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Collaboration Among Rural Nonprofit Organizations
Author(s) -
Snavely Keith,
Tracy Martin B.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
nonprofit management and leadership
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.844
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1542-7854
pISSN - 1048-6682
DOI - 10.1002/nml.11202
Subject(s) - business , face (sociological concept) , service (business) , public relations , rural area , nonprofit organization , marketing , political science , sociology , social science , law
Collaboration has received strong impetus in recent years. Service providers face greater expectations that they will share human and financial resources with other organizations, conduct joint planning, and devise other ways to break down organization barriers. This article analyzes collaborative practices among nonprofit organizations in rural southern Illinois and the Mississippi Delta. Environmental factors present in rural areas suggest that collaboration may be difficult to accomplish. Clients are scattered over a large geographic area, they are hard to contact because of transportation problems, community financial resources are limited, staff salaries are low, and some rural populations resist service offerings. Despite these difficulties, nonprofits in the two rural regions do engage in significant collaborations, and their leadership shows strong commitment to partnering with other organizations. Certain characteristics of the rural environment actually facilitate collaboration.