My partner and I conducted a training session for a group of arts organizations in Ventura, CA last week and an issue came up which I think offers an interesting object lesson for nonprofits seeking new ways to expand their bases of support and their influence.
The group represented a pretty wide spectrum of arts programs – drama, art, dance and music programs for youngsters and adults. During the training, they all appeared to agree on a single common concern – their community doesn’t have a quality public performance venue. We suggested that they consider banding together to launch a campaign to create such a facility.
There are a lot of good reasons to do that and they reach far beyond arts programs. Look at what could happen if they work together:

They’ll have a solid proposal which has considerable appeal for the community they serve.
The issue has real news value – a campaign built around it could generate media coverage as it is launched and as it moves forward. It is news, it could be controversial and it will have appeal to a large audience (which, of course, is what news media seek).
Every group participating will have a platform from which to advocate their particular program, be it music, dance, drama or art presentations.
The groups will all draw on the strength of numbers – a dozen groups making the case are far stronger than one or two alone.
Every group gets a fundraising pitch – When You Support Us, You Support The Arts In Ventura.

The beauty of this concept is that it serves each participating organization whether the campaign is successful or not. If they persuade the community to create the venue they need, everybody wins. If the venue doesn’t materialize, every single group will still have elevated its profile, increased its stature as a community resource and expanded public awareness of who they are and what they do. Even if they lose, they win.

While the arts provide a natural platform for this effort, countless other nonprofit causes can benefit from similar thinking. I’ve seen lots of stories (far too may, but that’s a topic for another day) about food banks suffering the inevitable consequence of the current economy: Too much demand and too few resources. There is no reason that food banks in medium and large communities can’t join together to expand public awareness of their plight and public support, too.

Health care clinics face the same circumstances – greater demand, reduced resources – and could benefit from a common advocacy campaign which is also a marketing tool.

In fact, most nonprofits in most communities share goals and objectives with other nonprofits – groups serving children, mental health agencies, athletic programs, literacy organizations and more. The list is long and rich.

I don’t pretend that this is easy work. Most nonprofits these days are struggling just to hold their heads above water and many face reductions in programs and staff, so mounting a common cause campaign is a daunting challenge.

Yet, if there is a community benefit to be derived from a shared campaign and the participating nonprofits can benefit from expanded exposure and heightened stature in their community, the idea of building a common cause campaign is well worth considering.