Massachusetts nonprofits want more respect, and they’re banding together for the first time to get it.

After years of planning, a core group of nonprofit leaders referred to as the Nonprofit Strategy Working Group is about to launch an as-of-yet unnamed association.

“It’s deeply consequential for the future of Massachusetts,” said Paul S. Grogan, CEO and president of The Boston Foundation, which gave $85,000 in seed grant money to get the association off the ground. “We really need to get organized.”