In the U.S. alone, there are more than 1.5 million registered nonprofits, addressing issues from affordable housing and poverty to clean water and climate change. And yet in spite of all the efforts, the problems seem bigger and more complex than ever. This lack of progress is catastrophically discouraging to the social sector, which is filled with dedicated people working around the clock to fight these battles. But the real enemy in the sector is scarcity.

Scarcity filters through nearly every aspect of the social sector. The scarcity of consistent funding is the primary problem, and it undermines everything—from the ability to build solutions at the necessary scope, to the ability to recruit top talent. But perhaps the most damaging impact of scarcity is the way it sabotages collaboration. Scarcity turns potential teammates into competitors, and because the sector has been characterized by scarcity throughout its history, nonprofits have not learned the skill of collaboration.

Yet it’s clear that collaboration is essential if we are to have any hope of tackling the complex issues confronting us. Today, it’s estimated that more than 30 million Americans live in areas without access to safe, clean water; millions of people are struggling to afford housing; and the number of weather and climate disasters is on the rise. And that just scratches the surface. Ingrained racial, economic and educational inequities require systemic innovation to achieve systemic change.

We realized that the real opportunity to accelerate change would come from aggregating the collective purchasing power and voice of organizations across the field. The number of books coalition members collectively procure is equivalent to 20% of the retail children's book market. By collaborating, we are building a more powerful and effective market force to drive the kinds of books that we know are needed to support educational and racial equity.

We know that this will not only result in a powerful movement promoting diverse and affordable books but will also lead to additional strategies for the field to build successful collaboration among nonprofits to tackle other common challenges. We are learning together to share failures, experiments and successes because all of us know that it is urgent to refine and advance our solutions more quickly if we are to make a real and lasting difference.

Read the full article about nonprofit collaboration by Kyle Zimmer at Forbes.