Alamance County Initiative to Catalyze Community-Led Transformation

The Harwood Institute is launching a new multi-year partnership with Impact Alamance toward community-led transformation in Alamance County, NC, a rural region reported on extensively by ProPublica, situated between the rapidly growing Research Triangle and Greensboro areas. The goal: to figure out how Alamance County can move beyond a history of fault lines with race, economics, and division to a place where the community can thrive and no one gets left out or left behind.

Galvanizing the Community & Unleashing Action

Rich brought the Healing & Hope message to Burlington, NC, to inspire community members to take part in the ongoing change. Learn more about his Healing & Hope Tour.

This initiative will take place between February 2022 and August 2025. During the research phase, The Harwood Institute and Impact Alamance will engage residents and community leaders from throughout the county to identify and understand the key issues and underlying community conditions that make up Alamance. The Harwood team will compile the community’s voices into a public report that, once presented to the community, will become a catalyzing force for change.

During the action phase, members of the Alamance County community will attend the signature Harwood Public Innovators Lab, form teams based on the community’s aspirations and goals, and work in tandem with our certified Harwood coaches to generate and unleash action. This group will lead the way forward for their community, enlist allies for action, and catalyze a transformative chain reaction toward meaningful and lasting change.

About Impact Alamance

Impact Alamance started as a result of Alamance Regional Medical Center’s merger with Cone Health. The organization invests more than $2 million dollars into the Alamance County community annually with the goal of creating a healthier and smarter community that will lead to a stronger future for everyone. Impact Alamance seeks to foster community-wide dialogue and make investments in the community that will create lasting change; these goals led Impact Alamance to partner with The Harwood Institute on this new initiative.


For over 30 years, The Harwood Institute has created breakthroughs on how to address the hardest and most vital societal challenges and strengthen our civic culture. Our approach has spread to all 50 U.S. states and 40 countries because it works. Through each part of our work, we are dedicated to catalyzing a larger force for change in the world. Want to step forward and take action to transform your community?