#MergerMondays: Nonprofit Mergers Benefitting Children
Across the country, nonprofits serving children and families are finding new strength through collaboration. These partnerships and mergers keep doors open, extend arms of support to parents, and carry the weight of legacies that families have trusted for generations.
Photo by Aaron Burden
In Wisconsin, Mary Linsmeier Schools joined forces with Ebenezer Child Care Centers this February, ensuring a smooth transition as longtime director Dave Linsmeier retired. With four locations serving families statewide, the merger protects affordable access to early learning as the Child Care Counts program faces uncertainty. Staff and programs will remain intact, while the combined nonprofit brings additional resources to families already paying nearly $12,000 a year for childcare.
In Iowa, two Sioux City neighbors — Mary J. Treglia Community House Preschool and Mary Elizabeth Childcare and Preschool — launched the Mary Education Partnership. Operating just blocks apart, the providers are now coordinating preschool, childcare for 2-year-olds, and before- and after-school programs for kindergarten through 5th grade. A joint advisory board guides the effort, preserving each organization’s history while expanding capacity to serve more neighborhood children.
In California, Children’s Resource & Referral of Santa Barbara County merged with the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, marking a new chapter for both. The newly renamed Children’s Resource & Referral’s Discovery Museum continues three decades of playful discovery while adding parent education, child development programs, and innovative offerings like STEM nights and multilingual access. By combining missions, the organizations are deepening their reach to underserved families and strengthening the educational continuum countywide.
And in Maine, Downeast Community Partners is preparing to merge with the Aroostook County Action Program to safeguard essential services in three rural counties. Faced with financial challenges and delayed audits, DCP turned to ACAP — already operating its Head Start program — to stabilize operations. Leaders expect full consolidation by 2027, preserving heating assistance, transportation, childcare, and more for families across Hancock, Washington, and Aroostook counties.
Together, these stories highlight a hopeful trend: nonprofits uniting to streamline services, strengthen operations, and ensure children’s needs remain at the center. On this Labor Day, we celebrate the dedication of those working behind the scenes to protect and expand opportunities for our most vulnerable — proof that collaboration is one of the most powerful tools we have for building thriving communities.
For more about each of these impactful mergers, read here:
