Because of the deepening recession, nonprofit leaders are being urged to collaborate more than they have in years past. But collaboration does not frequently extend to fund raising, which is more often a competitive arena.

One exception is the Rose, a Houston charity that helps low-income women prevent and treat cancer. The group raises 75 percent of its contributions from foundations, 10 percent from companies, and about the same percentage from individual donors.

The Rose is a member of the Breast Health Collaborative of Texas, a group of 100 organizations throughout the state that work together to serve the uninsured. When the recession hit, the collaborative had already worked out turf battles and other issues that could have made it hard for members to work together, says Dorothy Weston Gibbons, chief executive at The Rose.

Now, she says, the economy is making the collaborative even more critical. The group meets each quarter to discuss regional and national trends, and foundation officials participate in the meetings.

Ms. Gibbons says that three-quarters of her charity’s grant proposals are now written in conjunction with one or more other members of the collaborative.

“If I can look at one of my partners to do the outreach and I do the diagnostics, we have to do that,” she says. “Going to the funders, I may go with five or six other organizations. We don’t have the luxury to duplicate.”

What other examples of collaboration in fund raising have you seen? Use the comments box below to let us know.