (WINBC) ratified their merger and began planning the emergence of a new organization called DigiBC: The Digital Media + Wireless Association of BC. It was a great day of celebration and reflection!

Why a merger?
Founded in 1998, New Media BC had the mandate to promote and connect BC's thriving digital media companies , and to grow the industry by enlisting the support of government and private sector partners from BC and abroad. WINBC, founded in 2001, had a mandate to foster collaboration among early-stage wireless companies in BC and market itself as the focal point for wireless in BC.

In June 2009, New Media BC's President stepped down to return to the private sector. The Board needed to put someone in place quickly and since I was a Board Member and had recently left my position as President of Work at Play, I offered to help out until we found a new successor, with one clear stipulation: I was NOT interested in taking over the position permanently.

I stepped in as Acting/Interim President with a first order of business to do an industry audit to evaluate the competitive landscape. I asked members, former members, government agencies, and industry leaders for candid feedback about the organization and what value it was providing. The responses were quite revealing:

• New Media BC should focus on fewer, but more targeted, events and collaborate more with other associations. New Media BC had organized the Vancouver Digital Week 2009 and that was seen as a successful event; however, many of the organization's other activities were overlapping with events from other grass-root organizations that had emerged over the years.
  
• New Media BC should leverage the skills of its member companies better. As an organization representing the digital media industry, New Media was not actively engaging members to help the organization with its own Digital Media Strategy.
  
• New Media BC should engage the private sector more in its discussions with the government. Industry-led initiatives proved much more effective and New Media needed to facilitate, not lead, these advocacy discussions.
  
• New Media BC had done a great job incubating its digital media sectors, but now many other associations were targeting digital media companies, e.g. the BC Technology Industry Association, the Canadian Film & Television Producers Association, WINBC. Now, digital media companies, with limited budgets, had to decide which association to join.

Based on this feedback, the Board decided to revisit New Media BC's strategic direction and mission statement. How could the organization remain relevant and what were the core benefits the association was providing to its members? We also looked at other associations targeting our member companies and quickly realized that there were too many associations in BC vying for the attention of our member companies and government funding. The Board decided, therefore, that consolidation, i.e. a merger, was an option we should explore.

With whom do we merge?
As we looked at the landscape of BC associations, it became quite clear who we should approach first: WINBC. New Media BC and WINBC had been collaborating on several events over the past 2 years. And, we were even planning a combined Digital Media & Wireless Showcase for the 2010 Olympic Games. It was like we had been “dating” and now it was time to propose.

Before approaching the Board of WINBC, I spoke with the organization’s Executive Director to see if he might be interested in spearheading a merged organization, and if his Board of Directors would be interested in exploring the idea. It turned out that a merger had been discussed for some time at the WINBC Board level and the ED felt that this would be the perfect time to make this happen. So, the official discussions began in July 2009...

How did we do this?
A Merger Committee consisting of the Chairperson, 2 additional Board Members, and the ED from each organization was immediately created (for a total of 8 people). The Merger Committee was tasked with putting together the Strategic and Operational Plans for the Merged Organization. The Merger Committee reviewed and provided strategic direction for the plans weekly, with much of the Operational Planning coming from the EDs. These plans were then presented to the larger Boards for additional feedback and approval. The planning process went quickly and took a total of 4 months to receive formal ratification from our members. DigiBC was formally incorporated in December 2009.

Lessons Learned
We are all quite excited by the opportunities that lay ahead for DigiBC! To ensure its success, here are a few of the lessons learned as part of the merger process:

• Ensure that both associations come to the table as equals. This is the only way to make sure that it is a true merger.
  
• Be clear about your respective mandates and make sure that the merger will improve your ability to realize your grand visions.
  
• Communicate clearly how your members will fit into the new association and what additional benefits they will see.
  
• Minimize the legacy thinking (or people) from previous associations. There were a total of 30 existing Board Members between the two associations. DigiBC was incorporated with only 14 Board Members (7 from each association) with another 8-10 positions open for new Board Members. In fact, I stepped down to ensure that DigiBC had a fresh start.
  
• Communicate often! Change is quite difficult and ensuring the lines of communication are open is critical. Everyone involved in the associations needs to understand what decisions are happening. This means frequent and proactive communications throughout the process with your members, Board Members, funding agencies, etc. Be clear about why this merger will benefit all of your stakeholders.

Change is never easy, but I am confident that DigiBC is off to a great start and I look forward to seeing where this next chapter leads!

About Rochelle Grayson
Rochelle was most recently the Acting President/Board Member of New Media BC. Prior to that, she was the President of Work at Play, a digital media agency focused on the monetization of digital content for large entertainment companies. With an extensive background in business, technology, and digital media, Rochelle has leveraged 19 years of experience to lead and launch several innovative digital media initiatives, working with a combination of both highly analytical and creative individuals.

Rochelle is equally comfortable discussing digital media monetization models, economic development initiatives, social media trends, and web 2.0 technologies. Rochelle currently sits on the Boards of Canadian Women in Communications and Computers for Schools BC.

Since 2008, Rochelle has been nominated as one of Canada's Top 100™ Most Powerful Women, named one of Business in Vancouver's Top Forty under 40, named one of Vancouver's Top 10 Technology Women and received the Canadian Women in Communications' Trailblazer: Excellence in Leadership Award. She holds an MBA in Finance and Business Strategy from the University of Chicago, as well as Master Certifications in Product Development Management and Business Facilitation.

For more information, please visit www.Rochelle.ca.

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