Wiktionary
alt. An organization that coordinates the activities of a number of member organisations and hence promotes a common purpose. n. An organization that coordinates the activities of a number of member organisations and hence promotes a common purpose.
Wikipedia
An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations. Sometimes in this kind of arrangement, the umbrella organization is to some degree responsible for the groups under its care. Compare to franchises and subsidiaries.
There may be many reasons for establishing/joining an umbrella organization:
- The ability to carry out activities which could not be accomplished alone, due to
- Economies of scale
- A better pool of experts and experience
- Shared apprenticeship and exchange of know-how
- A sense of community and support that makes people and corporations derive utility from multilateral and shared activities
- An increased brand/public awareness
- Legality of pursued action(s)
Usage examples of "umbrella organization".
In a lot of ways, the RP is more of an umbrella organization than a properly organized political party.
The result was the fragmentation of the INC as an umbrella organization.
My corporation, which is the umbrella organization for those companies you mentioned.
But many members of Congress had balked at the notion of creating yet another single intelligence/security umbrella organization.
The Committee was an umbrella organization for groups concerned about various aspects of the environment, intended to focus and coordinate the efforts of the thousands of volunteers who were passionately committed to the cause of clean air, clean water, clean soil, and the protection of the ozone and all sorts of endangered species, but who often worked at cross-purposes.
He was president of the League, the umbrella organization for the Authors Guild and the Dramatists Guild, from 1951 to 1955 and again from 1961 to 1969.
Suffice it to say that this group is highly accomplished, and they form something like an umbrella organization.