Unifying scattered groups
Alliance boosts non-profit unity

Erica Sagon
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 20, 2006 12:00 AM

Arizona's fragmented non-profit sector will begin to come together on Friday. The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, an umbrella organization for non-profit groups, will hold a kickoff at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. It is the first in a series of events that will continue in Tucson and Flagstaff in March.

Non-profit leaders established the statewide advocacy program to bring together as many of the state's 20,000 non-profit organization as possible.

The alliance aims to be a voice for the non-profit sector and to connect non-profits to community leaders, government officials and each other.

Chief Executive Officer Alison Rapping likened the alliance to a chamber of commerce.

"There are so many wonderful activities, programs and resources" available to non-profits, she said. "We are trying to create a place where people can go to access that information."

In the few months since it formed, the group has gained 57 member organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of Metropolitan Phoenix, the American Red Cross Grand Canyon Chapter, the Area Agency on Aging and Kids Voting Arizona.

Rapping and Patrick McWhortor, both non-profit veterans, were named co-leaders of the organization in late July.

Thirty-eight states have established similar organizations, Rapping said.

The Arizona alliance is funded by start-up grants from the Arizona Community Foundation, the Arizona State University Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Management and the Stardust Foundation.

Rapping said the grants total $270,000 annually.

Robert Ashcraft, director of ASU's non-profit center, said the alliance aims to take advantage of group discounts, making it cheaper for non-profits to buy everything from copier paper to health insurance.

The center was instrumental in forming and funding the alliance so that non-profits can accomplish more as a group.

"It's harnessing the knowledge of who is doing what out there and unleashing it in a more focused way," Ashcraft said.

Cathy Tisdale, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross Grand Canyon Chapter, said the young alliance is still deciding what it can accomplish.

"I'd like to poll the members at some point and understand, very pragmatically . . . what we could do that would take some burden off the organizations. Especially the small to midsize organizations," she said.

"The not-for-profit community needs to come together in Arizona. It's too fragmented."

Key members of the alliance began working to change that several years ago. It became a 501(c)(3) in July and was chosen as the Arizona representative for the National Council of Nonprofit Associations.

"It's had various starts and stops," Ashcraft said. "Now the momentum got us over the top."

Reach the reporter at erica.sagon@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-7353.