Philanthropy Today

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From senior editor Drew Lindsay: Interfaith America founder Eboo Patel, a Muslim, has found pluralist inspiration in the writings and actions of many Catholic theologians and leaders — none more than Pope Francis, he writes for The Commons this week.

In word and deed, Patel says, the late pontiff preached a gospel of pluralism that’s illuminating for advocates working to bring Americans together in this time of dark division: “At seemingly every opportunity — elevating women to positions of administrative power in a famously patriarchal Church, hosting mass for the Vatican’s custodians — the pope widened the circle of welcome and strengthened the bonds between the people inside.”

Patel paints an inspiring portrait of the pope in his essay.

Also this week: We’re spotlighting the debut of a new Chronicle podcast on nonprofit leadership. The first guest, Tim Dixon, head of More in Common, talks with Chronicle CEO Stacy Palmer about hands-on, research-based strategies to help organizations manage divisions within their ranks and on their boards. Among his key points:

• Coalitions of unlikely partners are a key to success.
• Leaders must manage divides within their organization — not ignore them.
• Focus on shared values to build consensus.

You can find the conversation on Apple Podcasts, on other podcast platforms, or at philanthropy.com.

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 include Rockefeller Brothers, the Carnegie Corporation, the Omidyar Network, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Stand Together, and Walmart.

Register now for this Commons in Conversation event on Tuesday, May 6, at 12:30 p.m. ET.

News and other noteworthy items:

• Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich tells Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper that people of faith can come together across differences to do great things — just as they have throughout history. “Martin Luther King used the power of the church and his role as a moral authority to try to push for something that was just so significant and so critical in our society,” says Kasich, author of the new Heaven Help Us: How Faith Communities Inspire Hope, Strengthen Neighborhoods, and Build the Future. “I believe that people who are driven by faith — no matter whether you’re Christian, Jewish, or Muslim — seem to be people that just keep forging ahead because they believe what they’re doing is so important.”
  
• Nearly 40 percent of young people are detached from democracy or hostile to it, according to a new survey from Protect Democracy and the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. There’s “a chasm between their ideal vision of democracy and their perception of its current failures,” the report says, leading to disaffection and frustration so extreme that some Gen Zers “consider violent measures for change.” Recommendations include the creation of opportunities for civic education, as well as collaboration and collective action.
  
• In a new report, CoGenerate spotlights organizations — most of them small and hyper-local — that bring older and younger generations together as a solution to loneliness and isolation. The report explores research illustrating the unique power and mutual benefits of intergenerational friendships: “When surrounded by people our own age, there’s a tendency to ‘compare and despair.’ When there’s a generation gap, many people say they feel less threatened by others’ life choices or circumstances.”