WHO'S ORGANIZING THE NEIGHBORHOOD? COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS - A REPORT ON THEIR STRUCTURE, ACCOUNTABILITY, FINANCE, PERSONNEL, ISSUES AND STRATEGIES

• NCJ Number: 57729
• Author(s): G GREEN
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 57 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-CA-AX-0126
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: National Ctr for Voluntary Action
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

INFORMATION IS PROVIDED ON 45 ACTIVE LOCAL AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE NATION AND ON THEIR STRUCTURES, FINANCES, PERSONNEL, ISSUES, AND STRATEGIES, PARTICULARLY THOSE DEVELOPED TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE CRIME.

Abstract

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ARE OPEN, NONPOLITICAL GROUPS THAT DEAL WITH SERIOUS AND SOPHISTICATED URBAN ISSUES THROUGH THE COLLECTIVE ACTION OF RESIDENTS. MOST OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS ARE RELATIVELY YOUNG, HAVE A MIXED BLACK-WHITE REPRESENTATION, AND ARE COMPOSED OF LOW AND MODERATE INCOME PEOPLE, ALTHOUGH THEY TEND TO BE HEADED BY THE MORE AFFLUENT AND HIGHLY EDUCATED RESIDENTS. THEIR POLITICAL ROOTS APPEAR TO BE INDEPENDENT OF GOVERNMENT. ALMOST 90 PERCENT OF THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE LEGALLY INCORPORATED, WITH AN ANNUAL AVERAGE BUDGET OF $63,000. FUNDING SOURCES ARE LOCAL INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS, FOUNDATIONS AND RELIGIOUS BODIES, AND SOME GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS OR PROGRAMS. STAFF SIZES VARY, BUT MOST ORGANIZATIONS HAVE VERY FEW PAID PERSONNEL. ORGANIZATIONS ARE INVOLVED IN A GREAT VARIETY OF ISSUES AND USUALLY WORK AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR COMMUNITY LEVEL, ALTHOUGH SOME WORK AT THE BLOCK LEVEL. HIGH ON THE LIST OF ISSUES ARE HOUSING, GENERAL CITY SERVICES, AND CRIME, PARTICULARLY BURGLARY, VANDALISM, AND CRIME AGAINST THE ELDERLY. A LISTING OF THE PROGRAMS AND SURVEY STATISTICS IS PROVIDED, ALONG WITH THE QUESTIONNAIRE. (DAG)