About OMB Watch

"It’s like
an excited
board
member
with another
idea
of what we
should do."
"You can’t
build a grassroots
movement
with
national
issues"
Even among those organizations that were unsure about the concept or
generally not favorable to the broader concept paper, there was often support
for greater use of technology. An important recurring theme was the
need for training in and support for the use of technology. Only one of the
organizations interviewed expressed the opinion that the mechanisms laid
out in the concept paper were inappropriate for achieving the goals of NPA.
Only a few of the interviews were generally critical of the initiative as
pursuing an unproven need. These organizations asked interviewers questions
such as: “What’s the real intent? Is this being driven by a frenzy over
the new technologies or the battles faced by nonprofits in the 104th Congress?
Who are we trying to reach and what are the best ways to reach
them? Do people need this or do you just think they need it?"
Is It the Right Priority?
In the discussions of NPA, a clear set of arguments developed about
staying tuned to the needs and perspectives of the grassroots and of activists.
Concerns expressed stressed:
r That initiatives to serve the needs of the sector must build from the
ground up and must keep in mind the constraints that exist for grassroots
organizations (time and other resources);
r A need for a focus on the work of activists and their needs;
r A need for a clear understanding of who NPA would be serving and
of the limitations that nonprofits have, financially and staffing; and
r The need to “build trust” by visiting “communities in person and to
develop relationships before people begin to interact effectively”
online or otherwise.
Concerns about the capacity of the nonprofit sector to use NPA centered
on time, financial resources (to participate), and technology capacity and
barriers.
Among individuals with whom we discussed the concept (and among
some survey respondents) there were also negative responses. While most
of these were concerns about specific aspects, in a few cases there were
early expressions of outright and adamant opposition to the concept in
toto. Of all the organizations surveyed and interviewed, fewer than five
expressed doubts about the utility of the initiative in concept or were in
general opposition to the initiative as an inappropriate use of resources.
These reservations centered around the belief “that foundation money
should (not) go to projects such as NPA but to the local activists.”
Much more comment was generated about the ability of nonprofits to
OMB Watch — May 1997
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