Sharing Culture and Shaping Impact. Inside the Boundless and Merakey USA Affiliation

In this two-episode series, we are delving into the announcement that Boundless and Merakey USA agreed to formally affiliate and advance a new national model for human services. 

• Episode 1— we give you a behind-the-scenes look at the affiliation itself.
  You’ll hear directly from leadership about how this came together, what drove the decision, and what it means from both a strategic and operational perspective.
• Then, in Episode 2, we take it a step further.
  We’ll focus on the new business model that is being created through this partnership—a model designed to address many of the challenges facing nonprofit organizations today, and one that could shape how organizations think about scale and collaboration in the future

Hear firsthand, about how these two leading nonprofit organizations today are executing a strategic affiliation creating a national framework for expanding services, strengthening operations, and enhancing support for thousands of individuals and families. Boundless, based in Columbus Ohio, and Merakey USA, based in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, will affiliate, creating a shared organization dedicated to providing whole-person, whole-life care for people with autism, mental health conditions, substance use disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and other complex needs.

The affiliation brings together two respected nonprofit organizations with a shared commitment to person-centered care, innovation, and community impact. Together, the organizations believe they can help advance a new model for human services, one that combines the strength of local leadership and community relationships with the shared infrastructure, innovation, and coordinated support needed to meet increasingly complex challenges across the sector.

At a time when nonprofit providers face workforce shortages, rising costs, growing regulatory complexity, and increasing demand for services, leaders from both organizations believe the future of human services will require new forms of collaboration that strengthen organizations while preserving the local relationships and trust that communities depend on.

Under the affiliation, Boundless will continue operating under its established name, maintain its leadership team and local governance structure, and continue delivering services throughout Ohio. The affiliation connects Boundless to Merakey's broader platform and capabilities while preserving the organizational identity, leadership, and community presence that have defined its success.

Consulting for Human Services (CFHS), led by Chief Executive Officer Stacy DiStefano, advised on the transaction and supported the organizations throughout the strategic planning and affiliation process, helping develop a partnership grounded in shared values, organizational strength, and a long-term commitment to the communities both organizations serve. CFHS has served as a long-standing strategic advisor to both organizations.

Please also join us for Episode 2 soon, to find out more about partnership opportunities with Jennifer Riha, Chief Strategy Officer at Boundless.

Transcript

Welcome And Host Hand-Off

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome everyone to the Nonprofit Leaders Guide brought to you by Boundless. I'm your host, Scott Light. We're excited to bring you all of our episodes, but boy, this one is really special. We're going to turn over the hosting duties to Stacy DeStefano. She's CEO of Consulting for Human Services. You've heard her as a guest on other episodes, so she's a familiar voice for sure. She's leading the conversation with two CEOs, one from Boundless and one from Marikuey. These are two organizations that are dynamic, talent-rich, and impactful. And now they're coming together. Stacy, I'll send it to you.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Welcome

Why The Field Is Shifting

SPEAKER_01 0:44

and thank you for joining me. And I have the opportunity to work closely with organizations all across healthcare and human services every day. And one thing that's become increasingly clear to me is that our field is at an inflection point. Whether it's policy changes, workforce shortages, funding pressures, there's rising expectations and outcomes, increasing complexity in the populations we serve, all of those things are forcing leaders to confront the same reality. The way this field has traditionally been structured is not built for what's ahead. Organizations are being asked to scale and to innovate, adapt faster, manage more complexity while still remaining deeply connected to the people and the communities they serve. And that requires a different kind of thinking. Not just thinking about growth, but thinking about structure, about sustainability and about how organizations work together. And that brings us to our conversation today. Recently, Boundless announced that it would affiliate with Merricky USA. And as I've listened to Joe and Patrick describe what they're building, it became clear very quickly that this is not a typical affiliation. What they're describing is a new operating model for mission-driven human services. It's one that combines shared infrastructure with strategic alignment, with strong regional leadership, local expertise, and community-based identity, all at a time when the field is being asked to deliver better outcomes, to demonstrate value, and to respond to rapid changes. And that raises some really important questions about where healthcare and human services may be headed next. So today we're going to talk about that. Joining me are Joe Marts, the CEO of Merricky, and Patrick Maynard, the CEO of Boundless. Joe and Patrick, thank you for being here with me.

SPEAKER_03 2:32

It's great to see you. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Thank you. So let's

Meet Merakey And Boundless

SPEAKER_01 2:36

start simply for those of you who don't know your organizations. Can each of you give me just a brief overview of who you are, the populations you serve, and perhaps Joe, I'll start with you.

SPEAKER_03 2:46

Sure. Like so many organizations in our field, uh Merricky began as a community-based outpatient behavioral health program, a single program in uh in a in a section of uh Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Over time, that program expanded across the Commonwealth and then grew into other services as well. Today we're an organization that uh provides services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, uh, adult and children's behavioral health services, uh, individuals who have uh complex both physical and emotional health needs, and uh children with autism or emotional support needs.

SPEAKER_01 3:31

Great. Thank you. Patrick?

SPEAKER_02 3:33

Well, uh a short 11 years ago, uh we even had a different name, and we provided just one line of services, which was residential services for adults with developmental disabilities in one county of Ohio. And so going forward from that 11 years ago, uh we are now the largest provider of health and human services, behavioral health services for people with disabilities and complex needs across the state of Ohio. So we have expanded into behavioral health services, uh, care coordination, health services, including primary health, dentistry, pharmacy, uh, vocational and day programs, all types of residential programs, uh, including more recent programs for people with really uh children, especially with uh very acute severe behaviors associated with autism and spectrum disorders.

Why Independence Was Not Enough

SPEAKER_01 4:26

So, with both organizations already successful, why wasn't staying independent good enough? Why did you kind of look toward this as a potential solution for the future?

SPEAKER_02 4:37

Stacy, you know, we consider ourselves a business, although a nonprofit business. And any good business, as you can see from history, can't remain the same. You're constantly looking ahead about the changing environment, what's happening, and trying to position yourself to answer that or be in front of those questions and issues as they happen. So we have been looking for several years at what the future holds and understanding that the Medicaid system is broken, has been broken for a long time, and that we needed to create diversification in funding and services. Uh we had to uh grow scale. We had to look at a lot of different things that we couldn't really do ourselves as easily. We this is something we didn't have to do, but that we chose to do, you know, to look for a partner who could work together with us to have a vision of increased scale and opportunity around that.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

So this wasn't a response to solve a problem. Not at all. This is to build something different.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

And Joe, from Merricky's perspective, being a large national entity with a lot of legacy and history on your own, what made this attractive for you?

SPEAKER_03 5:43

Why why this Well I think like most gatherings or organizations coming together this way, uh it starts with the individuals that you meet in the culture of the organization. And and what I found remarkable in so many conversations that Patrick and I have had over the years was the similarity between our organizations. And I thought that created potentially a unique combination. There are there are plenty of providers that are out there in the world right now who are coming together for the sake of being larger. That was never our intention in any conversation that we had. This was all about creating something special in our industry. And uh having having an organization of of boundless capabilities join with Merrakey because we do have some some scale and infrastructure to be able to bring the best of both of those worlds together, I just think it created something very, very special for our industry.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Yeah, absolutely. You know, and we we talk often about nostalgia and history of organizations. And I love the quote that I heard recently that nostalgia is not a strategy, right? We can't rely on who we've always been. So when we think about what's changing in the field, and we we know that we're in a moment of consolidation, right? Like it or not, states, things like performance-based contracting, what we're seeing in Medicaid, managed care entities, there are hundreds of thousands of provider organizations, and and everyone agrees that is

What The Next Decade Demands

SPEAKER_01 7:16

too many. When we think about what's changing in the field, right, and we think about how we have operated in the past, and the the phrase, what got you here today is not going to get you through the next five years in this industry anymore. So when we talk about what the future will actually require of us as provider organizations, especially on the nonprofit side, what are some of those things that come to mind? Right.

SPEAKER_02 7:38

Well, you mentioned, you know, the workforce challenges we're all facing, the fact that, you know, there's enhanced accountabilities that can only happen through, you know, um better infrastructure, better technology, all things that cost a lot of money, regulations, regulatory environment environment, and the demand for services continually increases while the reimbursement that we get is not keeping up with it. And that's that's nothing new, but it it just has become more and more and more stressful as time has gone on. So, like you said, trying to do it the way we always did in the past doesn't work anymore. We had to look at different ways to do things. We had a uh strategic planning process last year that resulted in a list of five important things that we wanted to do, and we recognized that we could do those things, but it would probably take us 10 years. And it would be very, very difficult to do those things by ourselves. By looking at opportunities to scale with a good partner organization that has the same similarities in culture and experience and focus on whole person care. We realize that it's an addition, not a subtraction. That's what's really important in this.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

That's powerful. And Joe, you and I have had many conversations about what the future needs to look like for our industry and what's changing. So talk a little bit about you know your philosophy and what you see there.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

Aaron Powell Well, I think it I think it begins with what Patrick said. I mean, we're all facing the same financial challenges all the time. And the demands that are being placed on our on our organization and on Patrick's organization, on the industry as a whole, are almost overwhelming in certain ways. And and as a result of that, it is harder and harder for smaller organizations to manage their way through that, to build the systems that are necessary. At some point in time, you need to create a model that has some ability to influence public policy. We've got to be in that conversation. We can't wait for things to happen around us anymore. We need to be in front of that. We need to, and we have literally decades worth of data about the work that we're doing. We need to be able to take that data, shape that data, present it in ways that actually tell a story on behalf of the great work that people are doing all over this country. Having the capacity to do that, I think, is foremost of what drove this entire conversation.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Yeah, we certainly haven't always had a culture of metric space management in our industry. So I think that's a great call out.

SPEAKER_03 10:16

And Stace, I it it we're at a point right now that, as Patrick said, you we just can't keep going forward with our handout asking for more at a time when you know that, you know, with all the respect, the federal government is gonna take $900 billion worth of Medicaid funding out of the system over the next decade. That's going to have an impact on every single Medicaid program in the United States. One way or another, it's not gonna be the same. There are more and more people who need Medicaid services. The population bubble's not getting smaller, it's getting larger in that category of need. Yeah. And the dollars simply aren't there. If we don't figure out how to do this differently, or if we wait for it to be imposed on us without having some say, we're not gonna be successful. None of us are.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

No, that's absolutely right. And and I love that framing because for me, what I often find discouraging is our industry looks at affiliations or acquisitions through this pejorative lens as it's a failure.

Culture Fit Over Getting Bigger

SPEAKER_01 11:15

And it's really a position of strength. And when we talk about looking for the right partner to build what you both are talking about building for the future, um, what brought you to each other? I mean, Patrick, why Merricky? I know you've had lots of suitors for Boundless over the course of your tenure as CEO, but what was it about this relationship that really made it sink for you?

SPEAKER_02 11:36

Well, like I said, we've been on this course, this path to find a partner, a like-minded partner, a suitable partner for years. And, you know, so we have had other organizations we've had in-depth conversations with all along the way. Uh but when Joe and Marikie came along, um, it was like twin brothers from different mothers. I I think we we have the same uh respect and desire for innovation. The uh quality comes first, staff comes first. All of these things were just naturals in both of our organizations. We fit together perfectly. Um and the other thing is we weren't looking to be taken over. You know, we felt that we could continue doing what we were doing, but we couldn't do it as well if we didn't have another partner. So finding that right partner who accepted and understood that and wanted to be a part of not just getting bigger for big sake, but to do it for the right reasons. That's that's what we're looking for, and that's what we found in Marrike.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

Yeah, so it sounds like a perfect blend of culture, uh, you know, being mission forward, which most nonprofits are, but understanding that leading with people, leading with quality, and then having a national presence to sort of bring that boundless vision along. Exactly. It sounds like that made sense. Uh from you, Joe, uh, kind of same question and different answer. You you you have had lots of folks wanting to join with Merricky over the years. Some you've declined, some you've said yes to. What was it about this uh and and those services that Boundless has been doing in Ohio that made that really open your eyes and say yes?

SPEAKER_03 13:16

Yeah, it it's that's interesting because um like Boundless, I mean, so much of our growth over the years has been through acquisition. And and as you know, this industry is consolidating because often because people are in trouble. Yes. And the beauty of this conversation that we've been having now for a while is about two powerful organizations coming together to make an even stronger one. That's kind of remarkable in this industry, I think. I I I I I I don't see a ton of that happening at this point. And I and I think that again, philosophically we're so closely aligned, culturally, we're so closely aligned. I understood what Patrick was trying to get to on behalf of his organization. I thought that we could help in some ways, but I also recognized in the work that we do in areas where he's already in, his relationships are so much better than ours. They're so much deeper in many ways.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:13

We thought that this would just be a powerful union. And I just I I saw that through a lens that, quite frankly, I just don't see very often in this industry.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

Yeah. You can see the excitement when you both talk about it. It comes through, and it's that's great to see that.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

It's great, it's great to find partners who actually think alike.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:31

And and it has been a real, a real pleasure to get to know Patrick and his leadership team over these last couple of years.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Yeah. Yeah. You're right. I mean, uh what we often see are the organizations who need a rescue. Yeah. And this is clearly not that. And and I know you both want that to be the forward message that, you know, there is a way to do this from a position of strength where there's a choice and you're making your own destiny rather than waiting for that to be done to you.

SPEAKER_03 14:55

Trevor Burrus, Jr.: And Stace, there's plenty of organizations that that model works fine for. Yeah. That's not the way we envision the future of this industry. Trevor Burrus, Jr.: That's right.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

So what I hear you saying really is that boundless sort of recognize that that next level of complexity to take you kind of to the larger impact and mission required a partner that could get you there faster. Right. Right. And that mutual investment in the future is, I think, what's going to braid this so beautifully going forward.

SPEAKER_03 15:22

Aaron Powell It's exactly how how I saw it.

SPEAKER_01 15:24

Trevor Burrus, Jr.: And not just sustainable, but really to thrive and impact them in a different way.

SPEAKER_03 15:29

Much better said. That's a real good point.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, because Patrick, you've led this organization for over a decade. It could have stayed independent, right? But that impact and that, you know, survive versus thrive, I think, is the thread-through in all of this. Exactly. Um, as you breed these teams together for sure. I mean, and specifically, I think what becomes stronger for Boundless is even the opportunities for your team and your staff. I mean, you are known of having a really strong leadership team. I know that was part of the appeal. Absolutely. Right. And so when you give folks more opportunities within a larger entity, uh, it just seems to make sense.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Well, you have a bigger pot to pull from of of expertise and staff, you know, to draw to whatever it is that you uh positions you have open and give staffs opportunity, let's say that they want to move to Philadelphia or California or Texas for a job. It's likely we're gonna have a job in all of those places. Yeah. So it really creates a lot of opportunity to keep people in the family and encourage them to grow uh in that organization.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Yeah, I love that. Uh you know, I I think that's really illustrative of why this is important for Boundless and why you came to that decision. And Joe, I want to ask you around um, you know, Americans already one of the, if not the largest organization of nonprofit by revenue, uh, and it has been for many, many years. So, you know, why was this the next right step? Um, and why wasn't it just about that top revenue number? I hear organizations say I want to be a billion dollars, and that's the driving goal. And I know that wasn't it for you. But kind of talk about what you do get with scale and why that's important.

SPEAKER_03 17:05

Yeah, I'd I I'd rather go back to the original question first, or the original statement you made first, because I really do think that's what drew us together was a commitment to quality. Right? I mean, we both care about whole person care. We understand that that's the future of our industry. We want to be able to make investments in that space. So that that's what really started this conversation. It was the the the revenue is the revenue. I mean, that that it's important for our ability to do certain things, but at the end of the day, that's not what made this relationship so strong, or what we think is going to make it strong in the long term. It's that commitment that both organizations had to quality services, to reinvesting in our workforce, to buying the technological tools we need to keep ahead of the curve in this industry, to be able to gather the data the way we want to and present it the way we want to to our payers, to ask them about different ways of funding things in the future, because we can defend that. That's really what was driving so much of this. And and I think the future for us, at least, in the model that we're creating, is more of that.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

Not more the revenue is great and it helps us do things. Sure. But at the end of the day, it's more about a philosophy about what we're trying to accomplish as organizations.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

Yeah. Yeah. I I don't think anyone you serve across all your organizations or any family member would say, well, I'm in this because they're a hundred, you know, million dollars or a billion dollars. It's revenue is not important to the people that are served.

SPEAKER_03 18:34

Right. But it's often but it often, Stace, it's often the conversation that takes place in our industry and it's not the right one. It is. Because it doesn't start with the individuals who are responsible for serving. Trevor Burrus, Jr. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 18:44

That's right. Well, that's a great segue to my next question because when I think about messaging to other CEOs and what I think about other nonprofit leaders and what they should be thinking about. You know, as a consultant and an advisor, I know what I'd like folks to be thinking about. Um, and they often come to me for those conversations. Um, but from your lens as peers in this organization, you know, what's the big I would say what's the biggest mistake uh leaders could make over the next decade?

Advice For CEOs To Act Early

SPEAKER_01 19:12

You know, you can do everything right, but you can do it too late. So when you think about where we're headed as an industry, what's some advice for leaders?

SPEAKER_02 19:21

You know, I would say get your head out of the sand. Keep looking at the horizon and what's happening out there, and keep pushing forward, keep moving forward to it's not what what am I gonna do today and how am I gonna survive today? What is happening tomorrow and how am I going to position myself to not just survive it, but to thrive in that. That's what's you you made a good point about, you know, not just having sustainability, but actually having margins that you can invest in innovation and and change and things that need to happen in our field that are not funded typically. That's what I'm so excited about with this. So I would say to CEOs, don't wait till it's too late. Don't wait, wait, wait until maybe it would be difficult for you to come together with another organization. Yeah. You know, look at it while you're strong and and and look at what opportunities are available through something like this.

SPEAKER_01 20:18

Yeah. Joe, how about you?

SPEAKER_03 20:20

What he said. I don't think I can say it any better than that. Yeah. He is spot on. I mean, there we live in a world, Stacy, as you know, that we have incredibly solid, clinically superior CEOs and a lot of organizations. And things are happening around them, they're so committed on a day-to-day basis to delivering services that they don't have time, like Patrick said, to sometimes step back and see the horizon that's coming. It's going to be challenging for us. Yeah. And he's absolutely right when he says, you know, hey, if things get bad, I'll join somebody else. That's if that somebody else has the ability to save what you're doing. That's right. If things are if things are still good now and you can see the changes coming as we do, you should get out ahead of it.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

That's right. Yeah. I mean, once you lose that strength, you look you lose your negotiating power. And it's a much different conversation when it's a rescue than in this situation. You know, I I think the other piece that I know you both have done, but you haven't spoken to is the preparedness for this moment for meeting the

Board Readiness And Due Diligence

SPEAKER_01 21:22

right partner. You did a lot of readiness within your organization to get folks thinking about strategic growth strategy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Well, I I I think about my staff and my board and how much due diligence they did, first of all, to get to the point of finding the right partner.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 21:38

And and vetting all the different, you know, uh opportunities along the way. And then when we found the right partner, really going through the due diligence, my board, of course, you know, was very interested in are we going to lose our culture? Are we going to lose what makes boundless boundless? All things that are very important. What happens to our workforce? Here's the questions any good board. Should ask. Yeah. And they asked. So we spent, I believe, with our board, we started heavy into this process of exploring coming together last November. So that's seven months of intensive work with our board and key staff to really our boards visited each other, our staff visited each other. And I can remember my board going to Philadelphia and saying, we're going to find out if you've been telling us they're the same culture. I'm going to go see for myself. First thing they said that night after visiting with Mayor Key was, you're right.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

You're right. Yeah. No, I I think that's great. And it's that being ready at the right moment so that you can seize on that opportunity and you don't miss it for sure. I mean, you made you just talked a little bit about what made this process successful, getting your board aligned and prepared and educated. So beside hiring the right consultant, which clearly you both did, uh, what also kind of made this process go smoothly? Because seven months, I mean, that that's not quick. I mean, it's not the longest, but uh that's a a good speed. What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 23:04

Well,

Trust, Transparency, And Process Tactics

SPEAKER_03 23:05

I I I think back to my one of my earliest conversations with Patrick saying to him, Patrick, I'm from Philadelphia, I speak fast. Please don't read anything into it. And what I would say about our getting to know each other is that we kept that open dialogue for everything. You have to be transparent. Yeah. If things are difficult for a reason, explain the reason why to each other. I mean, it's so important. It got to the point literally when, and and as all these things do at some point, they end, you know, at some point they're handed to lawyers who don't know each other and start writing things on a piece of paper. It's one thing to work with those lawyers, it's another thing to pick up the phone and call your counterpart on the other side saying, you're gonna get some stuff that may not look perfect. Please don't read anything into this. Let's talk about it if it becomes an issue. Let's make sure. I I just think that that first of all it starts with foundational trust.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 24:01

And then the transparency between the two highest level executives in the company to say, we're gonna work our way through these challenges, lawyers are gonna write things down for a reason. And we did all of that kind of stuff. And you know what? Sometimes you have to give, sometimes you have to get. I mean, that's it's all understandable. There are a lot of people involved. Everybody's well-intentioned in a process like this. Yeah. But it works when it starts by saying we're gonna be straight and transparent with each other all the way through this.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:32

I don't know if you have a different feeling about that.

SPEAKER_02 24:34

No, exactly. I think the ongoing communication, the trust, I think uh the values that we both share. Um, just all of that with when you have two parties who want to make it happen, you're gonna find a way to make it happen. And that that was the bottom line. So you hit a few hurdles here and there. We talked to each other. Okay, let's get this straightened out. It was never, no, we can't do it. It was like, what is it? How can we do this? It was great ongoing communication all the way through.

SPEAKER_03 25:02

Yeah. Stacey, I think there's something to be said for having white hair once in a while. You know, you've experienced a lot of things in life, and and it does make things a little bit easier sometimes. Because look, we've we've both done this enough in our lives to understand that if you don't have that kind of relationship, things can fall apart at different times over nonsense issues.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:22

I think it is also, you mentioned earlier, a little tongue-in-cheek cheek, but it's true. Having a third-party consultant, you know, somebody in the middle is is necessary. I I would highly recommend any organizations coming together to have that. That helps bridge some of these things to like, okay, talk to Stacy. What do you think they meant by this? You know, well, talk to Joe, and then, you know, that sort of thing. It's having that there and your experience in this smoothed things out and made it very much easier.

SPEAKER_03 25:55

So well said. I mean, especially there there are days when we're not talking to each other, but the staffs are talking to each other, right? It's so important to have that third party there to help bridge those communications. And you guys did a fantastic job of keeping the trains on the tracks, yeah. Uh, keeping the egos in check through these things, because we're all human beings, right? And uh it it it you did an exceptional job of helping us through it.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

I appreciate that. It was a pleasure. I do uh often joke, but in all seriousness, relying on my early days of my marriage and family therapist skills. So it comes in handy with boards and due diligence process, for sure. For sure. So I, you know, I think about that. Um from a practical impact of what

What Changes After Day One

SPEAKER_01 26:39

happens. I mean, many deals don't make it to the finish line. And kind of candidly, what you're building here is much more complicated than a traditional transaction. You talked a little bit about what you did to keep it from falling apart or to get back on the rails if it came off a little bit. Um when we think about the practical impact of what this means for your organizations, you know, thousands of employees, tens of thousands of people served, you know, 13 plus states. Uh, this is this is a big uh undertaking. So what actually changes? Patrick, I'll I'll start with you on this. What what changes, you know, if this is July 1, what changes July 2, if anything?

SPEAKER_02 27:18

You know, for the typical person in my organization, I hope that nothing changes immediately. Yeah. I hope that this this just people continue on. At some point in time, you might see, you know, a different signature on a paycheck. You might, you know, things like that. I think what's important here is that um we don't have a roadmap of how to make this happen. We're inventing this as we go along, and we're gonna have the patience to do it right, to take the time to do it right.

SPEAKER_01 27:47

I love that. I love that. I think so many things that I see go south from my lens are transactions where there is a regimented, this is how we believe it'll happen, and we all know the best-laid plans. You know, you can have a structure in mind or your ideas of non-negotiables and negotiables, but you don't know day to day how the, you know, you'll zip the zipper from the bottom of the jacket, as they say, and bring those organizations together. Um, Joe, what do you think about, you know, change for your organization day two?

SPEAKER_03 28:16

Well, one of the things we're doing a little differently is that we had some openings and at the senior level of our company. And as I've gotten to know Patrick's leadership team, um we realized that they would be valuable in some of the key roles in our organization. And we're going to make those moves very early on when we finally come together. And I'm excited that Patrick understood in our conversations that that it was in their best interest for their own professional development to be able to take on new responsibilities. And I also viewed it as a way of welcoming new ideas into an experienced leadership team that already existed at Merricky. So I'm excited about that. And I'm and I and I also want to touch a little bit on what Patrick said before about employees throughout the organization. One of the cool things about being a broad-based organization is things happen in people's lives. Sometimes a spouse gets transferred to another state. The opportunity to be able to continue your career in a growing, successful organization like I believe ours will be, and it is, they are right now, so why wouldn't it continue? Um that's fantastic for our employees. They can they can continue

Regional Leadership Inside National Scale

SPEAKER_03 29:27

their career, not just in our industry, but within our organization.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

Yeah, I think that's right. And and I know for the long-term vision, you've both given a nod to really building something structurally different. A little more obvious for on the boundless side, when you see you're you're a regional provider, the largest regional provider in Ohio, and now you'll be a national provider. Your immediate footprint is going to include uh different services and states under your organization. And Joe, you're really looking at kind of changing uh in conversation with Patrick and other leaders the structure of what works in the future for an for an enterprise-wide organization.

SPEAKER_03 30:04

Yeah, I I think it is it's it's obvious as you become a a large provider, it's hard to manage all of the parts of your organization as it spreads across two two or three time zones. Yeah. And the beauty of this relationship is understanding that components of work that you've done will now be run by a regional partner who's on the ground there doing it all the time. This is this is an invaluable part of the conversation. It's not just, hey, us getting big for the sake of being big. It's you're closer to it, you're better equipped to manage this. Take this piece of the business and run it yourselves. That's going to be really helpful, I think, to bringing people together, to understanding that we have shared values and and vision.

SPEAKER_01 30:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:46

And this is part of that vision.

SPEAKER_01 30:47

Yeah, I love that. I've heard you say many times this is a starting point.

unknown 30:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:51

You know, not it, not a finish line. It is.

SPEAKER_03 30:53

And you know, it's exciting that this is the starting point, and it's exciting to do with somebody that, you know, I've gotten to know over time. But this is a model that Patrick and I both believe others can be a part of.

SPEAKER_01 31:06

Yeah. Well, and you've said that you think that um Boundless may become the first of many kind of regional points of Merricky, which will change Merricky as it exists today.

SPEAKER_03 31:17

It will forever change Merricky. We will not be the same organization post-Boundless, and we won't be the same organization in the future.

SPEAKER_01 31:25

So, what is the case you would make to CEOs of leading organizations like Boundless right now to join what you're both building?

The Pitch To Future Affiliates

SPEAKER_03 31:33

I think the case I would make is that I believe that there's uh opportunities for you to expand and that we can help you do that. We can make investments in national systems that would be very costly for a regional affiliate to make on their own. We're we're doing that right now, and those systems will be available to others. So the administrative cost of doing this is going to be a lot easier. Our ability to help you grow with additional resources, financial resources to make it possible for you to expand your growth within a certain region of the company is there now for you. So all these things together are there. Plus, we have assets to provide people elsewhere in the country so they can manage for us.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

Yeah, I love that. Um, you know, we've also just kind of as we are starting to wrap up a little bit, uh I want to just give you both a little nod because I really believe the true measure of leadership is that you're building something that survives you. And you both are living that. And it's really just been an honor to work alongside of you for the past five years for Joe and a hundred years for Patrick. But you know, that partnership from the position of strength, what you've described really is this model that preserves that local identity, creating greater capacity for impact. Um, and and the future of our industry has to has to evolve. So just kind of in closing, anything, Patrick, you want to add or share, or kind of a hopeful message for others as they start to look at this?

SPEAKER_02 33:00

Yeah, I I would amplify what Joe just said. You know, what we are creating is an opportunity to add, not subtract by coming together. Um to amplify what you do, to enhance what you do, to expand services you already have, to be a part of something bigger. Uh, you know, to not have to choose between local, you know, quality and national impact. That you can have all of that together in in one nice package with a bow on it. That's that's what this is about.

SPEAKER_03 33:36

Yeah, I I I um I think about you know the world that I came into uh 12 years ago and uh where our industry's going in the future. And I think like Patrick, we just hope to leave our organizations in a slightly better place than the way we inherited them.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:55

Uh they were great. I I'm fortunate I inherited a great organization. I know Patrick built a great organization. But you know, we may we may not be around to see our ambition recognized or realized in the time that we that we'll still be here. Yeah. But I think we've created together the foundation of something that can be very special in our industry. And I I I Stacy, you and I have talked about this. I know Patrick and I have. I believe this is a model that others will want to you know replicate, um, be a part of, hopefully, uh with us.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:30

But uh, you know, the legacy to this may not be felt for years to come.

SPEAKER_01 34:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:35

But it is where this industry is going. And it's important for people to realize that sometimes you have, like Patrick said, you have to step back and scan the horizon and see what's coming. And I think, in all fairness, in many people's eyes, it's not going to be as bright as they had hoped it would be. And finding the right relationships and people who are aligned with your thinking and coming together to make something that's strong and can be stronger is critical right now. And I I I'm I'm excited about that. I'm excited for the next generation of leaders who are going to see this uh beyond me.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

So yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, once you let go of the org chart and the logo and all of those things and you center the conversation about what could be rather than what has been, I think that's when you really start to build something durable and special. And that's what you're both doing. So congratulations and thank you for letting us be a part of it at CFHS. It's been uh incredible to partner with both of you, and I think you're um just onto something really special.

SPEAKER_03 35:34

Well, I appreciate you introducing me to Patrick, and I and I appreciate that's right. I appreciate all you've done over these these past 18 months to make all this possible. I'm honored. Thank you. Thank you.

Closing Reflections And Wrap-Up

SPEAKER_00 35:49

How about that announcement? Boundless and Merricky coming together. You heard from the two CEOs, this wasn't about getting bigger. This was about enhancing culture, enhancing impact, and really creating a model that is something special. You can count on more conversations about Boundless, Merricky, and everything we're doing right here on our very next episode. Until the next time, this is the Nonprofit Leader's Guide brought to you by Boundless.