Collaboration of Nonprofit Organizations with Local Government for Immigrant Language Acquisition

Abstract

This article maintains that local government and nonprofit organizations are key collaborative agents in the delivery of language access services in the City of Philadelphia. Based on research conducted from February 2009 through September 2010, this article utilizes personal interviews, document analyses, and other data to situate the shared responsibility forged between the public and nonprofit sectors in the realm of language access. Local government relies on a range of nonprofit networks for both public support and community outreach in immigrant neighborhoods. Nonprofits, on the other hand, rely on the welcoming political climate that protocols and municipal directives provide for immigrants at the local level. As Philadelphia touts itself as a reemerging destination for immigrants, this article highlights the prominent role that nonprofit organizations play in the work of immigrant accompaniment by ensuring equal access to city services, regardless of linguistic ability.

On the Front Lines of Immigrant Homeownership: Asian American Nonprofits During the Great Recession

“…First, immigrant nonprofit staff must be versed in one or multiple non-English languages. Second, immigrant-serving nonprofits oftentimes must offer language assistance through interpretation (oral) and/or translation (written documents) (Mulé, 2010), requiring staff to navigate nuances in terminology and culture (Listokin & Listokin, 2001;Wilson, 2013). Third, immigrant-serving nonprofits must become cultural brokers between their communities and local government and mainstream institutions (Wilson, 2013).…”

The Effect of Networks on Organizational Missions

“…Eng, Liu, and Sekhon (2012) found nonprofits leverage social mission to improve their ability to acquire network resources. Wilson (2013) found local governments implement municipal directives by using their nonprofit networks, and then build network ties with the targeted beneficiary group to implement the service. Kapucu and Demiroz (2013) found that nonprofits participate in network capacity building programs to strengthen network relationships.…”

“…Although mission statements are viewed as goal setting instruments that nonprofit executives use to direct an organizations' services, recently some nonprofit research has questioned this rational approach arguing that nonprofits are not closed systems but rather open systems embedded in their external environment via social networks that enable and constrain action (Carman & Nesbit, 2013;B. Chen & Graddy, 2010;Kapucu & Demiroz, 2013;Leiter, 2013;Wilson, 2013).…”

Reinforcing the Safety Net

“…Community foundations position themselves as local problem solvers. Foundation-led initiatives bring nonprofits and local governments together on community issues as diverse as immigrant language acquisition (Wilson 2013) and welfare to work partnerships (Stone 2000). Public managers might consider how to strategically partner with community foundations as a way to harness nonprofit resource dependence on philanthropic foundations for public purposes.…”