Foundations Building Community Through Reading

Welcome to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s weekly newsletter highlighting stories and conversations from The Commons , our project exploring how philanthropy and nonprofits are working to close divides, repair the social fabric, and strengthen communities.

From senior editor Drew Lindsay: Hundreds of nonprofits dedicate themselves to efforts to strengthen democracy, bolster our sense of community, and close divisions in the country. But what can the average charity do?

My colleague Rasheeda Childress , senior editor for fundraising, reports on two community foundations that have a simple answer. They started book circles in which supporters bring together friends and acquaintances from all walks of life. Taking a deep dive into the ideas of bridge-building writers such as David Brooks and Monica Guzman , members of these groups explore America’s divides but also simply get to know each other.?

“Even if they don't necessarily have extreme differences, they maybe just wouldn't have met each other otherwise,” says Gabrielle Webster, MSM , director of donor relations at the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia .?

The book circles are an opportunity for the foundation to reach into different sectors and groups, says Sari Raskin of the Delaware Community Foundation . “We're not asking you for money. We're not fundraising. We're saying, 'Join us. Join us in conversations.'”

Read Rasheeda’s full story , which includes tips for how to start a book circle at your organization.

Can Nonprofits Help Prevent a Repeat of January 6?

Nealin Parker has spent much of her career in countries torn apart by war and internal strife — Afghanistan, Kenya, Liberia. But not long ago, she began to see red flags in the United States that suggested this country could face the kind of political violence almost unthinkable in a stable democracy untouched by military conflict.

Parker now leads Common Ground USA @Search for Common Ground , one of a little-known constellation of nonprofits that aim to head off the kind of violence we saw at the U.S. Capitol four years ago. She and her colleagues are working in election battleground states where a close result could bring simmering tensions to a boil. Already in Pennsylvania, her team helped keep the peace in the town of Butler after the July assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.?

Fears that the shooting would touch off more violence never materialized. “We shouldn’t forget that,” Parker says. “People are working extremely hard. And that unseen energy is having a profound effect.”

Nealin recently joined me for The Commons in Conversation interview series on LinkedIn. You can watch our discussion on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s YouTube channel or on LinkedIn with free registration. And here's a short story and interview transcript .

What Should You Say — and Not Say — on November 6?

Words like “community,” “diversity,” and “democracy” are commonplace in nonprofit vernacular. But how do average Americans react to them? Amy McIsaac has answers. She leads a project at Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement that studies how civic language describing our values, ideals, and practices can motivate people or turn them off.

McIsaac comes to the Commons in Conversation on Wednesday, October 30, at 12:30 p.m. ET to talk about her analysis of words that bring us together and those that divide us. The event is free. Registration is required to watch.

Of the Moment

• Doris Duke Foundation president Sam Gill spoke with Inside Philanthropy about the firestorm of criticism that followed a Chronicle of Philanthropy op-ed he wrote with other leading grant makers. The authors — who included conservatives and progressives —?acknowledged that “not all social and political agendas are morally equivalent” but “pledged to reject efforts by anyone to circumscribe or proscribe the programmatic prerogatives of donors or their foundations, so long as the exercise of those prerogatives conforms with the law.” Gill told Inside Philanthropy : “The American experiment, on the one hand, doesn’t work if words like pluralism are a defense for the toleration of profound injustice and the subjection and subjugation of part of the population. But the American project also doesn’t work if there can only be one dogma, one ideology, one right way to see every complex issue.”
• Builders , the global anti-polarization effort backed by philanthropist Daniel Lubetzky , has launched a weekly ranking of members of Congress that deems officials “builders” or “dividers.” The most recent edition examined lawmakers’ responses to hurricane relief efforts.?
• Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams and Matt Masterson of the Microsoft Democracy Forward program joined Jon Stewart’s The Weekly podcast to discuss election security and the voting system’s vulnerabilities.?
• Third Plateau , in partnership with Native Americans in Philanthropy and Civic (Re)Solve, has released a guide for funders to support Indigenous-led organizations working to engage voters, protect voting rights, and cultivate Indigenous candidates in 2024.?