Some of the organizations interviewed had deeper roots in the communities they served. For example, forty percent of the organizations interviewed were founded prior to 1995. There is, however, a newer group of organizations that have arisen in the past 10 years. Of the 10 organizations that began after 1995, 7 of them were founded after 2000.

These organizations varied in terms of organizational infrastructure and staffing patterns. Over half of the organizations (55%) had no paid staff at the time they were interviewed. For those organizations that had staff, only 3 organizations had more than 8 full-time and part-time paid staff.

Seven organizations were membership-based organizations, which ranged from 35 members to 9500. A third of the organizations (6) did not have 501(c)3 status – non-profit status. Of these 6 organizations, 2 of them were currently seeking 501c3 status. Twelve of the organizations identified themselves as using a ‘non traditional structure’ such as a collective or cooperative. Interestingly, 8 of the 12 organizations admitted to ‘struggling’ with the implementation of this non-traditional structure. 

Staffing Patterns

The organizational staffing patterns revealed a clear reliance on Board members and volunteers. The common story heard throughout these interviews was the important and necessary roles that volunteer Board members and volunteers played in staffing the organization to ensure that the organizational mission was being achieved. Over half of the organizations had very active Board members and the majority of organizations (16) relied on volunteers (ranging from 1 to over 25) outside of Board members to help with organizational activities.