You could try lithium ethanolate or even plain sodium hydroxide.
In "Gattermann-Wieland: Die Praxis des organischen Chemikers, 43. ed., de Gruyter, 1982", lithium ethanolate, dissolved in absolute ethanol is used for the synthesis of 1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadiene from cinnamyl-triphenylphosphonium chloride and benzaldehyde. Yield of the raw product is 50-60% of the theory, after recrystallization a mere 32%.
Sodium hydroxide in water (yep, right, w a t e r!) is used for the preparation of the ylene methoxycarbonylmethylene-triphenylphosphorane from methoxycarbonylmethyltriphenylphosphonium bromide. The ylene is isolated in 85% yield before it is converted to m-nitrocinnamic acid methyl ester with m-nitrobenzaldehyde by refluxing in benzene. Yield of the m-nitrocinnamic ester is 65% after crystallization from methanol.
Quidquid agis, prudenter agas et respice finem!