A merger occurs when two or more organizations decide to join forces and become a single organization. For this to happen it is necessary for one or more organizations to dissolve. Sometimes all the organizations involved dissolve and take on a completely new name. Sometimes an organization survives and retains its name, while dissolved organizations must fall under the corporate structure of the surviving organization. In the for-profit sector, the latter situation would be considered an “acquisition.” However, in non-profit organizations there are no owners. Therefore, since ownership of another organization cannot be acquired, legally it would be considered a merger (strategic restructuring). There are two types of mergers: horizontal and vertical. A horizontal merger occurs when two or more organizations with similar goals, missions, or interests merge to create a single organization. A vertical merger occurs when two or more organizations with different missions merge. Usually, the services offered can work together in a complementary way. Horizontal mergers are more common in the non-profit sector (An Itch To Get Hitched). The overall goal of a merger in the non-profit sector is to create synergies. This means that, taken together, combined organizations will work more efficiently and with higher quality than the sum of their parts separately. Other goals of mergers may include strengthening services, sharing resources, reducing duplication, lowering costs, and creating a broader geographic presence. Under the right circumstances, a merger could be very beneficial to a nonprofit organization and the people it serves. Probably the best reason to participate in a merger is to reduce duplication. There are currently approximately 1.4 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. It's hard to believe that every organization has a different and unique mission. For this reason, it makes sense that some of these organizations would form to help more people and avoid competition with each other. Competition is not a force that should be present in the nonprofit sector, since the mission of every nonprofit is designed simply to help people. Unfortunately, to do this, all non-profit organizations need funding. While it is difficult, especially for smaller organizations, to raise funds, it is even more difficult if they are competing for funds with another nonprofit. This causes both organizations to lose the potential to help more people (Comment: Nonprofit mergers could help more people). Mergers are being called a "hot topic" right now in the nonprofit sector.