The Commons in Conversation
What can nonprofits and philanthropy do to bring Americans together and strengthen fractured communities? The Commons in Conversation gets answers in interviews with advocates, leaders, and thinkers, including philanthropist Reid Hoffman, author Barbara Kingsolver, and democracy scholar and nonprofit leader Danielle Allen. Join Chronicle of Philanthropy editors and writers as we explore solutions to division in America across lines of politics, race, class, gender, and more.
This podcast is produced by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, an independent news outlet covering the $4 trillion world of nonprofits and grant making.
The Commons in Conversation
Why Big Philanthropy Is Funding Small Hyperlocal Projects
As federal Washington burns with division and conflict, some grant makers are trying to repair the country’s social fabric by strengthening communities. Join Rockefeller Brothers Fund president Stephen Heintz and Katie Loudin of the West Virginia Community Development Hub for a discussion of the year-old Trust for Civic Life, an unusual $30 million cross-ideological funder collaborative bankrolling homegrown initiatives.
Members of the trust include the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Omidyar Network, the The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Stand Together, and Walmart.
Visit The Commons, a Chronicle special project exploring how Americans can come together, strengthen communities, and repair our torn social fabric. And sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Watch this interview on the Chronicle's YouTube channel.
Go Deeper
- Read "Major Funders Bet Big on Rural America and 'Everyday Democracy,' in the Chronicle, about the launch of the Trust for Civic Life.
- See our analysis of grassroots democracy efforts nationwide: "As Washington Brawls, Betting on Communities to Fix What’s Broken."
- See the "Our Common Purpose" report and its followup, "Habits of Heart and Mind: How to Fortify Our Civic Culture."