Working Across Differences
Learning Across Differences Ideas Forum - Measuring Belonging
Belonging is a basic human need associated with a range of positive outcomes, but how do you know if programs or investments are meaningfully building it? Presenters in this session will spotlight nonprofit and philanthropic leaders who are piloting early efforts to measure the hard-to-measure.…
Better Disagreement Fuels Better Decisions
Foundations exist to make hard judgment calls: what matters, what works, who and what to invest in. That judgment depends on people thinking well together. And most organizations, foundations included, have a practiced set of workarounds for the disagreement that real thinking requires: the brittle…
Pockets of Hope: Lessons from Working Across Differences
Even after nearly a century of doing good in southeastern Pennsylvania, the Lancaster County Community Foundation (LCCF) was little known in the region. Established in 1924, it had served chiefly as a white-shoe grantmaker, quietly distributing funds from bank trusts. Then, almost 20 years ago…
New Funding Opportunity: Scaling Community Foundation Impact in Working Across Differences
As trusted civic leaders, community foundations are uniquely positioned to bring people together to drive shared progress. To support this vital role as civic leaders, a new grant opportunity launching this summer will help community foundations deepen and expand their impact in working across…
Our Shared Future: Integrating Approaches to Social Change
During the Council’s recent Building Together conference, the Horizons Project was pleased to present two workshops on our Block, Bridge, Build (BBB) framework. The unseasonally warm sun we enjoyed in Seattle that first week in May was in stark contrast with the stormy skies and tumult felt around…
Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort office hours offer cohort members a space to reflect on their learnings and ask questions about program content. This year, we're excited to open these sessions to cohort alumni. These sessions are an opportunity to reconnect with the program's themes and…
Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort Alumni Office Hours - September
Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort office hours offer cohort members a space to reflect on their learnings and ask questions about program content. This year, we're excited to open these sessions to cohort alumni. These sessions are an opportunity to reconnect with the program's themes and…
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Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort Alumni Office Hours - July
Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort office hours offer cohort members a space to reflect on their learnings and ask questions about program content. This year, we're excited to open these sessions to cohort alumni. These sessions are an opportunity to reconnect with the program's themes and…
From Charity Bank to Community Leader
Innovia Foundation, winner of the Council on Foundations' Building Together Award, is creating community in a diverse, 40,000-square mile region.Four stories tall and sheathed in weathered wood siding, the J.C. Barron Mill has stood watch over Oakesdale, Wash., population 400, for nearly 140 years…
Preparing for a Successful Building Together Experience
As the beginning of May inches (or maybe barrels) closer, the anticipation of travel builds. This comes with real excitement for learning, connecting, and inspiration, but it also comes with some challenges. Work travel isn’t easy, but conferences like this, in my experience, are always worth it!…
The Bridging Differences Leadership Cohort is a facilitated virtual learning experience meeting monthly from April 2026 through November 2026, hosted by the Council on Foundations in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley (GGSC). Cohort members expressed their interest in…
Leading in Turbulent Times: A Growing Demand for Constructive Dialogue
Like many other social sector services, American higher education has been battered by a set of pressures tied to political polarization: escalating campus protests, growing public skepticism, and donor and legislative scrutiny over the past several years. The result: a pervasive sense that the…
Philanthropic organizations face heightened attention and expectations. To support Council members, our Legal Resources team hosted a webinar on what philanthropic organizations need to know to engage confidently and responsibly in civic engagement work.This session covered what organizations can…
Listening Skills for Chaotic Times
This session offers practical tools and case studies to help funders listen quickly and, effectively, and without burdening grantees in times of upheaval—even when communities are sharing conflicting opinions and input. This is a part of the Building Up to Building Together webinar series. If…
Bridging Communities: How Yampa Valley Community Foundation Unites Northwest Colorado
Steamboat Springs, the largest city in Routt County, is a tourism-driven ski town known for arts and recreation. Upriver in the city of Craig, the county seat of Moffat County, a rich tradition of ranching and farming carries on as multi-generational families preserve their livelihoods through…