Summary

We need to normalize mergers, shared services, and closures as natural ways of evolving our work. Kate Harris has spent her career helping organizations ask the question most of us avoid: is our current structure actually serving our mission? Her approach transforms organizational transitions from crisis management into strategic choice—because the work matters more than any individual organization, and the more intentional we get about structure, the better the work will be.

What’s in it for you:

You're wondering what organizational structure even means—and whether you have the right one!
You're considering some kind of significant change—merger, dissolution, spinning off a program—and want to do it thoughtfully
You're curious about collaborating with another organization but aren't sure how to set it up for success
You believe the work matters more than institutional survival (but need help thinking through what that actually looks like)

Helia’s Perspective

I was introduced to Kate Harris through Katya Smyth's Good Endings story about FFI's thoughtful wind-down. Katya mentioned Kate's article "Considering Closure," and I was immediately drawn to someone who had made a career out of the stuff most of us run from—organizational transitions, mergers, dissolutions, and structural changes.

I deeply believe we need to normalize mergers, shared services , and closures as natural ways of evolving our work. Sometimes we get so committed to the organization we are operating we lose sight of the mission. The organization is just a container for the work— and it’s the work that matters the most. AND the more intentional we get about the structure, the better the work will be. While organizational structure is, for most people, not "sexy," the structures we set up to operate our organizations are often the primary decider of HOW work gets done and ultimately make the difference in how effective we are. People say "no money, no mission," but that’s not the full story. I believe that without the right structure, ideas never get the chance to live, no matter how much money you have.

*Me and my rescue pup, Happy. She has an endless supply of licks!*

Kate's approach isn't about making organizations "more efficient"—it's about creating the conditions where real impact becomes possible by actually aligning how we're set up with what we're trying to achieve.

But first, we need to normalize organizational change as evolution, not failure. Kate pushes back on the idea that closing equals failure: "It's only failure if you believe keeping an organization open matters more than the mission it serves. What's missing is the question: Who gets hurt if we continue on like this? " When we start from this foundation—that the work matters more than any individual organization—everything else becomes possible.

Kate’s Story

Kate's career path became clear when she realized a pattern was developing in her work life that she hadn't noticed before. As she told me, "This is one of those things where there's sort of a thread in your career that you don't quite pick up on until there's enough concentration of events that you realize something is following you. Either you keep running away from it or you turn around and confront it."

She was listening to a podcast called Leadership Mosaic talking about mergers and acquisitions because the organization she worked for was being acquired when she heard a woman talk about a career path being more of a mosaic than a path. “You pick up these pieces of all of your personal and professional experiences and, at some point, you can dump the pieces out and see what shape they take."

For years, Kate kept finding herself in organizations during periods of transition—as director of development when her organization acquired another one, working with healthcare clients dealing with mergers and acquisitions. "I ran from it because I didn't understand it and it's quite tumultuous when you go through a process like that."

Until she had a realization: "Instead of changing jobs every time I come up against this, what if I just turned around and ran towards it? And I haven't looked back since."

That shift—from running away to running toward—led her to develop a comprehensive approach to organizational structure that she's used with dozens of organizations. "I really think it's a disservice that we don't often talk about organizational structure in the nonprofit sector. I do this work because alignment between mission, vision, and the way the organization is structured matters a lot for the effectiveness of that mission delivery."

But here's what struck me most: Kate also wants to normalize the conversation about changing an organizational structure. “It's okay for nonprofits to talk about merger. It's okay for them to talk about dissolution. It's okay for them to talk about changing their structure. And if there's a collaborative solution to what they're doing, all the better because the issues we're dealing with are increasingly complex. They're interconnected. And to assume that we can do any of that on our own, I think sends us down the wrong path."

Her why is clear: "I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that structural change is about less — about shrinking the sector. I'm actually trying to make the sector bigger. I'm trying to make the sector more influential and more effective. I'm trying to make it louder and bigger and stronger." And she believes we do that through thoughtful organizational transitions, collaboration, and aligning structure with mission. "We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails. Learning how to shepherd our organizations through structural changes builds adaptive capacity and resilience in a world that is constantly shifting.”

What this looks like in practice

Kate's work is built around normalizing organizational change and then providing practical frameworks for thinking through structure intentionally. Before getting into Kate’s recommendations, here’s a quick primer on organizational structure for those who are new to the term.

Organizational structure is the vehicle that carries your mission forward—it's how you set up your nonprofit to do the work, not just what legal form you take. While many people think being a 501c3 defines their structure, that's just a tax code designation. Your actual structure includes how you organize your people (staff, board, volunteers), your processes (the back-end systems that make things move forward), your programs (what you do every day), and how all of these align with your purpose (mission, vision, values).

Structure determines who makes decisions, how money flows, how programs are delivered, and whether you're operating as a solo organization, in collaboration with others, through a fiscal sponsorship, as a joint venture, or in some other configuration. The right structure depends entirely on where you're trying to go—solving complex, interconnected problems often requires different vehicles than addressing single issues.

What Kate recommends: Share this concept with your team. Explain that: "If your mission and vision as an organization is the destination that you're trying to get to, the vehicle that gets you there, that's your structure." This isn't just a metaphor—it fundamentally shifts how people think about their organization.
Why this matters: Instead of "We've always done it this way," you start asking "Is this the right vehicle for where we're trying to go?" Kate uses this to help organizations think about "not only who needs to be on the bus but also what kind of a bus do we need? And is it a bus at all? Maybe we need a jet plane to get where we are going. " She also helps them consider whether they're trying to solve complex problems with broken-down vehicles. She hears leaders articulate a compelling vision but it’s not aligned with the business model: " I hear organizations proclaim, ‘ We're going to solve homelessness.’ Yes, of course, let's do that. That's necessary. We need that. We need people to be housed, but we're not going to get everybody there on your little scooter." And sometimes the solution is collaboration: "If you've got multiple organizations with multiple little scooters, what happens if you all pool your resources and buy a big old bus? Now we might actually get somewhere."
How to replicate: Take time with your team to literally draw this out.Think of it like planning a road trip. Kate suggests making a visual map and asking: "Where are we today? Where do we want to be? How fast do we need to go? And who do we need to bring with us?” Once you have all the pieces laid out, it’s time to ask: What kind of car are we driving right now?" Organizations often come up with illuminating examples—"Maybe we're slowly making our way there in my aunt's 1995 Corolla. It’s cozy and familiar which is fine for getting around town but it's not trustworthy enough for a longer road trip. Maybe it would be better, faster to take a bus or a train.” Once organizations see this visualized, it’s easier to ask the question “What kind of a car, or structure, do we wish we were driving?”
What Kate recommends: She walks organizations through a comprehensive inventory using what she calls the Four Ps: People (everybody who cares about, is connected to, or is affected by your mission), Processes (the back-end systems that make your organization move forward), Programs (what you do every day), and Purpose (your mission, vision, values). "I'm surprised how often organizations jump to planning before really taking stock of where they are now. Like proactively going to the doctor for a check up”
Why this matters: "When all of those gears are spinning in sync with each other, that purpose wheel moves and that's how you actually get impact coming out of your organization." This comprehensive approach means nothing gets left out, which was a problem Kate experienced as a fundraising consultant when she "couldn't really touch these other things even if I knew those other things were affecting the fundraising."
How to replicate: Start simple. Kate suggests: "If I were to think about all the different aspects of my organization right now on a scale of 1 to 10, where are we really firing on all cylinders? Where are we not doing well? And include in that inventory what kind of structure you have and how it is or isn't serving you."
What Kate recommends: Kate says that sometimes when organizations begin to articulate the road they’ve been traveling, they notice that they’re not the only car out here. It’s not for everyone, but there’s a reason we sometimes carpool. Collaboration offers another path forward: "Multiple organizations can combine what they have and invest in something bigger together—suddenly that shared bus makes the journey possible. But to do that, you’ve got to make some agreements as a group about how this whole shared bus business is going to work.”
Why this matters: "There's a reason why we have weddings. It’s a big deal that you're going to do this thing with somebody else. You should probably think a little bit about it. Most people put some thought into their vows. Collaboration is a chance to decide how you'll show up in the partnership."
How to replicate: Instead of letting collaborations develop informally, create clear agreements upfront. No matter how clearly mapped out your route is, there will be roadblocks and detours you have to navigate together. As Kate says, "You can spend a lot of time having to undo a lack of clarity." Answer the practical questions before you start: "How's the money going to move? Who gets to make decisions about what? How will we measure impact? How will we determine if this collaboration is working?
What Kate recommends: She approaches organizational transitions—including dissolution—as normal, necessary parts of a healthy social sector. "Our world is constantly changing and things are ephemeral... To assume that you can create an entity that doesn’t have seasons is really remarkable to me."
Why this matters: Kate pushes back on the idea that closing equals failure: "It's only failure if you believe keeping an organization open matters more than the mission it serves. What's missing is the question: who gets hurt if we continue on like this?"
How to replicate: Include "Should we exist in our current form?" and "Are we still relevant?” as regular strategic planning questions. Kate compares this to preventive healthcare: "Just like going to the doctor for a checkup, just like taking your car in for an oil change... evaluating your structure is that safety check on your organization."

Secret Sauce & Takeaways

If there's one thing you should do: Start including structural questions in your regular strategic planning. Don't wait for a crisis to ask whether your current setup serves your mission.
Common pitfall to avoid: Assuming structure is someone else's job or that it's too complicated to think about. "Most nonprofit leaders don't have a great understanding of what their structure is. Instead of saying “we’re a nonprofit” (which is just a tax designation) find a way to describe how you’re structured.”"
Set up collaboration for success: Take the time to answer the nitty gritty questions before you start: "How's the money going to move? Who gets to make decisions about what? How will we measure impact? How will we determine if this collaboration is working?”

Questions to ask yourself

What kind of vehicle are you driving right now? Is it well-suited to the journey you're trying to take?

In your scenario planning, how honestly do you consider whether your organization should exist in its current form?
Is there anybody you should be collaborating with that you're not? What would formal collaboration make possible?
Are you spending more energy on organizational survival than mission impact?

Want to Try This?

Templates & Guides:
- Kate recommends starting with the Sustained Collaboration Network - they have a roadmap and even offer grants in some places to support structural change work
- Helia Collective member Camille Acey and her organization, The Wind Down has incredible resources including a self-assessment, a suite of super-practical tools to explore and/or design closures and The Museum of Closed NGOs (crowd-sourced collection of announcements by closed nonprofit organizations and project)
- Organizational change often prompts staff changes and vice versa. Naomi Hattaway offers a firm but gentle framework for attending to the human side of staff transitions and succession planning. She embraces the reality that people leave, so why not attend “Leaving Well.”
Recommended Reads:
- Kate's Considering Closure article with Kate Piatt-Eckert (the piece that led me to her!)
- Check out Kate's "Merger Mondays" on LinkedIn for real examples of organizational transitions
Connections
- Kate is available to help move you through — email her at kate@kateharrisgroup.com with subject line 'Helia Connect’.
- Helia Collective member Camille Acey’s The Wind Down “designs, builds, and delivers more conscious and caring nonprofit closures” — and includes and an extensive list of others working in Closure to explore.
- Most EDs who've been through mergers or dissolutions are willing to talk — Kate suggests finding examples you relate to and reaching out. To find relevant examples, search her library of #mergermondays.

About the Contributor

Kate realized her career was more like a mosaic than a path when she kept finding herself in organizations during transitions—until she stopped running from the chaos and decided to run toward it instead. Her dog is named Atlas, which feels perfect for someone helping organizations figure out how to carry the weight of big structural questions with more intention and less overwhelm.

This article comes from a coffee chat with Dianna in July 2025. These conversations form the heart of the Helia Library – because I've learned the most from doing and from talking with other doers willing to share their wisdom. We don't need to start from blank pages or do everything alone.

As always, take what's helpful, leave what's not, and make it your own.

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Article & Resource Tags

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