As of September 2019, 61,691 public charities and 11,529 private and public foundations were registered in New York, and one could expect that such numbers have increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread protests against systemic racism.

Most charities are community-based and focus on local needs. The pandemic has put immense strain on the resources of many charitable nonprofits at a time when their services are most desperately needed.

Faced with the prospect of shutting or drastically reducing operations, nonprofits — particularly those that provide overlapping or complimentary services — may consider combining as a means to survive this turbulent moment.

This article first identifies some of the key issues facing nonprofits due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn. Second, we outline how a merger or consolidation could benefit nonprofits in the current climate, and we provide a high-level overview of the steps involved in executing a merger or consolidation of New York nonprofits.