Citizen Power and Social Change

A free email with news, trends, and opinion articles about the nonprofit world, as well as links to our tools, resources, and webinars. Delivered every weekday. Philanthropy Today subscribers also get a bonus weekly email called Philanthropy Today — The Commons, about how America’s nonprofits and foundations are working to heal the nation’s divides.

October 3, 2024

From: Philanthropy Today — The Commons Weekly

Subject: Citizen Power and Social Change

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From The Commons

Innovation

Can Ordinary Citizens Solve Our Toughest Problems?

By George Anders

An effort in Bend, Ore., backed by big funders looks for answers to youth homelessness.
Interview

A Hollywood Director Tells How He Built a Rom-Com Around Political Strife

By George Anders

In a new video interview as part of the Chronicle’s The Commons, filmmaker Erik Bork explains why he chose to revisit deep tensions after the 2020 election — and how his surprising movie, “The Elephant in the Room,” could help reduce today’s polarization.

Upcoming Events in The Commons

Next up in The Commons in Conversation interview series:

Nealin Parker of Common Ground USA will report on nonprofit efforts to head off political violence in advance of the November elections. October 16 at 12:30 p.m. ET. The event is free; registration is required.
How do average Americans respond to common nonprofit vernacular like “community,” “diversity,” and “democracy”? Amy McIsaac leads a language perception project at Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement and will talk about words that bring us together and those that divide us. This is a special pre-election event on October 30 at 12:30 p.m. ET. The event is free; registration is required.

Of the Moment

News and other noteworthy items:

In Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, Democracy House trustee Ian Simmons and Issue One chief advancement officer Louisa Imperiale argue for a reimagining of philanthropy’s investment in democracy reform. “This means start-up nonprofit reform organizations being turned into lasting institutions,” they write. “This means long-term funding for the critical work these organizations do. This means foundations whose endowments are explicitly for the purpose of safeguarding democracy from whatever threatens it.”
A new Gallup poll indicates that 80 percent of Americans think the country is greatly divided — a record high. Only 18 percent of poll respondents believe the country is united. Thirty years ago, almost a third of Americans believed that.
CBS News reports on Reuniting America by Fostering Trust (RAFT), which brings together people with different points of view for white-water rafting trips. “When we play together, it allows us to form relationships that otherwise we would never even consider,” says trip organizer Ken Powley, CEO of the nonprofit Team Democracy.

Webinars

October 10 at 2 p.m. ET | Register Now

August 19, 2024

Join us for Steps to Take to Build a Planned Giving Program to learn from Aquanetta Betts, director of planned giving at George Mason University, and Sean Twomey, senior director of planned giving and impact at the Wilderness Society, how to jump start your planned giving efforts. They’ll share smart tips for attracting charitable bequests, which totaled $42.7 billion last year, and other planned gifts.