ABSTRACT
This chapter approaches fund raising through the framework of systems theory. According to J. Pfeffer and G. R. Salancik, interdependence is a consequence of open systems. The resource dependence theory of these scholars advances the perspective that organizations are controlled by their relationships to external sources of necessary resources. P. M. Blau expanded on A. W. Gouldner’s norm of reciprocity with his theory on social exchange, which deals with “voluntary actions of individuals that are motivated by the returns they are expected to bring and typically do in fact bring from others”. The chapter summarizes open systems create interdependencies between organizations and other groups and organizations in their environment. The resource dependence perspective holds that organizations are shaped and constrained by their relationships with external sources of needed resources. The chapter concludes that contrary to conventional wisdom, these relationships are best understood not as benevolent, business, or pseudo relations, but as interdependencies of groups and organizations within an environment.
