Susie Steckner
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 29, 2005 12:00 AM

The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits has named two new co-leaders to take over the statewide advocacy organization.

Alison Rapping and Patrick McWhortor, veterans in local and national non-profit circles, will start work this fall. They will help the alliance tackle a range of efforts, from lobbying policymakers on issues like regulation that affects the non-profit sector to helping its members more easily share information.

Thirty-six states and regions have established umbrella organizations for non-profit groups.

Arizona non-profit leaders have been working for a few years to develop the alliance. The state is home to more than 22,000 non-profit groups focused on the arts, human services, education and more.

The alliance has the support of two leaders in the Arizona non-profit world, the Center for Nonprofit Leadership & Management at Arizona State University and the Arizona Community Foundation in Phoenix. The alliance is getting seed money for start-up costs through a grant to ASU from the Kellogg Foundation.

Rapping is president and chief executive officer at Make A Difference, a Phoenix-based organization that links volunteers with community-service opportunities. She also has served in several roles with Hands On Network, a national organization that promotes service.

McWhortor is chief executive officer of Phoenix-based NPower Arizona, which seeks to make non-profit groups more effective through technology. He also served as the interim executive director of the NPower National Network and was formerly the state and national director of Libraries for the Future.

Tim Delaney, the Arizona alliance's interim chief executive officer, said Rapping and McWhortor are naturals for the jobs of co-leaders with their many contacts in the non-profit sector.