Poverty and Nonprofit Organizational Behavior

This article explores the extent to which nonprofit organizations focus on the poor. I draw on the community and organizational literature for models of such organizational behavior. Using regression analysis, I examine the extent to which measures of poverty orientation relate to measures of organizational behavior drawn from five theoretical perspectives: (1) extent of community linkages, (2) policy environment during which the organization was established, (3) resource dependency, (4) profes- sional management and service commitments, and (5) involvement in nonprofit networks. My findings lend at least partial support to all but the second model and especially to the resource dependency model.