#ListenFirst Coalition Offerings

#ListenFirst Coalition partners collectively offer hundreds of bridging opportunities, skills, and resources. See them all below, where partners are featured alphabetically within their primary intervention strategy: Engage, Expose, Educate, or Elevate.

Engage with one another—especially across difference

Alluvial Collective

Jackson, Mississippi

The Alluvial Collective works to end inequity based on difference by cultivating belonging and wholeness in the world.

  • Primary Audience: General

To help people be in conversation with one another in an accessible, productive way.

  • Primary Audience: Adults in the U.S.

  • Offerings:

American Pals

Berkeley, California

Help young Americans get to know their own country and fellow citizens better.

  • Primary Audience: High School & Middle School Students

  • Offerings:

American Public Square

Kansas City, Missouri

To convene non-like-minded people to improve the tone and quality of civil discourse to create paths toward actionable common ground.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 states

  • Offerings:

Aristotle’s Cafe

Raleigh, North Carolina

To improve community, state, and national discourse with our unique approach to Facilitation, questions, communication, and empathy.

Arizona Town Hall

Phoenix, Arizona

Arizona Town Hall educates, engages, connects, and empowers people to resolve important issues through consensus, not division, using a process based on respectful dialogue that values diverse perspectives, builds relationships, and fosters leadership development.

  • Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

At the Table Colorado

Castle Rock, Colorado

Convene forums, designed to elevate civic conversation, foster new relationships and inspire collaborative action across Colorado.

Authentic Agility Games, LLC

Ponte Vedra, Florida

To Create Conversation and Connection in our schools, communities, and families.

BreakBread World

New York, New York

The BreakBread mission is to grow a global community dedicated to reweaving our common humanity over active and inspired conversation while sharing in the intimate act of breaking bread together. Our dream is a world where deep listening and inquiry, intentional community and friendship, and full body/mind nourishment trumps the compulsion to obsess over social media, junk news and the marketplace.

Breaking Bread

Washington, DC

Breaking Bread shines a light on divergent people coming together across their disagreements to foster the mutual recognition, respect, and understanding necessary to engage others, learn about opposing viewpoints, and make a positive impact in our community on pressing matters.

  • Primary Audience: Divergent Communities

  • Geographic Footprint: 3 states

Bridges supports organizations and communities to build vibrant spaces of belonging – spaces where we celebrate our complex identities, explore our differences productively, and build resilient relationships between groups.

Bridges of Peace

Springfield, Oregon

The Mission of Bridges of Peace is to educate and support individuals, organizations, and communities to become empowered to fulfill their greatest potential through mindful action, dialogue, and collaboration.

Bridge USA

San Francisco, California

We’re investing in the future of democracy by developing the next generation of engaged and constructive citizens.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 19 states (35 colleges)

  • Offerings:

Build Up

San Francisco, California

Build Up is a global non-profit working beside local organizations to identify and address emergent challenges to peace through interventions, research and training that combine peacebuilding best practices, participatory methodologies and digital technologies. We convene a community of practice at the Build Peace conference.

Building Bipartisan Bonds

Denver, Colorado

Building Bipartisan Bonds is an ambitious bipartisan effort to bridge the schisms in our society from the bottom up. The marketplace of ideas and the health of our community increasingly require that we disagree without being disagreeable. Building Bipartisan Bonds believes that bringing our community together around a table through discourse is the best way to bring our country together. It is our hope that these efforts will be copied, scaled, and implemented elsewhere. We’re here to engage in conversation, dialogue, and discussion with others who might be outside the bounds of our usual ideological groups. Sessions will be carefully planned to create the most productive, informative, and enjoyable bipartisan time as possible.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 states

  • Offerings:

    • Small-group dialogue based on active listening and emphathy-building

      • Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

Building Reconciliation Inclusion Diversity and Gender Equity is creating a more just, equitable, and inclusive world through advancing "Human Together" and the practice of reconciliation.

CCEJ is dedicated to eliminating bias, bigotry, and racism through education, dialogue, and conflict resolution.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: Southern California

  • Offerings:

Care Lab

Washington, D.C.

Bringing people and ideas together across divides, to create a more care-centered world.

Cat Moore

Los Angeles, California

My mission is to embody the message, "You Belong Here." I activate people from all walks of life to become wifi hotspots of belonging everywhere they are and support organizations through organic strategy for cultures of belonging.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

    • CLICK

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • SPARK

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Re-human

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, DIY

    • SMASH! Single Moms Are Super Heroes

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, DIY

    • Curious Conversations

      • Groups, In-Person, DIY

Building a global culture of empathy

Center of Life

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

To provide families and youth with the life skills, education, training, and resources necessary to be strong and to make their communities strong.

  • Primary Audience: Minority or Underrepresented Groups

  • Geographic Footprint: 22 Communities

  • Offerings:

    • Social Justice Resource Center

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Citizen Assembly

Bensenville, Illinois

We bring together citizens in weekly free-speech forums to deliberate and develop the best solutions to our common problems. If you have a good idea, we want to hear it. If you want to lead, we will help you.

Civi

North Carolina

Enabling civil discourse and problem solving with the other side.

  • Primary Audience: General Audience 

  • Offerings:

Civic Imagination Project

Los Angeles, California

To realize the full potential of our communities, build on our past, and chart paths forward, we need to be able to imagine what better worlds look like…even now, especially now. Responding to this imperative, the Civic Imagination Project activates people’s visions for what a better tomorrow might look like as a necessary step to connecting with others and taking action to achieve real-world goals. Over the last 7 years, our project team has built tools with people from all over the world, helping them build action plans to realize imagined solutions. To activate the civic imagination, we conduct workshops and brainstorming sessions with people from a wide range of communities to map and analyze stories that inspire and connect people, bridging the gaps people see as dividing us.

Civic Synergy

New Jersey

Enable our nation to address pressing challenges by empowering young adults to communicate and collaborate effectively across political divides; feel comfortable deliberating with those who have different views; and connect and facilitate action beyond dialogue.

CivilTalk

San Diego, California

To reunite our nation by offering an online community to civilly discuss the issues that affect us all and collaborate on solutions.

  • Primary Audience: Voting-Age Americans

  • Offerings:

Civic Leadership Project

Washington, D.C.

The nonprofit Civic Leadership Project provides a practical holistic framework for a city, state or rural community to create a civic culture that can strengthen its civic capacity — its ability to work together to solve collective problems — as well as create a more robust nonprofit sector with the giving, volunteering and sense of community responsibility needed to successfully address the educational, social, economic and environmental challenges it faces.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

We are committed to addressing the growing civic divide that has left our nation more polarized than any time since the Civil War. This polarization poses an urgent threat to America that goes far beyond arguments at family dinner tables or bickering on social media. It puts our national security and the very foundation of our Democracy at risk. By sewing disinformation into the fabric of our most personal conversations, our enemies are effectively exploiting, dividing, and distracting us from the real issues facing our nation and communities. That is why Community Conversations is a project for America. It brings Americans together to stop fighting and start listening because our country can’t afford to be pulled further apart.

Community Initiatives Network

Fort Collins, Colorado

Advancing communities marked by a sense of belonging, stewardship, and willingness to act for the common good.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 States

  • Offerings:

Consensus Building Institute

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Working at the forefront of collaboration and conflict resolution, helping leaders generate breakthrough results on tough social, environmental, and economic issues. 

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 states

  • Offerings:

Consensus KC

Kansas City, Missouri

To put the public in public policy

The Constructive Dialogue Institute is a psychology-based nonprofit that builds educational tools to equip college students, high school students, and professionals with the skills for constructive dialogue.

Consulting Office of Maria Ramos-Chertok

San Francisco, California

To advance human dignity mutual understanding through transformative dialogue and interactive, thought provoking engagements.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 states

  • Offerings:

    • Year Long Fellowship Across the Political Divide

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

We convene individuals and organizations with divergent views to build trust, identify solutions, and form alliances for action on critical national issues.

  • Primary Audience: Influencers & Decision Makers

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 states

  • Offerings:

Open, hosted conversations in cafés as well as conferences and classrooms—anywhere people gather to make sense of our world.

Conversations in Dialogue

Raleigh, North Carolina

Cultivate an appreciation for honest and empathetic dialogue between diverse voices.

  • Primary Audience: High School Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

    • Direct community building and interaction

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

Courageous Conversations About Our Schools podcast is devoted to bringing education stakeholders together with diverse perspectives to have civil and fruitful conversations about issues at the center of today's culture wars in education.

Creating Common Ground, Inc.

Salem, Massachusetts

Creating Common Ground helps people bridge divides on contentious interpersonal, social and political issues. It does this by providing instruction (workshops, seminars, talks) on how to resolve around interpersonal, organizational and socio-political settings, and by publishing CCG Magazine, an online forum in which experts, pundits and ordinary people propose novel ways to resolve intractable social problems, communicate in constructive ways, and otherwise build shared values to live by.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

Crossing Party Lines

New York, New York

Create open dialogue between Americans with dissimilar ideologies in order to increase tolerance, build communities, and encourage civic engagement.

CSU Center for Public Deliberation

Fort Collins, Colorado

Elevate the quality of public discourse in northern Colorado.

Davenport Institute

Malibu, California

Build stronger communities in California by promoting public participation in local governance.

  • Primary Audience: Elected officials

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 states

  • Offerings:

Strengthen civic life in Alabama by increasing active citizenship, community collaboration, and effective decision-making. 

The Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center (DDNRC) advances innovative practices in higher education that promote transformative dialogue on controversial topics and complex social issues.

  • Primary Audience: College faculty and administrators

  • Geographic Footprint: 3 states

  • Offerings:

Dignity Dialogues

Orlando, Florida

Dignity Dialogues builds bridges to unity and peace through civil dialogue that, first and foremost, honors the human dignity inherent in each person.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

Dream Corps

Oakland, California

Closing prison doors and opening doors of opportunity.

  • Primary Audience: Minority or underrepresented groups

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 States

  • Offerings:

End It For Good, Inc.

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

We invite people to support approaches to drugs that prioritize life and the opportunity to thrive.

  • Primary Audience: Stakeholder groups in the War on Drugs and the Opioid Epidemic

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

Equitable Dinners

Atlanta, Georgia

Our vision is to inspire Anti-Racism action through art and courageous conversation.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

ERASE Races

Tomball, Texas

Our chief mission is to remove the ideological barrier of "race" from the American mindset in order to unite all people through intentional interaction and relationship building.

  • Primary Audience: Faith communities

  • Geographic Footprint: 48 states

  • Offerings:

    • Dialogic Rules - The Art of Dialogue

      • Groups or Individuals, In-Person, Facilitated

    • TeamPrint

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated

    • The House

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated

    • De-Racialization; The Process

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

Essteem

New York, New York

Essteem was born out of a need to balance the social and economic divide in technology. We aim to transform and diversify tech by organizing hackathons that connect underrepresented talent to employers.

  • Primary Audience: Minority or underrepresented groups

  • Offerings:

    • Hackathons to build tech solutions

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, Facilitated

    • Workshops and Webinars

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, Facilitated

Fact or Fiction Trivia

Denver, Colorado

Combatting the spread of misinformation and polarization through trivia.

Faith Matters Network

Nashville, Tennessee

Equips faith leaders, community organizers, and activists with resources for connection, spiritual sustainability and accompaniment. 

  • Primary Audience: Faith Communities

  • Geographic Footprint: 6 states

  • Offerings:

FeelReal

Chicago, Illinois

To co-create a just and sustainable world by holding space for the magic of human connection.

Fierce Civility Project

Washington, D.C.

The Fierce Civility Project provides tools and experiences to compassionately bridge differences, break gridlocks of polarization, and revive the global heart.

For All Ages

Simsbury, Connecticut

For All Ages is connecting the generations and inspiring action to end loneliness, reduce ageism, and improve health and well-being.

Our mission is to empower us all to create healthy, positive, rewarding relationships with ourselves, each other, Earth, and the loving force greater than ourselves.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Relationship skill education

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Relationship education resources

      • Individuals, Online, DIY

GenUnity

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Our mission is to support diverse adults to promote their civic wellbeing - their capacity to critically evaluate, navigate, and drive change on community issues.

  • Primary Audience: Minority or underrepresented groups

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

To help individuals, groups and organizations to build compassionate human relations that prevent and heal conflicts.

  • Primary Audience: Minority or underrepresented groups

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 States

  • Offerings:

Habits of Discourse

Hyattsville, Maryland

Helping you develop practices for healthier engagement across difference. Be a better person, by improving how you dialogue. Be a better community, by building capacity for engagement. Thrive together, by tackling critical issues.

Hands Across the Hills

Leverett, Massachusetts
Letcher County, Kentucky

Bridging divides in this time of polarization through intensive dialogues.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 states

  • Offerings:

    • Intensive residential dialogue

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

Hands of Peace

Glenview, Illinois

Hands of Peace empowers American, Israeli and Palestinian youth to become agents of change.

Hapi

New York City, New York

Hapi is a non-clinical emotional support platform providing active listening as a service.

Healing Race

San Diego, California

Talking about race isn't always easy. Andre and Todd were college freshman roommates - one black, one white - who spent the first 25 years of knowing each other without ever discussing the topic. So they decided to go deep on the role of race and the state of race relations in the U.S... and to record their conversations so that others could see what a first conversation about race might look like, where no topic is off the table, but where they always listen, respect, and seek to understand - even and especially when we see things differently. And they are now welcoming guests on to experience that same kind of radical openness, honesty, and empathy. Healing Race is about having open, "real," constructive conversations about race, and we would love for you to join.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

HearMe.app

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Use the power of empathetic listening to bring people together and make the world a kinder place.

Humilitarian

Seattle, Washington

There Are Millions of Us. Most Americans believe that tribalism and condescension have destroyed the effectiveness of our politics. They are right.

We Must Identify Each Other... Declaring, “I am a #humilitarian,” enables those of us committed to changing politics through respectful discourse to identify and find each other.

...and So Become a Political Force. When enough of us all over the political spectrum have done so, we will be a political force.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • A word or identifier - "Humilitarian" - associated with a set of principles that, when followed, lead to empathic, positive-sum, results-oriented, love-motivated political discourse

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, DIY

IMPROVment

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Brain body health for older adult communities.

In This Together

San Francisco, California

To build bridges between America's cultural, ideological, and political communities, by harnessing the power of politics and media to connect people, reduce polarization, advance problem-solving, and be a force for positive change.

Indiana Campus Compact

Indianapolis, Indiana

Advocating, implementing, and improving community engagement efforts so that students graduate as well-informed, engaged, and productive members of society who are fully enabled to provide leadership and service that advances the public good in their communities.

  • Primary Audience: College Students & Faculty

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

Interactivity Foundation

Parkersburg, West Virginia

Strengthen our democracy through the use of a small-group discussion process to explore diverse perspectives and generate an expanding set of divergent possibilities for complex areas of public concern.

Interfaith America

Chicago, Illinois

Make interfaith cooperation a social norm.

Our metropolitan Detroit community is enriched by its many religious values and practices. Religious belief and expression are the most dynamic influences in our culture. The InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit brings people of many faiths together to work toward a harmonious community based on our highest and best values. We teach understanding which leads to deep respectful relationships among individuals and congregations of different faiths as well as those who do not have a religious affiliation. We advocate for resilience in the face of misunderstanding and bigotry.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 3 counties in Detroit metro area

  • Offerings:

Iris

San Francisco, California

Help communities communicate better, by making it easy to start small group conversations.

Junto

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Meaningful Communities at Scale

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Junto

      • Groups, Online, Facilitated

Kansas Leadership Center

Wichita, Kansas

Foster leadership for stronger, healthier, more prosperous communities.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 40+ communities in Kansas and dozens of other states

  • Offerings:

    • The KLC Path

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

KINGDOM Group International

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Tearing Down Walls of Division and Building Bridges for Unity

  • Primary Audience: Faith Communities

  • Geographic Footprint: 10 Communities

  • Offerings:

Leadership North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina

Inform, develop and engage committed leaders by broadening their understanding of and involvement in issues and opportunities facing the state.

Learning Life

Washington, D.C.

Learning Life is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit lab devoted to innovating education and citizen engagement by spreading learning in everyday life beyond school walls. In our increasingly interconnected yet divided world, we develop innovative learning communities in order to widen access to world affairs, and nurture more caring, capable and connected citizens.

Let's Talk Unite

Palo Alto, California

Let’s Talk Unite is a movement dedicated to reducing political polarization through stimulating collaborative dialogue and addressing our personal biases.

Lighten Up Folks!

Galena, Illinois

To inspire open, respectful conversation among people with different political views

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

Listen, LP

Burbank, California

Redefine what listening is and how people do it.

  • Primary Audience: High School Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 15 states

  • Offerings:

    • Listen Film

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Active Listener Guidebook

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Listen Film Curriculum

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Active-Listener Training

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Listening Inn Foundation

Bangalore, Karnataka

For anyone who is looking for a safe space to be heard without judgment, without bias. Listening Inn is India’s largest digital Listening platform that uses the science of listening to create a community of well trained listeners to listen as equals & to develop the listening skills that one can use in their personal, academic and professional life. We are on a mission to create over a million listeners by 2025.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 60+ Cities in India

  • Offerings:

    • Building India's first Digital listening platform

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, Facilitated or DIY

    • Foundational and Intensive trainings on listening

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, Facilitated or DIY

    • Online listening services at no cost

      • Individuals, Online, Facilitated

Living Room Conversations

Boulder, Colorado

We hope for a world in which people who have fundamental differences of opinion and backgrounds learn to work together with respect – and even joy

Make America Dinner Again

San Francisco, California

In an attempt to build understanding and move forward together, Make America Dinner Again invited people to sit down and have dinner. There are many avenues to protest, to donate, to fight, to be heard; Make America Dinner Again is an avenue to listen.

Marc Wong

New York, New York

To inspire everyone to understand and respect others.

The Matsunaga Institute for Peace is an academic department at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa that promotes cross-cultural understanding, collaborative problem-solving, critical thinking, and lifelong skills to groom leaders to address contemporary and complex issues near and far.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

    • Courageous Conversations

      • Groups, Online, Facilitated

    • Cultural Talk Story Series

      • Individuals or Groups, Online, Facilitated

    • Matsunaga Institute: Peace and Conflict Education

      • Individuals or Groups, Online, Facilitated

    • Annual Peer Mediation Conference

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Annual International Day of Peace / Constitution Day

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

Meetings of Opposites

Charlottesville, Virginia

To create the actual experience of common ground among people whose opinions are irreconcilable.

Millions of Conversations

Nashville, Tennessee

Transcend divides by uniting Americans around common values for a shared future.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: Nashville, Tennessee & Washington, D.C.

  • Offerings:

Minnesota Council of Churches

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Manifest the unity of the body of Christ and build the common good in the world.

The Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution uses collaborative processes and the science of human relations to help government and stakeholders improve relationships, build trust, and develop wise and durable solutions to seemingly intractable issues.

Mixed Company

Oklahoma

Create opportunities for open conversation.

More Perfect Union

Atlanta, Georgia

MPU is a movement to strengthen communities and heal our Country by creating meaningful connections through service and leadership.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 7 States

  • Offerings:

Move for America

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Catalyze a generation of leaders to bridge divides and strengthen our civic dialogue.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

    • Move for America Fellowship

      • Individuals, In-person, Facilitated

Nation Builder

Los Angeles, California

We envision a world where everyone has the freedom and opportunity to create what they are meant to create. We build the infrastructure for a world of creators by helping leaders develop and organize thriving communities.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 states

  • Offerings:

National Civic League

Denver, Colorado

Advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communities.

Bring people together across divides to discuss, decide, and take action together effectively on today’s toughest issues. 

Connecting people for the purpose of strengthening civic life, with the core of our joint efforts being the belief that every person has the ability to help their community and country thrive.

Promotes healthy and civil political debate among everyday Americans and elected leaders.

To promote and strengthen public deliberation

need2Bheard

Maplewood, New Jersey

need2Bheard gives you a private, confidential, and emotionally supportive listening environment. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone who is really interested in what you want to say. Everyone deserves to have an outlet for self-expression with no judgment. It’s a basic human need.

  • Primary Audience: People aged 45-85

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 States

  • Offerings:

NewGround

Los Angeles, California

NewGround is a community-building organization that creates, connects and empowers Jewish and Muslim Change-makers in America. Through a professional fellowship, high school leadership council and public programming, NewGround transforms Muslim-Jewish relations and advances a shared agenda for change.

New Hampshire Listens

Durham, New Hampshire

Help New Hampshire residents talk and act together to create communities that work for everyone.

New Politics Leadership Academy

Boston, Massachussetts

Through leadership development programming, hard skill training, and networking events, we're building a new pipeline into politics for Americans who have served our communities and country before and who feel called to continue their service through civic engagement and politics.

No Labels

Washington, D.C.

No Labels is a national movement of Democrats, Republicans and independents working to bring America’s leaders together to solve our toughest problems. No Labels created the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus and an allied Senate group that led passage of some of the most consequential legislation of recent years including the historic infrastructure bill in 2021, and the CHIPS Act, a gun safety bill and a rewrite of the Electoral Count Act in 2022.

North Carolina Campus Engagement

Elon, North Carolina

North Carolina Campus Engagement (NCCE) is a collaborative network of colleges and universities committed to educating students for civic and social responsibility, partnering with communities for positive change, and strengthening democracy. The NC Campus Engagement state office fosters connections between campuses, shares best practice information and resources, recognizes outstanding work, and champions civic and community engagement in higher education.

North Carolina Leadership Forum

Durham, North Carolina

The North Carolina Leadership Forum (NCLF) seeks to strengthen democracy and restore a culture of healthy policy making by catalyzing and accelerating cross-partisan collaboration amongst policy leaders across sectors at the state and local level. This unique North Carolina state-based program builds the will, the skills, and the relationships that these leaders need to work constructively with each other across partisan and ideological divides.

  • Primary Audience: Policy Leaders

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

Objectively, Inc.

Fairfax, Virginia

Reducing Cognitive Polarization by Democratizing Deliberation

One America Movement

Alexandria, Virginia

Build a united American society by eliminating toxic polarization.

  • Primary Audience: Faith Communities

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 states

  • Offerings:

Encourage activities, like cycling, that can contribute to your overall well-being, while providing suicide awareness and education; to make stronger, safer communities.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

Othering & Belonging Institute

Berkeley, California

The Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley brings together researchers, organizers, stakeholders, communicators, and policymakers to identify and eliminate the barriers to an inclusive, just, and sustainable society in order to create transformative change. We are a diverse and vibrant hub generating work centered on realizing a world where all people belong, where belonging entails being respected at a level that includes the right to both contribute and make demands upon society and political and cultural institutions.

We respond to issues that require both immediate action and long-term strategy. The Institute engages in innovative communications, arts and cultural strategy, and strategic narrative work that attempts to re-frame the public discourse from a dominant narrative of control and fear towards one that recognizes the humanity of all people, cares for the earth, and celebrates our inherent interconnectedness.

Our mission is to build more peaceful communities. We invite people to learn what it's like to walk in the shoes of someone who doesn't look like them by offering a safe forum for discussion.

Outreach Experts

Chicago, Illinois

Helps companies and organizations navigate that change through technology and best practices for engagement with key stakeholders and the public.

  • Primary Audience: Organizations

  • Geographic Footprint: 43 states

  • Offerings:

Oxford Road

Sherman Oaks, California

To mobilize marketers to support truth and civility in the media.

PACEs Connection

Sacramento, California

PACEs Connection amplifies and supports the worldwide positive and adverse childhood experiences (PACEs) movement by sharing its stories, solutions, and science, growing healing communities, and valuing equity and diversity.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 states

  • Offerings

    • PACEs Science Education

      • Individuals or Groups, Online, Facilitated or DIY

    • PACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • PACEs Connection YouTube Library

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

GVSU’s Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse will prepare students to be agents of social change who practice and model civil discourse.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

Pairagraph

Boston, Massachusetts
Austin, Texas

Pairagraph is a platform for written dialogue between pairs of notable individuals: in essence, an online meeting place for the world’s most prominent figures across government, industry, academia, religion, and the arts. Our mission is to revive this dualistic and dialectic mode of discourse, which has fallen lately into a state of decay.

Parents Forum

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Our mission is to foster caring, honest and respectful communications in parents, other adults and young people by offering host organizations a practical, affordable peer support program model.

  • Primary Audience: Parents

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 States

  • Offerings:

    • Parents Forum Workshop

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Spotlight on Conversation

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Book & Toy Exchange

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Charm School

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Learning What We Live

      • Groups or Individuals, In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Parity

New York, New York

Parity works to heal LGBT and faith divides through compassion, curiosity and collaboration.

Peace Harmony Joy Alliance

Atlanta, Georgia

Awaken peace, harmony, and joy for people within themselves, with others, and with the world through sharing, connecting, and facilitating.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 3 States

  • Offerings:

    • Teach Peace, Harmony and Joy

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Connect Peace, Harmony and Joy

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Facilitate Peace, Harmony and Joy

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Peace Through Action USA

Washington, D.C.

Peace Through Action USA is missioned to achieve peace between people and within groups in the United States of America by promoting caring action.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Do Something about Violence Information Sheets

      • Individuals, Online, DIY

Peer Collective

Boston, Massachusetts

Radically increase access to high-quality mental health support through online peer counseling.

Perspective, Inc.

Jacksonville, Florida

Perspective is a platform striving to promote the common intellectual by stimulating thoughtful discussion and strongly emphasizing interactions between contrasting viewpoints.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 4 States

  • Offerings:

PLATO’s mission is to introduce preK-12 students to philosophy and ethics, preparing them for 21st-century challenges. Our innovative educational programs serve thousands of students, teachers, and parents nationally and internationally, fostering critical thinking, curiosity, tolerance and understanding of diverse viewpoints, self-confidence, and analytic reasoning skills.

Picture a Conversation

Birmingham, Michigan

Supporting my fellow humans in creating positive and respectful connections through meaningful conversations.

Podcast Brunch Club

Chicago, Illinois

To create connection and understanding through a global community dedicated to real-time conversation and dialogue. 

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 25 states, 33 communities

  • Offerings:

Rising political polarization and declining civility in political engagement are critical problems of our time in part because they stand as barriers to addressing all other social problems. Without addressing entrenched political divisions, effective action on pressing issues like global warming, poverty, immigration, and health care is impossible. The effects of polarization are getting worse and are not obviously self-limiting. There is good reason to expect current trends to continue, with potentially devastating consequences for political, economic, and ecological stability. ​

Our lab addresses these problems by conducting research on actionable solutions sufficient to check rising polarization and incivility in the U.S. Our multidisciplinary team theorizes interventions, rigorously evaluates them with experimental and observational data, pursues partnerships with organizations to directly intervene, and disseminates findings to political leaders and the general public. Our work is focused on developing practical scientific knowledge in three main areas: paths to political consensus, reducing harms of polarization, and effective strategies of social activism.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

Police2Peace

Sedona, Arizona

Our mission is to unite police departments and communities around programs that uplift and heal them.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 25 states

  • Offerings:

    • Walk With Us: Community Unity Live Event

      • Groups, In-Person, DIY

    • 7 Simple Steps For Positive Policing

      • Individuals, Online or In-Person, DIY

POV International

Copenhagen, Denmark

POV International is an independent Danish online media platform, providing news, in-depth analyses and opinions, free of charge. POV International maintains high standards for fact based analyses and fair reporting. Furthermore, our mission is be inclusive and open to topics, individuals, communities and organizations that do not have access to mainstream media. This includes vulnerable groups, both in Denmark and abroad.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 3 States

  • Offerings:

    • Listening, learning and telling from the heart; Danish discussion salons

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

Power of WE

Tallahassee, Florida

Power of WE seeks to inspire a campus culture of innovation and collaboration by challenging echo chambers, building shared spaces and bridging civic divides.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Geographic Footprint: Florida State University

  • Offerings:

Preemptive Love

Hewitt, Texas

Preemptive Love Coalition exists to end war and to stop the spread of violence.

Project on Civil Discourse

Washington, D.C.

The American University Project on Civil Discourse encourages and supports students in understanding speech not only as a matter of rights, but of responsibilities, values, and opportunities. It works on the principle that each of us must be the architect of our own voice, choosing to use it in service of our goals and values and in a manner that contributes to our learning community.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

    • Building My Voice

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Discussion Modules

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Public Agenda

Brooklyn, New York

Strengthening democracy and expanding opportunity for all Americans.

Renew America Together

Little Rock, Arkansas

Renew America Together is a 501 (c)(3) organization designed to promote and achieve greater common ground in America by reducing partisan division and gridlock. Our mission is to revitalize public and political discourse by teaching and promoting civics, citizenship and civility.

Resetting the Table

New York City, New York

San Francisco, California

Building a shared democracy in American life by strengthening the capacity of leaders and communities to communicate across political siloes and address important public problems.

Resolutionaries

Los Angeles, California

Resolutionaries' mission is to restore a national sense of commonality through respectful dialog and discussions in cities across the united states

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

RISE University Preparatory School

San Francisco, California

Teach whole students, equipping them with the tools they need to reason, create, serve, and lead.  

Rosabella Consulting, LLC.

Fort Collins, Colorado

Our purpose is to coach leaders and teams to cultivate the gifts of their shared humanity in order to co-create innovations that make a positive and lasting impact.

  • Primary Audience: Businesses

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

    • Co-Creating Experiences Process

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • EntrepreNerds Participatory Facilitation Model

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, DIY or Facilitated

    • Pattern Rewrite Process

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, DIY or Facilitated

SAGE inspires people over fifty to give forward with their time, money and voice so that younger and future generations can thrive. Among our programs, we sponsor the SAGE Citizen Project, which is a series of events to build bridges between people who hold different views in an effort to make it easier for people to talk with one another, understand each other’s priorities, and to identify enduring solutions for our communities.

  • Primary Audience: People over fifty

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

    • Citizen Project

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, DIY or Facilitated

    • SAGE programs

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, DIY or Facilitated

The vision of the Center for Engaged Democracy is to become a renowned leader in strengthening nonpartisan democratic values and competencies.

Search for Common Ground

Washington, D.C.

Our mission is to transform the way the world deals with conflict, away from adversarial approaches and toward cooperative solutions.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: Global

  • Offerings:

    • Co-designing youth trainings

      • Individuals or Groups, Online, Facilitated

    • US YPS Coalition

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, DIY or Facilitated

    • First Year Connect

      • Groups, Online, Facilitated

Service Year Alliance

Washington, D.C.

To make a year of paid, full-time service a common opportunity and expectation for all young Americans.

Share Our America

New York, New York

Share Our America (an initiative of 92NY Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact is a national initiative — rooted in local communities — that brings Americans together across our differences to build empathy, understanding, respect, and trust.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 5 Communities

  • Offerings:

Sidewalk Talk

San Francisco, California

Teach and practice heart-centered listening on sidewalks and inside organizations to stem the tide of loneliness, illness, and social division.

SMART Conversations

Boston, Massachusetts

Elevate the conversations that matter and create a more just society.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

Someone To Tell It To

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Create meaningful relationships through compassionate listening and to train others to do the same.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

    • Listening services

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Train people in compassionate listening and empathy.  

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

To provided quality and affordable mediation and conflict resolution services and training to the community, in order to promote the value of Mediation as an answer to the alternative dispute resolution needs of South Fulton and surrounding communities.

  • Primary Audience: Minority or underrepresented groups

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 Community

  • Offerings:

Spaceship Media

San Francisco, California

Use journalism to reduce polarization, build communities and restore trust in journalism. 

Stair Party

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

The Stair Party has one main goal: to end party partisanship in the United States. To quote a man named Daryl Davis, "Keep in mind, when two enemies are talking, they're not fighting, they're talking. They might be yelling and screaming, but at least they're talking. It's when the talking ceases that the ground becomes fertile for violence." American politics is starting to cease conversation and the ground is most certainly becoming fertile for violence. What we see now is only the beginning if we continue dividing ourselves between party lines and dismissing people who do not fit into these lines. The Stair Party understands there are issues in America, but let us face them and fix them as Americans, not Democrats or Republicans. We see ourselves as a centrist organization and one open to the opinions of the left and right. Therefore, we created our platform on the foundations of the best of both worlds; a platform we can all unilaterally agree on together. If there's anytime to fix and reform America — it's now.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Discord Server

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, Facilitated or DIY

The mission of the Bonnie and Bill Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications is to serve as an active center for the study and promotion of civil political discourse, inspire intelligent, authentic and constructive debate, and encourage positive civic engagement for both students and the public alike. We seek to demonstrate that when opposing viewpoints are respected and legitimized in ways that avoid negative labeling, alienation, and silencing, it can strengthen our nation’s ability to better face challenges and solve problems.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 4 states

  • Offerings:

    • The "Listen/Learn/Engage Initiative"

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • The "American Conversation Series"

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • A new undergraduate major (and minor) in Political Communications

      • Individuals, In-Person, Facilitated

    • Stubblefield Civility Awards

      • Individuals

    • Stubblefield Institute Annual Research Program

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, DIY

    • Weekly Radio and Podcast Production, “Upstream/Downstream” (Anchor) (Spotify)

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, DIY

The Students Learn Students Vote (SLSV) Coalition fosters connections and provides year-round support to campus, nonprofit, community, student, and philanthropic leaders working to build a more representative and equitable democracy by increasing college student voter participation and engagement in our democratic processes.

Sustained Dialogue develops leaders able to transform differences into the strong relationships essential to effective decision-making, democratic governance, and peace.

Tara West Mediation

Asheville, North Carolina

Help people in conflict have the best conversations they can have.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 community

  • Offerings:

    • Transformative Mediation

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Conflict Coaching/Training/Workshops

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

To help, inspire, and empower youth through initiatives and to speak up about important topics that youth face.

  • Primary Audience: High School Students 

  • Offerings:

    • Youth Platform

      • Individuals, Online, Facilitated or DIY

    • Youth Initiatives with Youth Volunteer Network

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

The 5 Percent Project

Grand Island, Nebraska

To change the current fight/flight, us/them, operation of politics to cooperation, dialogue, respect, and problem solving and to eliminate the rules, customs, and traditions that have institutionalized the current fight/fight, us/them mode of operation.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 8 States

  • Offerings:

    • The Preamble of the Constitution Series

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • "United We Sing" Singspiration

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated

    • Restore This Precious Land Campaign

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated

The American Exchange Project

Sudbury, Massachusetts

To cultivate meaningful connections between American high school students from different backgrounds and regions.

  • Primary Audience: High School Students

  • Geographic Footprint: Interest from 19 states (none yet, however, due to COVID)

  • Offerings:

The Art of Group Conversation

Mount Clemens, Michigan

“To help group members see beyond “us” and “them,” and experience their common humanity.” The Art of Group Conversations provides unique, facilitated dialogues to groups of people who are newly acquainted or divided by differences in culture or beliefs, and, as a result, participants discover connections, develop rapport, and build trust, priming the group to move forward together.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 3 Communities

  • Offerings:

    • Facilitated Group Dialogue

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Placing

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Presentation on Dr. Rachel Davis DuBois

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Help bridge divides – not by papering over those divides but by helping Americans have Better Arguments.

The Communitarian Network

Washington, D.C.

A coalition of individuals and organizations who have come together to shore up the social, moral, and political environment.

The Conversationalist

Wichita, Kansas

Amplifying Gen Z voices, one echo-chamber breaking conversation at a time.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 40 states

  • Offerings:

    • Community

      • Individuals, Online, Facilitated

The Follow-Up Question

Castle Rock, Colorado

Exploring how we find common ground through asking more questions

We honor and support practices and experiences that help us to listen to ourselves, to each other and to nature more generously- in order to create authentic connections within similarity and across differences.

  • Primary Audience: Higher education locally and internationally

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

    • Earth week recognition event: Listening to nature

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Facilitator training for student leaders

      • Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

The Hearth

Ashland, Oregon

Strengthen relationships through sharing personal stories to inspire compassionate action.

The Horizons Project

Washington, D.C.

To strengthen relationships and collaboration within the ecosystem of social change to spur a larger movement in the United States that addresses systemic injustice, advances societal healing, and reimagines our democracy.

The Institute for Liberal Values

Gaithersburg, Maryland

The Institute for Liberal Values (ILV) advances liberalism, equality of opportunity and justice in America and around the world. We are a diverse coalition devoted to the free expression of ideas, critical thinking, and civic engagement.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 City

  • Offerings:

    • Dialogues

      • Individuals, Online, Facilitated

    • Forging New Alliances

      • Groups or Individuals, In-Person, Facilitated

    • Community Support

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

The Lead Listening Society

Lorman, Mississippi

The Lead Listening Society is dedicated to the mission of propagating the positive power of effective listening for life-long learning and leadership development.

The Listening

Lynchburg, Virginia

Engage, change and save lives with the performing arts through community engagement and youth programming.

The Listening Challenge

Boston, Massachusetts

Denver, Colorado

We invite participants to “Take the Challenge” and have a conversation using our script with someone who has different political beliefs. Our script is based on social science research and seeks to help people to do five things: 1) forge human connections, 2) foster empathy, 3) find common ground, 4) examine one’s own beliefs, and 5) empower people as ambassadors for positive change.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 States

  • Offerings:

    • Listening Challenge conversation script

      • Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Facilitated Workshop

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

The Media Roundtable

Sherman Oaks, California

To mobilize marketers to support truth and civility in the media.

The mission of the Mediation Center is to harness the power of qualified volunteers, facilitate the process of citizens proactively managing conflict, provide alternatives to litigation, and increase access to justice.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 Community

  • Offerings:

The Nantucket Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

The Nantucket project is a gathering space with the tools for people to come together to foster community, conversation and genuine human connection through thought provoking short films, talks and live content.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Kaleida

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, DIY or Facilitated

The People are everyday Americans working to find common ground and take action to create a more responsive government of, by, and for the people.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

The People’s Supper

Los Angeles, California

We use shared meals to build trust and connection among people of different identities and perspectives. Our work is born of a belief — to quote a popular adage — that “change moves at the speed of trust”, and a simple question: What needs healing here?

The Polarization Lab

Durham, North Carolina

We are a team of social scientists, computer scientists, and statisticians who study how technology shapes political tribalism. Our mission is two-fold. First, we aim to produce the highest quality research about how social media shapes political polarization, drawing upon the latest advances in social psychology, political science, and machine learning. You can learn more about our research here. Second, we aim to translate the insights from our research into tools that people can use to hack political polarization from the bottom up. We work closely with other groups working to counter political polarization in the non-profit sector, private sector, and governments.

The United Project

Gouverneur, New York

By observing our nation today, we see a country that is torn between party lines, political ideologies, racial issues, and many more problems that exist in our society. We believe that if drastic change does not come in the near future, this division will have drastic effects on our nation. Our country has reached a tipping point, and it is up to us to decide which direction we will sway. The United Project was founded with the sole purpose of working to heal the division that has ravaged the nation we all love for far too long. We will fight everyday to encourage unity, understanding, and acceptance between people of all different political stances.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

    • The United Project Lectures/Debates/Discussions

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

The Village Square

Tallahassee, Florida

Bridging divides in American hometowns through discussion and spirited disagreement.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

Together Frankfort

Frankfort, Kentucky

Together Frankfort is a non-partisan, volunteer group of Kentuckians who seek to exercise and protect the principles embodied in our Constitution by being engaged and responsible participants in democracy.

We advocate for integrity and transparency in government and political actions, and fair and equal application of the law and civil rights for all people.

We support economic and social policies that ensure continuing opportunity for individuals and families.

We are committed to our country and to the welfare of our fellow citizens regardless of political affiliation, and to solutions that cross partisan divides.

​Membership is open to all.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 community

Tru Access

Cary, North Carolina

Help organizations build bridges of trust and understanding across racial, generational, and relational divides of all kinds. 

True Story Theater

Arlington, Massachusetts

True Story Theater’s mission is to build empathy, respect, and understanding across differences that divide us, through the honoring of true life stories.

United and Together

Bay Area, California

Helping people with different opinions express their viewpoints through productive discussions by focusing on listening, understanding, and connection.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Podcast: Healing the Divide - United and Together (Apple) (Google)

      • Individuals, Online, DIY

Unify America

Evanston, Illinois

To replace politics with problem-solving.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Headquarters: Evanston, Illinois

  • Offerings:

Improving Missourians’ lives with research-based education.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 70 communities

  • Offerings:

    • Becoming an Engaged Neighbor

      • Individuals, Online, Facilitated

    • Neighboring 101

      • Individuals, Online, Facilitated

Inspire and cultivate the next generation of political and public service leaders.

The University of Delaware's Center for Political Communication is a nonpartisan, interdisciplinary initiative that is committed to the emerging field of political communication. The CPC's programs, academic minor, research, and initiatives support the practice of effective civil discourse and the development of media literacy and civic literacy.​ The CPC supports collaborative, interdisciplinary teams of social scientists, who examine issues related to voting, civil rights and liberties, media effects, and intergroup relations. The CPC's events and programs inspire public participation in politics, engaging the next generation of public service leaders, in the United States and abroad.

Up to Us

Oakland, California

Up to Us is dedicated to building a sustainable economic and fiscal future for America’s next generation. Up to Us doesn’t just educate and engage - it empowers. Our unique program provides emerging leaders a platform for facilitating a collaborative dialogue on the country’s most vexing challenges.

Urban Confessional

Los Angeles, California
Austin, Texas

Our mission is to listen. We believe all people need to be heard, and that there is value in simply listening to someone. We make ourselves available for anyone who needs to be heard.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 40 states & 70 countries

  • Offerings:

    • Free Listening Day

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Free Listening Workshop

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

Bring people together across geographic, political, and racial divides to build relationships, strengthen collaboration skills, and address issues that impact all communities

Voice of the People

Washington, D.C.

To give the people a more effective voice in government, to reveal the bipartisan common ground of the people, and restore public confidence in government

Vote Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

We welcome everyone who would like to be more engaged in civic life. With a focus on coalition, collaboration and consensus, Vote Nevada is led with modern sensibilities centered on building community and solving problems practically.

Waging Dialogue

New York, New York

We seek to discover a new language for empathic communication to counteract the cultural and technological forces that divide people across modern society. Our Waging Dialogue discussions are the heart and soul of our mission. We facilitate challenging online conversations across political divides in the service of peaceful problem-solving, coexistence and Human Understanding.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

Support and strengthen Weavers by providing access to resources, opening doors to partnerships, and inspiring new generations of Weavers.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • We Are Weavers Community

      • Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Inspiring new generations of Weavers

      • Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Weaver Awards

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, DIY

    • Elevating the voices of Weavers

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

Western Justice Center

Pasadena, California

Empower people to strengthen their communities by growing the conflict resolution skills and capacity of youth, educators, schools and community partners. We envision a world in which communities are healed, united, and transformed through conflict resolution education and restorative practices rooted in equity, justice, and opportunity.

  • Primary Audience: K-12 Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

    • Conflict resolution education programs (here and here)

      • Individuals, Online or In-person, Facilitated or DIY

Wichita to Woodstock

Woodstock, New York

Bridge the Red/Blue divide.

Worldwide Civility Council

Ventura, California

Fosters civility in public discourse through many different avenues, making civility a positive and sustainable part of the overall social fabric. 

YapPolitics

Los Angeles, California

Bridge the partisan divide between affiliation by providing young people an interactive, productive, and enjoyable way to debate politics.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Offerings:

    • Anti Echochamber Algorithm

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, Facilitated or DIY

    • YapRooms

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, Facilitated or DIY

Curating trustworthy listening spaces for young men to share and witness one another in empowered vulnerability. 

Youthquake

Chicago, Illinois

Empowering students to amplify their civic impact together.

Primary Audience: High School Students

Geographic Footprint: 2 States

Offerings:

Expose Americans to diverse information and perspectives

A Peace of My Mind

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Use art and storytelling to bridge divides and build community

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: Nationwide

  • Offerings:

A Year of Listening Podcast

Wheaton, Illinois

To promote civil, nuanced, compassionate dialogue around polarizing issues

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 community

  • Offerings:

    • Listening Workshops

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated

Allelo

New York, New York

Allelo’s mission is to ensure that safe, open, and equitable student discussions are at the center of modern education.

  • Primary Audience: High School Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 7 States

  • Offerings:

    • Allelo.io

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Arts Midwest

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Promotes creativity, nurtures cultural leadership, and engages people in meaningful arts experiences, bringing vitality to Midwest communities and enriching people’s lives.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 9 states

  • Offerings:

Breaking Silence

Denver, Colorado

Inspiring communities to take action against interpersonal violence through the power of empathy, healing, and open dialogue.

Bridge Entertainment Labs

Palo Alto, California

Bridge Entertainment Labs (BEL) is dedicated to transforming the way Americans see and engage with each other across our divides. We are a resource to the entertainment industry designed to ignite compelling narratives that bridge political and social divides and generate new stories of “us” as Americans.

Building Bridgers

Ashland, Oregon

Bridging, to me, is not trying to get the other side to cross the bridge onto mine. And it is more than just tolerating points of view different to our own. Some imagine bridging as meeting in the middle.

I see it as: comprehending the other side’s viewpoint in such a way that it informs and impacts the way you see the whole issue. Bridging is the welcoming of all different viewpoints in order to zoom out and get the biggest view we can — so that we can make optimal decisions and take effective action that will sustainably work in the long run. Given that there is not one of us who can understand everything about anything, we need viewpoint diversity. Sometimes we believe we're perceiving the world accurately through our personal experience and the information (accurate or not) to which we've exposed ourselves.

Becoming a bridger requires cultivating the ability to question our own beliefs and how we've come to have them, and then being able to "zoom out" beyond our personal lenses and filters to get a more accurate view of the world at large.

Building Community Capacity

Kansas City, Missouri

Increasing access to information and resources that strengthen, empower, and engage children, families, and communities.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Community development course: Building Community Capacity

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • University of Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Know Your Story

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Burke-Paine Society

Alexandria, Virginia

The Burke-Paine Society (BPS) empowers Americans to forge a new political culture. We bring together bipartisan groups of Americans in salon-style discussions and give them the educational resources they need to rediscover the brilliance of the American political system.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 3 States

  • Offerings:

    • Salon-style Discussion Groups

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

To help create a more informed citizenry and improve upon civic dialogue and civic education.

Center for Rural Strategies

Whitesburg, Kentucky

Work through strategic communications, coalition building, and public information campaigns to help establish a rural America that is more connected, greener, and more inclusive. By presenting accurate and compelling portraits of rural lives and cultures, we hope to deepen public debate and create a national environment in which positive change for rural communities can occur.

Chautauqua Institution

Chautauqua, New York

Chautauqua is dedicated to the exploration of the best in human values and the enrichment of life through a program that explores the important religious, social and political issues of our times; stimulates provocative, thoughtful involvement of individuals and families in creative response to such issues; and promotes excellence and creativity in the appreciation, performance and teaching of the arts.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: Global

  • Offerings:

    • Convening

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Educational Initiatives

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, DIY

    • CHQ Assembly

      • Individuals or Groups, Online, DIY

    • Interfaith Engagement

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Literary Arts

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Cortico

Cambridge, Massachusetts

We believe civic life can be revitalized when we hold space for conversation, recognizing that traditionally underheard voices and marginal experiences can yield improved understanding and communication across boundaries. Our fragmented society demands civic spaces where input shared by community members about their identity and experiences sparks more informed and transparent decisions from our leaders.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 38 States

  • Offerings:

DaviesContent

Guilford, Connecticut

Spreading positive respect for different points of view through the power and reach of podcasts.

Days of Dialogue

Los Angeles, California

Safe space for dialogue on controversial issues.

Deliberative Democracy Lab

Stanford, California

Devoted to research about democracy and public opinion obtained through Deliberative Polling®.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Deliberative Polling

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Voices from America in One Room Podcast (Spotify) (Apple)

      • Individuals, Online, DIY

Divided We Fall

Washington, D.C.

Divided We Fall® is a non-profit news publication working to provide bipartisan dialogue for the politically engaged. We publish debates, interviews, and op-eds between individuals who disagree in order to demonstrate productive civil discourse and bipartisanship.

  • Primary Audience: Political Class (i.e. elected officials, political donors, pundits, issue activists, political news junkies)

  • Offerings:

Echo Breaking News

Jonesboro, Arkansas

Our mission is to take readers beyond echo chambers by delivering curated news stories weekly to their inbox. These stories come from a variety of sources and perspectives and are meant to challenge perspectives, intrigue political curiosity and improve media literacy. Our goals are to help readers grow in political understanding and to depolarize news readership abroad.

  • Primary Audience: Political News Consumers

  • Offerings:

    • Newsletter based on bias quiz results

      • Individuals, Online, DIY

Emergence Institute

Austin, Texas

The Emergence Institute guides visionaries, innovators and change makers and their organizations or business to take inspired purpose-led action so they can have major impact in the world. We use the validated and inspired Purpose Flywheel™ to evoke authentic, focused and conscious identity, inspire courageous action, and manifest purpose-driven innovations through new paradigm strategies.

Everybody Loves Lincoln

Los Angeles, California

Create deeper respect and understanding across the political spectrum, and to foster a more informed and engaged electorate using technology, entertainment, and facts.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 3 states

  • Offerings:

    • Humor

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Panel or 1 on 1 Discussion (example)

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

Every Voice, Inc.

Brooklyn, New York

Our mission is to reduce extreme partisanship by driving positive civil engagement, streamlining communication between constituents and their representatives, and improving transparency of the legislative process.

Focolare Movement

Silver Springs, Maryland

Building fraternal relationships among individuals, peoples, religions, and cultures, by engaging in dialogue.

FIRE’s mission is to defend and sustain the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought—the most essential qualities of liberty.

Future Freedom

London, England

To bridge the gaps between people and the process of de-radicalization by countering myths and narratives perpetuated by media AND far right groups, which tend to disincentivize rather than incentivize critical thinking and disengagement from violent action and ideology. To show a path of freedom, dignity, and redemption by amplifying voices of people who have done it.

  • Primary Audience: People who have been impacted by violent far right ideology, directly and/or indirectly.

  • Offerings:

    • Stories

      • Individuals or Groups, Online, Facilitated

    • The Radical Podcast

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, DIY

Ground News

Kitchener, Ontario

We want to help people adopt a balanced news diet to foster better understanding of themselves and the world around them.

Ideos

Westlake Village, California

Ideos Institute is dedicated to the work of Empathic Intelligence (MQ) and its application to empathy-based reconciliation, conflict transformation, and redemptive leadership.

To dismantle religious bias and bigotry, ICJS builds learning communities where religious difference becomes a powerful force for good.

Discourse with Direction: Through discourse, an instrumental good, we tackle this trend head-on and utilize it as a means to an end - a revitalized country where richness and diversity of thought are commonplace and prevailing. Our real and effective approach has worked wonders thus far and will continue to do so in the future.

  • Primary Audience: High School & College Students

  • Offerings:

Intelligence Squared US

New York City, New York

We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. addresses a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. Our mission is to restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to American public discourse.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 States

  • Offerings:

Internews Interactive

San Francisco, California

InterAct connects Americans to their leaders, each other and the world.

Leadership Now Project

Washington, D.C.

We are committed to ensuring the United States has a strong democracy and economy. By focusing on meaningful research and education, operational excellence, and member value, we drive results. We live by our values and are proud of our people, products, partnerships, and principles.

  • Primary Audience: Buisinesses

Lost Debate

New York City, New York

To use today’s jargon, we’re a “multi-platform media company.” We believe the most important conversations in society happen in the dark corners of the Internet—on platforms dominated by political arsonists, nihilists, and extremists. Our mission is to infuse more empathy, nuance, and objectivity into those conversations.

Our flagship show is The Lost Debate, a twice-weekly YouTube and podcast program that brings you news, ideas, and trends of the day. It’s hosted by Ravi Gupta—former Obama administration and campaign staffer turned school principal and superintendent. And, Rikki Schlott - a Gen Z New York Post columnist and libertarian fighting to protect free speech.

We bring people together for conversations the media isn't having, while empathizing with and challenging each other in good faith.

Made by Us

Washington, D.C.

By 2026, Made By Us will be a leading catalyst for shaping the future of our country’s democracy by empowering younger generations to know and act on the promise of America’s founding ideals: equality, rights, liberty, opportunity and democracy. This will be achieved by connecting Americans to more than 1,000 history and civic organizations nationwide through a digital platform and micro exhibits that puts timely issues in historical context. We want to help real people address real issues in real-time—with tools powered by history.

  • Primary Audience: 18-30 year olds

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 states

  • Offerings:

    • The Civic Season

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • My Wish For U.S.

      • Individuals, Online, DIY

Build local skills for peace and promote mediation worldwide.

Military Veterans in Journalism

Silver Spring, Maryland

Military Veterans in Journalism’s mission is to get more veterans in newsrooms. We’re a professional association that builds community for vets, supports their career growth, and advocates for diversifying newsrooms through veteran hiring and inclusion. Run by a corps of military veterans and family members, MVJ works with newsrooms and other non-profit organizations to create opportunities for vets to get a jump start in the media.

Moderate Party

Sacramento, California

Moderate Party is a political podcast for moderates, centrists, independents, and everyone else working to combat polarization in America.

  • Primary Audience: Moderates, Centrists, Independents, and Democracy Reform Enthusiasts.

  • Offerings:

To Foster a Vibrant Democracy. To educate, inspire and motivate the public to engage more deeply in our democracy by providing stories, authoritative information and forums for discussion and debate on key public policy issues that builds a constituency of informed civic-minded voters who are willing to seek common ground, mitigate polarization in pursuit of the public good.

News Literacy Project

Washington, D.C.

The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals — and ultimately a stronger democracy.

Next Generation Politics

New York City, New York

To inspire and equip youth to drive a more productive, inclusive, and informed political culture in the U.S

No Evil Project

Auburn, Massachusetts

The No Evil Project is a nonprofit organization that uses art, humor, and conversation to encourage a greater sense of commonality and understanding among people despite differences including but not limited to cultural, socio-economic, religious, racial, gender, physical and mental health, occupational, political and ethnic differences. Leveraging photography and self-identified labels, the No Evil project challenges social polarization and stereotypes through education, individual reflection, shared experience, and a myriad of vehicles for civil discourse including: displays, exhibitions, interactive activities, and convenings.

PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs is building the next generation of informed media creators and consumers. WHY: We believe that thoughtful, well-grounded local reporting and the interdisciplinary work of video production are powerful forms of learning and civic engagement. Public media empowers young people to report stories, reach authentic audiences, join conversations about the issues that affect their future and recognize their unlimited potential as valued members of society. HOW: Now in over 170 middle and high schools, Student Reporting Labs (SRL) is a national youth journalism program and public media initiative that trains teenagers across the country to produce stories that highlight the achievements, challenges, and reality of today’s youth. SRL creates transformative educational experiences through video journalism that inspire students to find their voice and engage in their communities.

Peace Direct

Washington, D.C.

We believe passionately in non-violence and the power of local action. Local people are central to the resolution of their own conflicts. Peace is not sustainable if imposed from the outside. In 15 years we have supported local peacebuilders in over 25 countries around the world, providing vital assistance to ensure grassroots action stopping conflict and violence can continue. With our local partners, we have saved lives, provided paths out of violence and built better futures. We exist to challenge the status quo. To rebalance relationships and power in favor of local people and communities rather than international agencies.

Preparing the next generation of public leaders through a two-year Master of Public Policy (MPP) program.

Political Empathy Project

Washington, D.C.

We're a new, all-volunteer digital initiative working to fight toxic political polarization through electoral reform advocacy, community-driven media, and free resources to empower civic engagement.

Rebuild Congress Initiative

Washington, D.C.

Our mission is to broaden and diversify the ecosystem of leaders who are aligning on and working to advance the policies, norms, and narratives needed for American democracy to thrive in the 21st century.

  • Primary Audience: Elected Officials

By focusing on the core values of representative government, by unrigging an electoral system that rewards hyper-partisanship, and by embracing diversity of political thought, SAM is a competitive force working to disrupt political extremism and self-serving politics

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 4 States

  • Offerings:

Soliya

New York City, New York

Soliya is an international not-for-profit organization and a pioneering virtual exchange provider. We combine the power of interactive technology with the science of dialogue to offer proven cross-cultural exchange and learning opportunities. Our work has been supported through strategic partnerships with the European Commission, the Government of Canada, and the Stevens Initiative of the Aspen Institute as sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. In 2019, Soliya was recognized by Canada’s Global Centre for Pluralism as an Honorable Mention recipient of the Global Pluralism Award.

Straight White Guy Listening

Los Angeles, California

Create a platform for disenfranchised voices and explore the act of listening.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings: 

Tangle News

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tangle is an independent, nonpartisan, reader-funded newsletter that seeks to bridge divides across differing political beliefs in an increasingly polarized media environment. Our coverage combines objective, fact-based reporting with commentary from across the political spectrum, challenging readers to engage and grapple with perspectives that differ from their own.

The Acceptance Project

Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

Creating a new generation of empathetic leaders, active listeners, and critical thinkers by facilitating civil discourse in high schools.

  • Primary Audience: High School Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 Communities

  • Offerings:

    • TAP Chapters

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Tap Into Summer

      • Groups or Individuals, In-Person, Facilitated

    • TAP Focus Groups

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated

The America I Want is…

Northfield, Vermont

“The America I Want is…” is Linley Foundation’s latest initiative. It provides a platform for Americans to hear each other out while expressing their deepest hopes and dreams for the country.

The Factual

San Francisco, California

The Factual's mission is to put the trust back in news again. We believe that reading unbiased news across the political spectrum is a way to reduce polarization in society. Finding credible news can be time-consuming and frustrating. To address this, The Factual has designed a News rating AI engine that uncovers the best-researched stories from across the political spectrum and sends it as an easy to consume newsletter.

The Flip Side

New York, New York

Help bridge the gap between liberals and conservatives

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

The Guibord Center

Los Angeles, California

The Mission of The Guibord Center – Religion Inside Out is to bring people together to challenge assumptions, unleash the sacred, and affirm the spirituality that transforms the world.

In a world of social media bubbles, bias, and shamelessly framed “news,” we aim to help our readers make sense of the world by highlighting the narratives unfolding around them. Our highest goal is peace, and our strategy for creating a more peaceful world is what we call political mindfulness — a conscious awareness of the mechanisms, dynamics, and institutions that help shape our social and political opinions, attitudes, and perspectives. We’re not here to change anyone’s point of view or politics, because we believe there is more than one way to live the good life.

The Society Library

Orlando, Florida

The Society Library's vision to create a fully intentional, collaborative humanity which functionally negotiates ideological differences in a manner that maximizes freedom in being through access to information.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 States

  • Offerings:

    • Simulated Societal-Scale Dialogue

      • Groups, Online, Facilitated

    • Logical Media Deconstruction: MetaLiteracy Training

      • Individuals, Online, Facilitated

USC Center for the Political Future

Los Angeles, California

The Center for the Political Future (CPF) combines rigorous intellectual inquiry, teaching, and practical politics to advance civil dialogue and research that transcends partisan divisions and finds solutions to pressing national and global challenges. Our events, programs, scholarships, and internships inspire and train students for careers in public service and lifetimes of civic engagement.

  • Primary Audience: College Students and General

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 states, especially California

  • Offerings:

World Interfaith Network

Poway, California

We honor and respect all faiths, cultures, creeds, and races and seek to learn from those who believe equal spiritual opportunity and human rights belong to every person.

We teach children ages 6-18 how to resolve conflict in their daily lives. Which affects the family and the community.

  • Primary Audience: Children Ages 6-18

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

Educate Americans directly about how and why we've become so polarized

ActiVote

Boston, Massachusetts

Increase participation and make civics accessible for all

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Democracy in the Palm of your Hand

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, DIY

American Civics League

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

To educate the American citizenry to a much greater degree than presently exists about the aspirations and mechanics of their Constitution and the democratic republic which it nurtures and protects. This work focuses on intensifying civics education from kindergarten through the baccalaureate stage of general education. ACL will advocate for expanded civics education on a federal, state, and local level and align with and support other organizations and individuals seeking this end.

Beyond Conflict

Boston, Massachusetts

Conflict resolution and reconciliation.

The Center for Sustainable Democracy (CSD) is a nonpartisan, multi-disciplinary research center focusing on challenges posed to and opportunities for democracy and civil society in the 21st century. Sustainable democracy means governance, information, and societal processes that empower people to make informed decisions and engage in public life. CSD emphasizes research and engagement regarding how political and civic leaders, journalists, and everyday individuals sustain democratic life in Florida, the United States, and globally.

  • Primary Audiences: Academics/research community, college students, community stakeholders, journalists

CIRCE aims to advance the science of mental immunity, teach the art of collaborative idea-testing, and develop humanity's resistance to epidemics of unreason.

Civic Citizens

Bladensburg, Maryland

Our mission is to help citizens impact their communities through civic education and engagement by consolidating publicly available resources.

Country First

Washington, D.C.

Create a healthier American political system through reforms to our primary elections so that candidates from the pro-Freedom, pro-Democracy center are able to win elected office and focus on delivering reasonable, proven, and durable solutions.

Dangerous Speech Project

Washington, D.C.

We equip people to counter dangerous speech and the violence it catalyzes, through research, education, and policy work.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Countering dangerous speech during elections

      • Individuals or Groups, Online, Facilitated

    • How to do counterspeech during an election

      • Individuals or Groups, Online, Facilitated

e.pluribus.US

Miami Beach, Florida

e.pluribus.US conceives, builds and tests interventions to scalably improve public attitudes toward working with political opponents.

Fighting to Understand

Mayfield, Ohio

Make seemingly complicated topics into “simply complicated.” We do this by forming a collaborative cross-section of “regular” people to fight to understand a topic, in as much complexity as we can muster. We then present the findings to other regular people.

FixUS

Washington, D.C. 

Engage Americans to better understand and address growing division, distrust, and dysfunction in our democracy.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 15 states

  • Offerings:

    • Breakfast Group

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Citizen Dialogues

      • Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

The Greater Good Science Center studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society.

The mission of the Institute for Cultural Evolution is to advance the evolution of consciousness and culture in America. Our main focus as a think tank is the amelioration of hyper-partisan polarization. Our primary goals are to: 1) Advocate our developmental political perspective through compelling editorials, articles, interviews, and videos in both mainstream and social media 2) Publicize the Institute’s synthetic approach to politics and bring this perspective into the national conversation 3) Promote the practice of “cultural intelligence,” which integrates values from across the political spectrum 4) Build a developmental political platform and movement that establishes higher ground and provides a new home for the politically homeless.

JUST Listening

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

To provide transformational communication tools and methodologies in furtherance of our vision of a unified, equitable, and peaceful world where all voices are heard and valued. Our work is rooted in love, equity, justice, and an honoring of our common humanity. We emphasize inclusion of everyone, especially those who are normally silenced, ignored, devalued, unnoticed, vulnerable, and/or marginalized.

Let’s Talk Democracy

Queens, New York

Educating people about our government, encouraging dialogue about the basic foundations of our democracy, and empowering citizens to make their voices heard

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

Meet in the Middle for America

Revere, Massachusetts

To bring honest open minds together to discuss the issues that face our country, and develop solutions to the problems that divide us. To promote Unity and Accept Culture. And we will support candidates who Meet in the Middle, and whose allegiance is to voters before party.

  • Primary Audience: Minority/Underrepresented Groups

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 States

  • Offerings:

Middle Ground School Solutions

Beverly, Massachusetts

Help schools take responsibility for mending polarization by empowering students to reach across lines of ideological or political divide.

Over Zero

Washington, D.C.

Leverage communication as a means of building resilience to identity-based division and violence.

Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy

University Park, Pennsylvania

We are partisans for democracy. We don't take sides on the political spectrum, but we are passionate advocates for all that democracy entails both inside and outside of politics. We achieve this mission through a variety of research, education, and outreach efforts and partnerships with like-minded organizations.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 community

  • Offerings:

Psychology of Technology Institute

Los Angeles, California

To help leaders and organizations create a sustainable future for humanity by developing and amplifying technological intelligence.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

The AntiRacist Table

Washington, D.C.

To bring AntiRacism into life as a daily practice.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 6 Communities

  • Offerings:

    • 30-Day Challenge

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, DIY or Facilitated

    • The Family Challenge (Coming Soon!)

      • Individuals or Groups, Online or In-Person, DIY or Facilitated

The Center for the Science of Moral Understanding harnesses a key insight—that political disagreement is moral disagreement—to conduct original interdisciplinary research. Our work identifies the key drivers of moral and political animosity and develops new science-based ways to overcome that animosity.

Build a civility movement that will ask for civil government.

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy will examine these moments in history as evidence and elevate research and evidence-based reasoning into the national conversation. Drawing on original content, conversations and curriculums from Vanderbilt’s world-class faculty and visionary thought leaders across America’s political, cultural and societal spectrums, The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy can make a meaningful contribution to solving society’s most pressing challenges and bridging our deepest differences.

  • Primary Audience: Elected Officials

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

    • Compelling Conversations

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, Facilitated

Truth in Common

Washington, D.C.

To reveal how mis- and disinformation further societal division and equip people to bridge it by becoming savvier consumers of information, taking a stand for fact-based decision-making and bringing respect, curiosity and courage to their interactions with others, regardless of viewpoint.

  • Primary Audience: Community Members

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

To prepare students for a lifetime of engagement in civic and democratic life, to study civic life and its intersections with public and private institutions, and to promote practices that strengthen civic life in the United States and around the world.

Elevate how we see ourselves and others beyond confining partisan identities

Authentic Relating Go

Val-David, Quebec

At AR-GO, we believe in the power of human connection as medicine for our divided times. Through our regular online events, workshops and trainings, we create spaces where people can be truly seen and heard—and learn powerful tools for fostering more meaningful relationships in their everyday lives.

Bay College Civics Corps

Escanaba, Michigan

The Civics Corps is a national, community-college-based initiative that empowers students and their local communities to be leaders in civic service, intergenerational engagement, and civics education.

  • Primary Audience: College Students

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

    • Historic Memory Intergenerational Dialogue

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Whole-Self Civics

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

Better Smarter Stronger

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Providing education and encouragement we can all use to make our world a better place. 

Braver Angels

New York City, New York

Depolarizing American politics and rebuilding the communal culture of democracy.

Canadian Friends Service Committee works to promote justice and peace. One of our ongoing programs is informal peace education, conflict transformation, and bridge building work.

Cities4Peace

Los Angeles, California

Build the capacity of individuals, organizations, and communities with transformative tools and frameworks that increase social connection, resilience and bring peace across the world.

Citizen Discourse

Austin, Texas

Fostering a more civil society by facilitating values-driven experiences designed to help people grow social and emotional skills and connect on a human level. 

Citizen University

Seattle, Washington

Build a culture of powerful, responsible citizenship across the country.

Civic Genius

Rochester, New York

Help people become and remain active citizens who work together beyond party lines.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

Civics Unplugged

New York, NY

Civics Unplugged is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) social enterprise whose mission is to empower the leaders of Generation Z to build the future of democracy.

Collaborative Solutions

New York, New York

Collaborative Solutions, Inc. works with executive leaders during these demanding pandemic times to shift from 1 P- Profit to 4 Ps- Profit, People, Planet and Purpose, creating sustainable, evolutionary change. Due to the pandemic and the hemorrhaging of talent, we turn the "Great Resignation" into the "Great Retention,” decreasing the huge financial expense while increasing engagement and loyalty, turning talent into a competitive advantage.

  • Primary Audience: Businesses

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 State

  • Offerings:

Common Ground Committee

Wilton, Connecticut

Inspire and motivate the public to find common ground and reduce incivility and polarization for a stronger nation.

Compassionate America

Escanaba, Michigan

As an all-volunteer organization, we regularly meet to develop strategies in support of the nation’s pro-democracy movements. Through our YouTube network, we produce and share mission-aligned content to independent-minded Americans, regardless of partisan affiliation. We also are active in political-culture reform through our Declaration of Mission Candidate Challenge, Complaint for Declaratory Relief 50-State Strategy, and partner organization for civic-education, the Collaborative for Compassionate Civic Engagement.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • YouTube Programming

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, DIY

    • Social Media Amplifying

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, DIY

ConnectEffect

Los Angeles, California

In 60 minutes we provide a hard-reset of "humanity" & allow people to CONNECT to one another, in person, in the REAL WORLD & not through the misleading, extreme lens of the SCREEN WORLD.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • A 60-Minute Multi-Media Entertainment Experience (testimonials)

      • Groups, In-Person, Facilitated

Daily Haloha

New Rochelle, New York

Our Mission: Improve social well-being by putting empathy gently back into muscle memory

Our Vision: A world where everyone feels at home in their skin and at home in the world

The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism is a non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing civil liberties for all people, and promoting a common culture based on fairness, understanding and humanity.

HOW WE GOT TO NOW

Richmond, Virginia

HOW WE GOT TO NOW seeks to provide context and background on the biggest issues happening today. We want people to understand HOW and WHY our world is the way it is. And by providing the HOW and WHY, we can create a more informed, more empathetic, and more united world.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

The Institute for Global Leadership

Worcester, Massachusetts

The Institute for Global Leadership provides confidential, compassionate and skilled guidance, consultation and training to help leaders and teams through change, challenges and crises.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, multipurpose organization of women and men that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences policy through education and advocacy. The League does not support or oppose candidates or political parties. We do provide a forum where all candidates to an office can state their own positions.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 community

  • Offerings:

    • Candidate Forums during elections

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Voter Education and Registration

      • Groups or Individuals, In-Person, DIY

Liberatus

Alexandria, Virginia

Create a culture of American unity for the next generation by producing content, experiences, and leaders that inspire it today.

Listenly

Austin, Texas

Promotes emotional health through teaching cutting-edge communication tools in one-on-one coaching or facilitated workshops. 

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 4 states

  • Offerings:

MainStream Nation

Jensen Beach, Florida

MainStream Nation was founded to create the national media programming and technological infrastructure needed to focus the majority of voters’ will into a culture of consensus and facilitate their ability to organize for success at the ballot box and beyond, without partisan influence.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint:

  • Offerings:

    • Reunited National Show

      • Individuals, In-Person, Facilitated

    • Is That Racist?

      • Groups or Individuals, In-Person, Facilitated

More in Common

New York, New York

Strengthen American democratic culture by building stronger shared stories of 'us'. 

More in Common Podcast

Cleveland, Ohio

Anchor humanity in compassionate conversation

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 city

  • Offerings:

    • M.O.R.E.

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Intentional Culture

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

More Like US

Washington, D.C.

More Like US improves the information environment that dangerously distorts our views of fellow Americans across politics.

  • Primary Audience: Faith Communities & Educational Institutions

  • Offerings:

    • Similarity Hub

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, DIY

Parents-to-Parents

Centennial, Colorado

We recenter mental wellness on the family and support the family to be empowered to model and teach mental wellness and we use film to bring awareness of the need for promoting mental wellness.

Prohuman Foundation

Miami, Florida

To promote the foundational truth that every person is a unique individual united by our shared humanity.

  • Primary Audience: Educators

  • Offerings:

    • Prohuman Microgrants

      • Individuals, Online, Facilitated

    • Mentorships

      • Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

    • Prohuman Curriculum

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, Facilitated or DIY

ProjectCivAmerica

Nashville, Tennessee

Provide support and community to teachers and librarians who want to strengthen our democracy by facilitating student conversations across ideological divides. 

  • Primary Audience: High School Students

  • Geographic Footprint:  1 community

  • Offerings:

    • Discussions (example)

      • Groups, Online or In-Person, DIY

Red Door Project

Portland, Oregon

The Red Door Project uses narrative art to bridge divides.

  • Primary Audience: Law Enforcement

  • Geographic Footprint: 2 States

  • Offerings:

Sacred Tennessee Talks

Nashville, Tenneessee

Build community with engagement on common projects.

  • Primary Audience: Non-voters

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 community

  • Offerings:

    • School suppers to do individual, community asset mapping with goal to work on decentralized economic development

      • Groups or Individuals, In-Person, Facilitated

Society for Social Health

Petaluma, California

As a non-profit, our mission is to accelerate public awareness and build a coalition for professionals doing the work to solve the pervasive modern-day challenge of social disconnect and isolation.

Better Together is our mantra. To support each other in the journey and learn/share best practices. We believe that creating greater awareness and access to solutions to Social Health is best achieved when committed resources work in harmony, together. Together, we are working to create one voice, a common mission, standards, resource guide/directory and pervasive awareness to solve for this modern day disconnection seen in so much loneliness, hyper-individualism, and all the mental and physical illness that emanates from lack of connection.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 50 states

  • Offerings:

    • Meaningful Connection Circles

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Society for Social Health Membership

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

SpeakUp, Inc.

Wilmington, Delaware

We believe the political divide we are experiencing is intentional, and data show millions of US citizens feel the same. In a single sentence: Reallocate certain knowledge/power structures from media and political classes and distribute them transparently to the citizens of a country.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Speaker/Spectator Model

      • Individuals or Groups, Online, DIY

Story Powerhouse

Miami, Florida

We’re a professional and social development organization using award-winning films and workshops to cultivate understanding. Our programs promote safe spaces where people share stories, listen to their peers and learn strategies to cope with the times we’re living in while building interpersonal skills.

Team Democracy

Mountain Top, Pennsylvania

Team Democracy promotes the building of bridges across partisan divides, through its signature initiative: The Safe and Fair Election Pledge. The Pledge asks citizens, organizations and elected representatives (and candidates for elective office) to come together in committing to the two most essential guardrails of democracy: safe and fair elections, and the peaceful transfer of power.

  • Primary Audience: Elected Officials

  • Offerings:

    • The Safe and Fair Election Pledge

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, DIY

    • The Call-to-Action Democracy video

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, DIY

    • The Team Democracy Challenge

      • Groups or Individuals, Online, DIY

The Center for Innovative Thinking

Asheville, North Carolina

To introduce Reason and Creativity as tenents of civil discourse.

The Curious Project

Santa Cruz, California

People can relax into a mindset of curiosity by playing with art materials in ways that help us pay attention to what our bodies know, instead of what our critical voices are saying.  We can discern instead of judge, evaluate instead of fight, experiment instead of needing to be right.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Geographic Footprint: 1 state

  • Offerings:

    • The Curious Scroll (video)

      • Groups or Individuals, In-Person, Facilitated

    • Guided Scribble Art Meditations (video)

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated

The Dialogue Project

Los Angeles, California

Promote the role of business in improving civil discourse and reducing polarization.

The Facing Project

Muncie, Indiana

The Facing Project is a national nonprofit that creates a more understanding and empathetic world through stories that inspire action. We bring people and communities together through acts of empathy that include listening, storytelling, and connecting across differences with the belief that stories are the most powerful tool for change.

A broad U.S. network designed to prevent violent conflict and build community cohesion.

In order to prevent violence, reduce division, strengthen our democracy, and address legacies of injustice, we are:
(1) growing a network of collaboration across sectors in the fields of peacebuilding, social justice, and democracy work;
(2) establishing a first-of-its-kind citizen-run Early Warning Early Action infrastructure developed specifically for the United States;
(3) connecting international and national-level expertise and advocacy to local initiatives that are convened by community mediation and justice centers on the ground, so that communities are supported in generating and self-determining solutions to their long-standing problems (in keeping with the intent of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Section 10).

  • Primary Audience: Peace-building organizations

  • Offerings:

    • Early Warning Early Action infrastructure

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • International and national-level expertise sharing

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

    • Trans-sectoral collaboration

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

TownSquare

Nairobi, Kenya

Promote civil discourse by bridging the divide.

Unity Lab

San Diego, California

Bringing together diverse Americans to learn new skills and connect in a private online community.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Small-group skills training 

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, DIY

    • Open-forum city gatherings

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, Facilitated or DIY

US Values Alliance

Los Angeles, California

Promote values as a tool for personal or group alignment and as a way to provide healing to our society.

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

    • Values Discussion Guides

      • Groups or Individuals, Online or In-Person, DIY

why [here] matters

Chattanooga, Tennessee

why [here] matters exists in two primary forms: 1) a community building consultancy that liaises between organizations, initiatives and local communities to strategize, engage and support stakeholders towards advancing collaborative outcomes, and 2) a narrative change initiative founded with the conviction that our nation’s complex reality is best represented through the efforts and voices of local leaders committed to organizing, integrating and improving their own communities.

  • Primary Audience: General

3-Minute Storyteller

Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

Invigorating our social imagination through storytelling 

  • Primary Audience: General

  • Offerings:

Ready to join the movement?