Volution Viewpoint

Insights & Highlights from Volution Advisors
Launch Edition | December 2025

Happy Holidays!

At this time of year, we are especially grateful for our social impact community and the extraordinary dedication you show every day. This has been a challenging year — with federal funding cuts, a government shutdown, and so much more — yet you continue to step in, step up, and make a meaningful difference. A special thanks to Executive Directors for your visionary, dedicated leadership and tireless work to keep your organizations moving forward through these challenging times. We are truly honored to partner with so many of you and witness the impact you make.

Welcome to Volution Viewpoint

We’re thrilled to introduce Volution Viewpoint, our new quarterly newsletter designed to share highlights and insights from our work and the field.

At Volution Advisors, we partner with social impact organizations, their leaders, and philanthropists to support the transformation of people, communities, and systems — all in service of building a more just, equitable world. Our name stems from “evolution” and “revolution” — a belief in the power of change over time, and the courage to catalyze it when needed.

This newsletter is a reflection of that belief — a space to highlight the work we do, the ideas that inspire us, and the collective wisdom of our network.

Is a Merger or Acquisition Right for Your Organization Now?

In today’s context, many nonprofits and charter schools face a sobering reality: resources are tight and needs are growing. Recent data from the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) underscores the urgency:

Demand is rising: 85% of nonprofit leaders anticipate increased service needs in 2025.
Financial strain is mounting: More than a third ended 2024 with an operating deficit—the highest rate in 10 years of NFF’s survey data. Over half of nonprofits have three months or less of cash on hand, and nearly one in five have just a single month’s buffer.

Nonprofits are typically launched by passionate founders who are inspired to drive impact for a particular cause, and many organizations differ only slightly in mission or theory of action. Sometimes, they are even duplicative.

One potential path forward is a merger or acquisition to strengthen mission and impact, reduce overhead costs, and further sustainability.

Read more here as Jacquelyn Davis, Managing Director, and Jessica Sutters, Advisor, break down what M&A means for nonprofits, key considerations, and how to determine if your organization is a good fit.

Read the Full Blog

Interested in Learning more? Watch our M&A 101 Webinar

Explore how strategic consolidation can strengthen mission, increase impact, and create efficiencies — without sacrificing an organization’s identity.

🎥 Watch the Recording: [Link]
🔑 Passcode: 0VJ4d#ca

If you’d like to discuss how these insights might apply to your organization, we’d love to continue the conversation.

Want to dive deeper into nonprofit M&A?
We’ve curated articles from trusted experts to help you explore further.

Nonprofit Mergers that Work (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2017)
Donald Haider
Explores what drives successful nonprofit mergers and why more organizations should consider them as a strategy to increase impact.

Metropolitan Chicago Nonprofit Merger Research Project (2016)
Study of 25 nonprofit mergers in the Chicago area (as cited above)

Learnings from our Practice Areas

What We’re Learning at This Challenging Moment: Leading Through Hard Times Can Also Strengthen Culture

This year has been tough for the social impact sector on many fronts: federal cuts, philanthropic constriction, government shutdowns, and increased need. We’ve had the privilege of supporting several clients through these extremely difficult times—particularly reductions-in-force—while helping them preserve (and even reinforce) the conditions for a high-performing, continuously learning culture. We saw again and again that organizational health is defined not by moments of ease, but by how leaders show up in moments of strain.

Below are some key learnings we’re taking forward. Read more in our blog.

1. Humane RIFs Require Clarity, Transparency, and Care

We saw firsthand that how an organization handles layoffs has a profound impact on culture. Strategic, transparent decisions helped employees understand the “why,” diffused uncertainty, and showed that values weren’t abandoned under pressure. Supporting those who were impacted with job search support, severance (even if small), and care signaled compassion—and it influenced how the remaining team felt about staying.

Key Takeaway: Clarity is a form of care. The tone leaders set during reductions becomes the culture people remember.

2. “Stay Conversations” are a Must

In the midst of cuts, one of the most stabilizing actions leaders took was proactively affirming high-performing team members. These conversations didn’t just reduce anxiety—they strengthened trust, surfaced concerns early, and reinforced belonging. It’s essential to show commitment and appreciation to team members you want to retain.

Key Takeaway: Intentional retention conversations are one of the simplest, most powerful ways to prevent the risk of attrition, reduce uncertainty, and motivate team members to continue their focused, best work.

3. Continuous Learning Can’t Pause in a Crisis

Amid restructuring, the foundations of the “growth flywheel”—clarity, real-time feedback, reflection, and celebration—became even more essential. When teams knew what success looked like, received immediate feedback, and saw leaders model vulnerability, psychological safety held – which is the core of enabling team members to take risks and accept constructive feedback comfortably. Leaders need to model seeking feedback themselves and ask for it often to show that everyone is part of a continuous growth culture.

Key Takeaway: Organizational health comes from staying committed to growth habits even when the ground is shifting.

4. Accountability and Humanity Go Hand in Hand

We were reminded that honest feedback and clear expectations make both development and difficult decisions more humane. When people know where they stand and how they have met clear, transparent expectations, surprises diminish and dignity increases.

Key Takeaway: Real kindness is clarity. Accountability isn’t the opposite of humanity—it’s part of it.

The Bottom Line

Done thoughtfully and carefully, RIFs don’t have to break a culture. With transparency, care, and a commitment to continuous growth, organizations can emerge more focused, aligned, and connected.

Hard moments don’t define an organization.
How leaders choose to navigate them does.

Read the Full Reflections

Launching Our Special Education Partnership

We’re excited to announce our new Special Education initiative in partnership with Creative Associates International (CA). We were invited to join CA’s national SPED effort to support states, districts, and charter networks in improving outcomes for children—an urgent need, given that only 12% of 4th graders with IEPs read at grade level (NAEP).

Creative Associates brings nearly 50 years of global expertise in inclusive education, curriculum design, teacher training, and family engagement. Combined with Volution’s decades of systems-level strategy and implementation experience, this partnership strengthens our ability to help leaders rethink and improve special education.

Learn more about our services

Meet Our Team!

Welcome to Our Newest Partner: Dr. Heather Harding

We’re thrilled to welcome Heather to the Volution Advisors team.

Heather believes in the power of public education — and in the people who make it work.

A servant leader with over 25 years of experience across teaching, research, philanthropy, and advocacy, she has led organizations including Teach For America, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Campaign for Our Shared Future.

Now, as Executive in Residence at Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC), she continues advancing racial equity and courageous leadership in education.

Meet the Rest of the Team! Click on Bios.

Click on photos to learn more!

🎬 In the Field: Managing Partner Jacquelyn Davis Moderates the “Left Behind” Film Screening Panel

On October 27, our Managing Partner, Jacquelyn Davis, moderated a powerful post-screening discussion of the award-winning documentary Left Behind in Washington, DC. The film chronicles the journey of five NYC moms to establish the first public school in the country for students with dyslexia.

The panel — featuring National Literacy Expert Kareem Weaver, Filmmaker Anna Toomey, and one of the tenacious moms behind the featured school — sparked meaningful dialogue on literacy, special education, and educational transformation.

It was an inspiring evening that reflected Jacquelyn’s lifelong commitment to advancing access and systems change through leadership.

We’re accepting new projects for 2026. If you're planning major work next year, we’d love to explore how we can support your team.