A Founder’s Story Taking a Social Program from Small Startup to Long-Term Sustainability

Starting the Conversation (STC) began in 2016 as a mental health program created by a small grassroots organization in St. Louis, Missouri. In 2019, following success of the program, the organization incorporated as a nonprofit. By 2021, the organization was financially sound and positioned to grow, but its all-volunteer leaders were grappling with how to sustain the program, as they were being pulled in other directions. To save this important service, they proposed a merger with a large nonprofit: the Gateway Region YMCA (GRYMCA), an association of 24 YMCA branches across Missouri and Illinois. The GRYMCA’s leadership embraced the merger proposal because they saw a programmatic opportunity. Thereafter, the STC program became an integral part of the GRYMCA’s community-focused work. The journey to this win-win outcome has revealed important lessons that can help existing and would-be founders of small nonprofits, as well as leaders and managers of large established nonprofits.