Competing Nonprofit Organizations Also Collaborate zyx A h York, Esther Zychlinski Cooperation among voluntary organizations is examined from the perspective of an Israeli project in which local voluntary organizations formed a joint forum. An analysis of question- nairesfilled in by members of nine such bodies (“roundtables”) shows that cooperation among voluntary organizations may be functional zyxwvutsrq in nature and not necessarily based on common goals. The degree of independence of the organizations did not affect their cooperation, but it injluenced the way they looked on the “convenor” (external change agent), who played a n important role in the process of interorganizational cooperation. The au- thors show that competition and cooperation are not mutualZy exclusive among voluntary organizations. HIS article examines the phenomenon of cooperation and col- laboration among voluntary organizations in an attempt to T answer the question, Why do voluntary organizations coop- erate with one another even though they may be in competition for resources? The Israeli Voluntary Center (IVC) was set up in 1972 by the Israeli government to promote and coordinate voluntary activity In 1985, IVC and the American Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) decided to set up a joint project to develop local bodies (“round- tables”) to encourage and coordinate voluntary activity at the mu- nicipal level in cooperation with the municipal social services departments. A national steering committee was set up to monitor and control the project. zyxwvut Its members included representatives of the two funding partners (IVC and AJDC), a mayor representing the Local Authority Center (a semigovernment body including heads of all the local authorities in Israel), representatives of three national voluntary organizations, the director of the Volunteer Unit in the Ministry of Social Welfare, and an academic as chairperson. I5 NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT zyxwvutsrqpon & LEADERSHIP, vol. 7, no. zyxwvutsrq 1, Fall 1996 Q Jossey-Bass Publishers