Uniting for Impact
How two nonprofit newsrooms combined operations, expanded their team, and embedded equity across every part of the organization.
A Merger Rooted in Equity, Sustained by Systems
When Wisconsin Watch and Neighborhood News Service decided to merge, the stakes were high:
Two teams, two cities, two distinct cultures
A shared mission—but unequal systems
Urgent expectations around DEI, operations, and scale
They needed more than a transition plan. They needed to build an equitable, human-centered organization that could carry them forward—without burning out their people or compromising their values.
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Step Up: Equity Matters partnered with both organizations to deliver a full-scale transformation across HR, finance, IT, and leadership coaching—with equity at the center of every system.
Here’s what we brought:
Custom onboarding, compensation, and benefits design
Audit-ready financial systems + budget planning
Emotional intelligence coaching and team-building
IT and administrative streamlining across both orgs
Strategy support to help leaders focus on growth—not logistics
What Leaders Are Saying:
"We needed an expanded infrastructure that a typical small nonprofit couldn’t afford. Now, we have the payroll, IT, accounting, training, and HR of a company that’s five to 10 times our size with Step Up."
Navigating Nonprofit Mergers: Putting Culture at the Center
Merging nonprofits isn’t just balancing budgets and swapping logos—it’s the delicate art of blending missions, values, and people into something greater.
