Core Philosophy:

The SETSI Baobab Initiative reframes non-profit consolidation not as a sign of failure, but as a strategic, life-affirming act of resilience. Just as the baobab hollows its trunk to create a vital reservoir for the entire ecosystem during droughts, Black-led non-profits can consciously create shared structures to store and channel resources, ensuring their missions, and the communities they serve to not only survive but thrive in lean times.

Vision: A thriving ecosystem of Black-led non-profits that are resilient, resource-secure, and powerfully impactful, achieved through strategic collaboration and consolidation.

Mission: To provide Black-led non-profits with the principles, tools, and support to explore and execute mission-aligned consolidations mergers, acquisitions, and shared-service models as a proactive strategy for enduring impact.

The Four Pillars of the Baobab: The SETSI Framework

The framework is built on four interconnected pillars, represented by the acronym SETSI, which means "foundation" or "base" in several Bantu languages.

Pillar 1: S - Strategic Foundation & Mission Alignment

This is the root system of the Baobab, ensuring it is deeply grounded. Before any structural talk, the foundation must be a shared "Why."

• The "Hollowing" Process: A facilitated series of dialogues where organizations explore:

  • Mission Synergy: Are our missions complementary, adjacent, or identical? Does combining them create a more powerful, unified purpose?

  • Cultural Integration: How do our organizational cultures, values, and community relationships align? This is critical for Black-led organizations where trust and cultural competency are paramount.

  • Vision Casting: What is the collective vision for the combined entity? What problem can we solve together that we cannot solve apart?

• Tool: The Baobab Mission Alignment Canvas – A visual worksheet to map overlapping missions, values, theory of change, and community needs.

Pillar 2: E - Economic Resilience & Resource Pooling

This is the hollow trunk of the Baobab, the reservoir for shared resources. The primary driver is to create a more resilient economic model.

• The "Water" (Resources to be Pooled):

  • Financial Capital: Combining fundraising efforts, donor databases, and grant portfolios. A larger, consolidated organization often has greater appeal to institutional funders and can reduce duplicate administrative costs.

  • Human Capital: Integrating staff and leadership. This can create career pathways, reduce burnout, and pool specialized talent (e.g., a stellar grant writer, a visionary program director).

  • Infrastructure & Systems: Shared office space, CRM software, financial management systems, and legal counsel, leading to significant operational efficiencies.

  • Social & Political Capital: Merging board networks, community influence, and advocacy power to amplify a unified voice.

• Tool: The Resource Reservoir Audit – A joint assessment to inventory all assets and liabilities, both tangible and intangible.

Pillar 3: T - Tactical Integration & Governance

This is the robust structure of the Baobab itself—the bark, the branches—that holds the reservoir. This is the "how-to" of making the consolidation work structurally and legally.

• The Structural Models (The "Forms" of the Baobab):

  1. Full Merger/Acquisition: Two or more organizations become one legal entity. (As in your experience).

  2. Parent-Subsidiary Model: One organization becomes the governing body for others, allowing for brand preservation in program delivery.

  3. Shared Services Cooperative: Organizations remain legally independent but create a new, jointly-owned entity to manage back-office functions (HR, Finance, IT).

  4. Administrative Consolidation: Merging only the administrative and fundraising functions while keeping programs distinct.

• The Integration Process:

• Due Diligence: A thorough and mutually transparent examination of finances, legal standing, contracts, and organizational health.

• Legal Structure Selection: Choosing the optimal 501(c)(3) model with legal counsel.

• Staff & Program Integration: Creating a joint plan for role clarity, reporting lines, and combining program offerings.

• Board Governance Merger: The most sensitive step. This involves creating a new, unified board with representation from all legacy organizations, focused on a new, shared strategic direction.

  Tool: The Baobab Integration Roadmap – A phased project plan with clear milestones, from Memorandum of Understanding to Post-Merger Evaluation.

Pillar 4: I - Impact Amplification & Community Stewardship

This is the fruit, flowers, and shade of the Baobab—the reason it exists, which is to give life. The ultimate goal is not just survival, but heightened and more sustainable community impact.

• Measuring Success:

  • Impact Metrics: Track combined program outcomes, reach, and depth of service.

  • Efficiency Metrics: Measure the reduction in overhead costs and the increase in the percentage of funding going directly to programs.

  • Resilience Metrics: Assess increased cash reserves, donor diversification, and staff retention rates.

  • Community Voice: Regularly gather feedback from the community served to ensure the consolidated entity is more responsive, not less.

• Narrative Control: Proactively telling the story of the consolidation as a strategic, strength-based move for the community, countering any deficit-based narratives.

  Tool: The Impact Amplification Scorecard – A dashboard to track key metrics pre- and post-consolidation.

Phased Implementation of the Baobab Initiative

Phase 1: Germination (Awareness & Assessment)

• Target 10-15 Black-led non-profits in a specific region or sector.

• Host "Baobab Circles" – confidential, facilitated peer-to-peer conversations about the challenges of austerity and the potential of consolidation.

• Identify 2-3 "clusters" of organizations with high mission alignment.

• Provide pro-bono "Baobab Facilitators" (consultants, lawyers, seasoned non-profit leaders like yourself) to each cluster.

• Guide clusters through the Mission Alignment Canvas and Resource Reservoir Audit.

• Fund feasibility studies for the most promising clusters.

• Provide targeted grants for legal fees, consultant support, and integration costs (e.g., IT system migration).

• Implement the Baobab Integration Roadmap.

• Offer mediation services for difficult negotiations, particularly around board governance.

Phase 2: Rooting (Exploration & Design)

Phase 3: Trunk Formation (Negotiation & Execution)

Phase 4: Canopy Growth (Implementation & Amplification)

• Support the newly consolidated entities for 12-24 months post-merger.

• Help them launch their new, amplified brand and impact story.

• Document the process and outcomes to create case studies for the wider sector.

Overcoming Unique Challenges for Black-Led Non-Profits

• The Baobab Initiative must be sensitive to the specific context:

  • The "Strong Black Leader" Syndrome: Avoids burnout by distributing leadership and creating sustainable structures.

  • Fundraiser Mistrust: Some funders prefer a scattered, non-threatening landscape. The Initiative must equip organizations with a powerful narrative to reassure and excite funders about the potential for greater impact.

  • Legacy and Identity: Honoring the legacy and founders of each organization is crucial. The framework builds in rituals and practices to celebrate the past while building the future.

  • Systemic Underfunding: The consolidation is a direct strategy to combat the chronic under-capitalization of Black-led organizations, creating entities that are too big and too important to ignore.