To uphold our promise to society, philanthropy must be a leader in seeing our shared humanity and working together for the greater good. Positive change doesn’t always come easily, especially in times of division and mistrust. It often requires action from a broad coalition of people and groups who sometimes disagree. The magic happens at the intersections where we can build common ground. The Council is working to be that intersection, a place where you can find fellow travelers who may see the path differently yet still want to reach the same destination.
Building Common Ground is one of the three core pillars of The Council's work.
What we're doing
We’re committed to bringing the best of what already exists to our members through partnerships and threading best practices into existing Council work, including through internal capacity building work with Resetting the Table. Our programming will facilitate peer learning, amplify bright spots, and cultivate leaders who can learn and scale this work across the country. For example:
- An eight-month Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort offered in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center (April-November);
- A bi-monthly peer learning circle for Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort Alumni
- Coming Together, Not Apart - The first of three publications exploring philanthropy's involvement in developing the heartset, mindset and skillset to lead collaboratively across differences;
- Opportunities to engage in conversations at our Leading Locally conference (June 2025); and
- Biennial sector-wide convenings on how to connect and collaborate across difference, starting with the launch of Building Together in 2024.
Get Involved
We hope our members will apply what they are learning through their engagement with us to the work they do in community, whether that is by facilitating and participating in interactions that decrease polarization or directly funding work to build common ground.
