Why Collaborate?

There are many obvious reasons your organization can benefit from collaborating with other groups. Your group and others can jointly host events (allowing for sharing of expenses), increase attendance, and possibly obtain more well-known speakers. You will have more people to get involved in service projects and political activism, and a larger pool from which to draw donations and support, and many potential members.

Collaborating with students groups offers some specific benefits to both sides. Off-campus groups will gain the energy and new ideas of student members, and getting young people involved while they are active in college will encourage them to be active after graduation, providing your group with new members.

Student groups, on the other hand, will find stability and guidance in an established off-campus group. Your group may be able to help with some of the financial needs of a student group. The permanence of your group can help ease leadership transitions, a common danger for our affiliate groups.

There is one further benefit to both sides. One of the biggest challenges that the SSA encounters is the graduation of its leaders. When our students become alumni, most disappear from the movement. Your participation in this program will help acclimate college students to the freethought environment outside of academia. By serving as mentors, friends, and cohorts, community members can assist in retention and help erase the age gap seen in the freethought movement.

The crux of collaborative efforts is that freethought will spread outward from the local axis. "A rising tide floats all boats," the saying goes, and it is definitely the case here.