In a typical community, a nonprofit organization has little obligation to consult the broader populace before launching a fundraising campaign for a big project. Nonprofits certainly hold the public trust; but they’re privately run. They answer to their donors and their board members, people who, in the best of circumstances, know the pulse of their community.

Vashon, however, is not a typical community. Because we’re an Island, our boundaries are discrete, our sense of self-reliance strong. And because we’re unincorporated, we have little governmental structure — no mayor or town commission that can intervene to ensure community interests are not being lost.

As a result, Vashon has learned to take care of itself, establishing nonprofits that address a wide range of needs. How many communities our size have nonprofits that work to provide affordable housing, land protection, meals for the homeless, homes for stray animals, support for our public schools, wildlife rehabilitation, opera, drama, visual arts and more?

We’ve also developed a culture of spirited and lively debate, not simply because it’s fun to opine, but because we realize just how high the stakes are when it comes to the Island’s civic life.

It’s in this setting that Vashon Allied Arts is considering launching its largest capital campaign ever — very likely, in fact, the Island’s largest capital campaign ever. According to one grant application, the entire cost of VAA’s dream to build a new performance hall, establish an endowment for it and repair the Blue Heron could reach $18 million. Compare that to the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust’s recent campaign where, after three years, it raised $300,000 for the protection of Judd Creek.

VAA is charting a careful course as it figures out the scope of the project. Wisely, the organization has brought in some top professionals and pulled together a range of Islanders to help it assess how to proceed and with what blueprint for expansion.

At the same time, the organization’s leaders are keeping their cards close to the vest. They won’t divulge, for instance, the names of the people on their campaign feasibility committee, noting that some are potential donors whose confidentiality they’ve pledged to protect. Nor will it commit to holding public meetings where anyone — from an arts patron to an occasional theater-goer — can ask questions and offer up their thoughts. The community will be brought in, VAA leaders pledged in a recent interview. But they declined to commit to what they called town hall-style meetings. Instead, they talked about gatherings with stakeholders.

We understand the hesitation. Islanders can be a tough crowd. VAA, however, has an obligation to open up its process. Why? Because on a place like Vashon — small, close-knit, independent and interdependent — we’re all stakeholders. VAA’s decisions might affect not only the future of its organization, but the future of the Island itself. If it puts forward a plan that ultimately is just too ambitious, too big for this Island to carry, VAA won’t be the only entity that struggles as a result; other nonprofits will, as well.

In VAA’s defense, it’s early on in the process. The organization still has a long way to go as it vets and shapes its dream. But we hope this cards-close-to-the-vest stance we’re seeing right now is a phase that will soon pass. Islander Duane Dietz, in a story in The Beachcomber last week, said he fears the public will be consulted when it’s too late in the process to shape its outcome. We hope and trust VAA is listening to this legitimate concern.