Philanthropy Today

Visit The Commons for our latest content, and sign up for The Commons LinkedIn newsletter.

From deputy opinion editor Nandita Raghuram: When we asked experts to share their suggestions for movies, books, or podcasts that might help mend tears in the social fabric, we didn’t expect such a range of creative responses. We figured we’d get a lot of recommendations for field standards, like Bowling Alone.

Boy, were we wrong. The “best of” list from activists, advocates, foundation chiefs, authors, and scholars includes an Owen Wilson television show, a French novel about migrants, and a book on Zen practices. There’s fiction, nonfiction, journalism, newsletters, and an autobiography from a top U.S. Army general.

As we approach the final weeks of summer — peak vacation season for many — we hope you’ll take a few minutes to read, watch, or listen to some of these picks. Take a look. All of them shed light on how to repair divisions in our communities and our country.

Plus, we’ll share more of these recommendations in future issues of the newsletter.

If democracy is unraveling, what can save it?

Scholar, author, and nonprofit leader Danielle Allen joins The Commons in Conversation podcast to talk about a range of solutions championed by philanthropy and nonprofits, including civics education, reforms of institutions like the House of Representatives, and local efforts to improve communities.

Her advice for philanthropy? “We’ve actually got to work on institutions and culture at the same time,” she said in a conversation with senior editor Drew Lindsay. “Pick a lane.”

Listen to the conversation onApple, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcasts. Or watch the interview on the Chronicle’s YouTube channel.

• In the Harvard Business Review, Columbia University conflict-resolution expert Peter Coleman writes about how managing disputes has become a must-have skill for organization leaders. He offers a set of principles “to help leaders guide their organizations through even the most vexing situations.”
  
• In his Substack “The Butterfly Effect,” fundraising adviser and Commons contributor Jason Lewis points to the work of the church as an overlooked civic force in American life. “You don’t have to agree with the church’s theology to see its civic contributions,” he writes. “At its best, it welcomes people in, not because they’re useful but because they belong. It tends to needs that aren’t profitable. It shows up before the paperwork is filed and long after the professionals go home. … We’d be foolish to ignore that — not just as citizens but as neighbors trying to rebuild the fabric of life in a world where so much of it feels like it’s unraveling.”
  
• The summer edition of the quarterly National Civic Review — published by the National Civic League — features a look at a new form of voting that battles polarization, an analysis of shared narratives that drive civic engagement, and an interview with nonprofit and church leader Yemi Mobolade, mayor of Colorado Springs, Colo., and a self-described “radical collaborator.”