The Obama Campaign: Lessons for Nonprofits

For those of us who think every day about why citizen action is important to the health of our communities and our nation, Tuesday was an historic moment on any number of levels. For one thing, I do not remember any other U.S. election where, once the results were in, we saw masses of young people in the streets raising an extended cheer. I have to hope that a big part of who they were cheering for was their own powerful selves. It is a good thing that thousands of young people all over this country have had a vivid experience with political change where they themselves are the agents of that change.

Just this, in and of itself, is a profoundly good thing for our democracy.

There are so very many things about this election that call us to a new future but if the future is showing itself to be radically different, we must become different too — or we quickly become irrelevant — and endangered.

So we asked Paul Schmitz from Public Allies to look at what this campaign did radically  differently that might hold lessons for nonprofits. We found the resulting article thought- provoking to say the very least.

Let us know what you think by clicking on the comments button at the end of this article and please stay tuned for the Cohen Report which will cover this story in a different but enormously interesting way.