January 2025 Newsletter: Funders Becoming Catalytic; Reading’s Ripples of Change
“Creating change in communities is hard. If we want to spark community-led change, then how we do the work is as important as what we do.” - Rich Harwood
Helping Funders Embrace Their Roles as Catalysts
“This space was marked by honesty, vulnerability, and an unwavering sense of purpose” - Jessica Muroff, CEO, United Way Suncoast
Funders and philanthropic leaders are critical to community work. They can foster transformational change or get in the way of it. They can propel communities forward or take them in the wrong direction. We believe funders are critical to catalyzing and unleashing the potential of communities in moving our country forward. That’s why, with the support of The Patterson Foundation, we convened nearly 40 philanthropic leaders from around the country on January 16-17 in Sarasota, FL. The gathering focused on:
Examining what it really takes for communities to transform themselves and their civic culture
Exploring what it means to be a ‘catalytic’ funder and how funders can support communities in ways that go beyond financial capital
Creating space for funders to learn from one another, innovate together, and discover new and deeper ways to take action in communities
Working through challenges and tensions funders face to see new possibilities for moving forward
Jessica Muroff, CEO of United Way Suncoast, wrote a compelling reflection on her experience at the convening. Building on the quote above, Muroff wrote: “Together, we’ve recommitted to stepping up—not when it’s convenient, but when it’s needed. The Harwood Institute has shown us that hope is powerful, and the work ahead is ours to do.”
This event is just one of the funder-specific events our CIRCLE of Catalytic Funders intends to offer this year. Learn more about the CIRCLE and how you can get involved.
Our New Report: How Reading Unleashed Transformational Education Change
“In just a few short years, we’ve created a tremendous amount of action that is making a difference in people’s daily lives. What we’re creating together is taking us places we never thought we could go as a community.” - Migdalia Garcia, Regional Director of Operations for Communities in Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania
When so many communities seem stuck, Reading, PA, is creating lasting, systemic education change by taking a different approach. The community has unleashed chain reactions of change on issues that matter to people and are strengthening the community’s civic culture.
Our newest report, Reading’s Ripples of Change: a New Culture of Shared Responsibility, documents the ongoing transformation. It is also a roadmap for growing and accelerating change over time—in Reading and elsewhere around the country. Consider the following:
Where people once saw seemingly intractable challenges—including a youth violence crisis, widespread mental health challenges, language barriers, and a lack of access to early childhood education—today action is being taken on all of these fronts and is now jumping to new areas of concern in the community, producing real, tangible gains.
Where people once described fragmented organizations marked by competition and operating in silos, today there is a growing network of leaders and groups who have shifted from just getting together to working together with a new shared purpose.
Where people once felt neither seen or heard—or even included in community life to begin with—today people from various backgrounds and who speak different languages and dialects say they feel a new sense of belonging and possibility.
Where people once saw deep divides across neighborhoods, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and language, and between and among institutions and organizations, today people are increasingly crossing these dividing lines and building a community grounded in shared responsibility.
The Reading story proves what is possible in America. We can build a more equitable, fair, just, inclusive, and hopeful path forward. For inspiration, just look to Reading.
DeSoto County and Owensboro Accelerating Progress
Around the country, people’s appetite for creating change and building stronger communities is stronger than ever. DeSoto County, FL, and Owensboro, KY, offer two proof points.
On January 21-22 in DeSoto County, FL, a Getting Started Public Innovators Lab trained 50+ leaders and active citizens in the Harwood approach. The Lab is one of the first major steps in what we call the “Action Phase” of our community initiatives. Now, they will form action teams to gather public knowledge to inform initial action steps.
On January 28-29 in Owensboro, KY, we convened a workspace for four action teams—Arts, Housing/Homelessness, Youth, and Health. These teams are engaging the community around their aspirations and taking early steps to catalyze a chain reaction. Read this local coverage for more insight into what’s happening in Owensboro.
The initiatives in Florida and Kentucky are part of our larger work to prove Americans have the public will and ability to address society’s fault lines by coming together to get things done. We’re also working deeply in Union and Logan Counties, OH; Reading, PA; and Alamance County, NC. Individually, these communities represent the different divides in society today. Collectively, they demonstrate our innate capacities to change how we work together and create a new trajectory of hope by applying the Harwood approach.
Is Polarization the Real Problem? Rich on the Outrage Overload Podcast
Merriam-Webster chose “polarization” as their Word of the Year for 2024. Coming off a bruising election cycle, it’s not hard to see why. But as we documented in our report, Civic Virus: Why Polarization is a Misdiagnosis, we believe there’s something deeper going on in society. What is it and how do we address it? Tune in to Rich on the Outrage Overload podcast for more.
“From Grief to Hope.” Rich Interviewed by WEKU’s Eastern Standard
Rich recently appeared on WEKU’s flagship radio program. In talking about how many Americans feel grief in relation to the country’s past, present, or future, the host asked, “What could someone do tomorrow to find their way out of grief and into hope?”
Rich’s response? “If you feel a sense of grief, the only way through that is to explore your sense of loss. There is a process of grieving that needs to take place. And then we have to do something. Hope is engendered by creating something, by reaching out to other people, by building with others and discovering our shared humanity.” Listen to the rest of the conversation here.
Register Now for the April Getting Started Virtual Lab
Getting Started Virtual Public Innovators Lab | Starting March 31, 2 pm ET
Grounded in 35 years of innovation, our high-impact Getting Started Virtual Lab is your crash course in implementing the transformative Harwood approach in practical, doable, and achievable ways starting from the first session. It’s best experienced as a cohort, so bring your colleagues and allies. The next Lab kicks off March 31 at 2 pm ET and runs through April. Reserve your spot today!
The Harwood Institute in the News
Rotary Club talks education with Leadership Institute, United Way via Yahoo! News
Parks department addresses hopes/concerns of area youth via Bellefontaine Examiner
Make sure you follow Rich on LinkedIn to be nourished and supported as we go together.
