The Nonprofit Ecosystem

The Giving Practice (TGP) of Philanthropy Northwest, responding to a request from seven Northwest funders, recently completed an assessment of nonprofit capacity-building in Washington State using an innovative “ecosystem” framework for urban and rural communities.

This new framework has several benefits. It provides a common language for understanding and investing in nonprofit capacity. It respects the unique assets of diverse communities, both rural and urban. It is particularly helpful for funders who may be new to a community, but eager to understand what community assets are in place. Most importantly the ecosystem framework helps forge partnerships among funders, nonprofits, and other community leaders interested in supporting nonprofits in a systemic way.


Errata 5/20/2010:
Fixed footnotes 6 and 7 in Figure 6 on page 26. Previous version had footnotes reversed.
Added sidebar “Rural Models” on page 38. Previous version was missing this sidebar.

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