The Latest
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Opinion | Watch Your LanguageWhy Philanthropy’s Democracy Talk Turns People Off
Here are the words that leave average Americans cold — and the language that could connect them to the billion-dollar fight to strengthen the country. -
Advice
How to Recruit and Lead Staff Who Truly Know Your Community
Staff with lived experience can strengthen your organization — if you hire and support them well. -
Division in America
The Church Americans Often Mock Could Teach Us to Heal
After the Kirk assassination in Utah and the attack on a Mormon church, the Mormon commitment to serving others emerges as a powerful answer to hate, division, and violence. -
Community
Think Globally, Act Neighborly: 6 Small Steps to Get Big Change
Advice about how micro-efforts by nonprofits — even street festivals or block parties — can help turn neighborhoods into engines of the big change philanthropy seeks. -
Grant Makers
Big Funders Pour $56 Million Into Civics at a Fractured Moment
Ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday, the effort aims to rekindle learning, engagement, and action through support of a growing network of civic organizations. -
Opinion
A Rescue Plan for Local Public Media That Conservatives Will Love
Right-of-center donors would join with their progressive counterparts to replace lost federal funding — if the money went to local stations.
On language
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7 Words That Can Restore Trust in Philanthropy
The language nonprofits use can push people away. Here’s how to invite them in and build connection. -
Philanthropy’s Trigger Words — and How to Make Your Message Clear
You say ‘equity.’ They hear ‘exclusion.’ Strategies for getting everyone on the same page. -
Word Jumble: When Nonprofits Talk Fancy, America Tunes Out
Our language is packed with elite-sounding jargon. It is ineffective — and dangerous — amid today’s heightened distrust of institutions and growing hostility to the sector. -
Can Your Group Stay Neutral on Controversial Topics? 5 Things to Know
A communications pro offers tips for nonprofits considering whether to publicly take a stand on divisive issues.
What If We’re Not Hopelessly Divided?
Research points to common ground on controversial issues, the country’s priorities, and America’s values — terrain from which nonprofits and philanthropy can work for change.
Commons in Conversation
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Interview
Tim Shriver on Philanthropy and the ‘Vortex of Contempt’
The chair of Special Olympics and co-founder of the Dignity Index talks with The Commons about the Charlie Kirk assassination and nonprofit work to rid our disagreements of hate and outrage. -
Interview
LISTEN NOW: Move Over, Mega-Donor: Philanthropist Hali Lee the Power of Collective Giving
The co-founder of the Donors of Color Network argues that giving circles and mutual aid are the real change-makers. -
Interview
LISTEN NOW: Reid Hoffman’s $10 Million Contest to Restore Trust in Institutions
Introducing our Commons in Conversation podcast! The LinkedIn co-founder joins Lever for Change’s Cecilia Conrad to talk about his open call to lift up new ideas — and attract funding — for reforms of government, the media, higher education, and more.
Advice
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Leading
Inside the Leadership Success of a Millennial and Boomer Who Share the CEO Seat
Co-leaders of a Louisiana community group share what makes their norm-defying intergenerational partnership a boon for their staff, their community, and their personal growth. -
Advice
You Need Conservatives. Here’s How to Engage Them in Your Mission.
Insights and tips from a conservative who believes nonprofits will fail in their mission if they muster support only from people who think — and vote — like they do. -
VIDEO
How Nonprofits Can Rebuild Trust with America
Trust in American institutions — including nonprofits and philanthropy — has been falling for many years. What can individual charities and grant makers do to reverse the trend and boost trust in their organizations? Kristen Grimm — founder of Spitfire Strategies, a communications firm that works with nonprofits — dug into this question with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The result is a playbook for how nonprofits can tackle the trust deficit.
Two Churches and a Quest for Racial Unity
Watch a short documentary by Alex Garcia, a Pulitzer Prize winner, on Bethel New Life and Hope Presbyterian churches outside Chicago.
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