Q-and-A With Peter Wilderotter, president and CEO, Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
The Life Rolls On Foundation and Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation announced recently that the two spinal cord injury-focused organizations would merge and the Life Rolls On Foundation, based in Los Angeles, will serve as the West Coast headquarters and division of the Reeve Foundation.
The Reeve Foundation is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to finding cures and treatments for spinal cord injuries and improving the lives of people living with paralysis. Life Rolls On, founded by Jesse and Josh Billauer, is dedicated to improving the quality of life for young people affected by spinal cord injury and uses action sports as a platform to inspire possibilities despite paralysis.
FundRaising Success had a chance to speak with Peter T. Wilderotter, president and CEO of the Reeve Foundation, about the merger, how it will affect the work both organizations have been doing, and the challenges and benefits of such unions.
FundRaising Success: What prompted this merger? Was it at all influenced by the tough economic times?
Peter Wilderotter: The times certainly had a part in it, but we have been in discussions with them for several years and we realized that they have a younger demographic, a great program of "they will surf again" that we would like to expand to take in all activities and interests as we expand the reach and goals of our Quality of Life Program.
FS: What are some of the goals you hope to accomplish with the merger?
PW: Create a community with a stronger and more effective reach that reflects the largesse of our community: 1,275,000 as recently identified in our prevalence study
FS: To what extent will both organizations merge programs, services and mission? Will they operate as separate entities with two names or join under one name?
PW: We will operate under the Reeve banner and infrastructure — Life Rolls On will become a division under Reeve, keep some board members and recruit new ones, and expand the programs and efficiencies of the Life Rolls On program and brand.
FS: What are some of the challenges of a merger like this? What are the benefits?
PW: The challenge is that the devil is in the details. The IRS rules make it cumbersome and difficult, bringing the donors along, working through institutional cultures and histories. The benefits are less duplication, strength in numbers and potential reach — messages to similar sized organizations.
FS: For organizations out there that might be considering a merger with another like-missioned organization, what advice can you share with them? What are some key indicators they should look to that will tell them whether a merger is the right thing for them?
PW: Getting the principles to agree and then their leadership to begin to put it on paper and be totally transparent in the discussions. Communication and perseverance and keeping eyes on the prize.
This simply doesn't happen enough in this sector and it must. Nonprofits have been growing as entities in far greater percentages than revenue has in the past several years. We don't need more nonprofits — we need more focus, dollars going directly to programs, etc. The founders of Life Rolls On — Josh and Jessie Billauer — are heroes, supermen, if you will, for putting program and community ahead of something they gave so much of their sweat to build. The Reeve Foundation intends to honor that extraordinary spirit by growing this program to new heights they never believed possible.
