July Newsletter: Florida and North Carolina on the Move; Campaign Getting Attention; New Virtual Spaces

Jul 31

“Rich has spent his life proving no one is disposable, and that even the most divided towns in America can build something together.” - Corey Nathan, host of the Talkin’ Politics and Religion Without Killin’ Each Other podcast

Our Campaign Keeps Building Momentum

The campaign isn’t slowing down this summer. We’re heating up and building more momentum. Here are three reasons why.

Rich has been on the road nonstop. First a deep swing through Florida, including rural DeSoto County, Leadership Florida’s annual meeting in Orlando, and multiple events in Miami at the invitation of the Mayor. Then he keynoted North Carolina Campus Engagement’s Civic Health Summit before deep engagements in Clarkston, GA, often referred to as “the most diverse square mile in America.” Rich ended the month in Rockingham County, NC, and North River Manatee County, FL, to advance deep community initiatives in both places.
Campaign partnerships continue to evolve. Lincoln’s Cottage is hosting a virtual New Civic Path book circle in August and highlighted The New Civic Path on its “America at 250” reading list alongside other important writers Percival Everett, Kate Bowler, and the Bard himself, Shakespeare.
Media attention keeps growing. The Washington Post featured Rich’s piece arguing that politics can’t save us. Other articles were picked up by The Fulcrum and Black Belt News Network alongside multiple highlights in the Beyond Intractability Substack. And we’ve been on a podcast tour, with Rich featured by The Life Shift, Talkin’ Politics and Religion Without Killin’ Each Other, CivilTalk, Courageous Conversations About Our Schools, and The Patterson Foundation’s Beyond the Blog podcast with even more appearances dropping soon. The Communication Intelligence Substack also published a profile of Rich and the campaign.

This campaign is succeeding because it is tapping into a deep hunger among Americans of all political persuasions to get this country on a new path—one that enables us to rebuild our communities, restore our belief in one another, and create a new sense of possibility and hope. Join us! Get started by checking out our refreshed campaign site.

Check Out The Campaign

COMMUNITY INITIATIVES SPREAD IN FLORIDA, NORTH CAROLINA

Our deep work across Florida and North Carolina continues to spread. Indeed, our two latest community initiatives capture the different realities facing so many American communities today.

First, Rich and the team were in Rockingham County, NC, a deeply rural and conservative community, to launch an initiative in partnership with Reidsville Area Foundation. As documented in our report, Better Together: Creating a Shared Direction for Rockingham County, people there have a strong ethic of helping one another.

Now, there’s an opportunity to build on that as people seek to come together on behalf of the community as a whole. Rockingham County can be an example of what’s possible when a rural community comes together to shape its own future. Fox 8, the regional Fox affiliate, covered the launch.

Meanwhile, North River Manatee County, FL, is one of the fastest-growing areas in the entire country. Its rapid growth threatens to further fragment the community. We just held a Public Innovators Lab there with dozens of community members to kick off an action phase in partnership with Bishop-Parker Foundation and The Patterson Foundation.

Wendy Deming, CEO of Bishop-Parker Foundation, wrote in a piece for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: “The question is not whether North River Manatee County will change—because it will. The question is whether the people who live here will have a say in what it becomes.”

Both communities are unique and reflect different parts of the mosaic of the country. Yet both have what it takes to demonstrate that we can build communities where everyone thrives and nobody gets left behind.

Toward A New American Ambition

Rich was recently profiled by Communication Intelligence, a major Substack platform featuring interviews and analysis about the biggest questions of our time. Building on his argument in a recent Washington Post piece, Rich noted, “We must set out a new American ambition that focuses on rebuilding the country from the ground up.”

Read the Full Interview

The Cost of Silence

Fear of backlash. The pressure to “get along.” Repeated change efforts that start with great fanfare only to fizzle out. All can lead people in communities to retreat, hunker down, and disengage. But this doesn’t mean people don’t care. It just means they’ve lost belief that getting involved will make a difference. Rich returns to the award-winning Courageous Conversations About Our Schools podcast alongside distinguished Harvard University professor Amy Edmondson to discuss how leaders can help overcome the forces that hold their communities back from making progress.

Listen to "The Cost of Silence"

Moses, Lincoln, Harwood

Rich recently appeared on the Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other podcast. A wide-ranging conversation opened by touching on how Rich looks to Moses and Lincoln as key touchstones in his leadership journey. Not because they were flawless. But because they were deeply flawed yet chose to step forward anyway. Listen in to hear how their examples might inspire us today alongside the “deceptively simple idea” about what we owe one another that has the power to transform our communities—and the country.

Listen to Rich on Talkin' Politics and Religion

Public Innovator Spotlight: Paula Yevincy in Owensboro

Paula Yevincy is the president and CEO of United Way Ohio Valley and is a member of the Housing and Homelessness Team in Owensboro, KY, as part of our deep community initiative there.

She recently took to the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer to reflect on how she and other Public Innovators in Owensboro are building a stronger community by being willing to see and hear one another.

As Paula writes in the piece, “Strong communities are built when people feel heard. They are strengthened when we create opportunities to gather, to listen, and to learn from one another.”

Read Paula's Reflection

UPCOMING EVENTS

Help! How Can We Get Nonprofits to Work Together? | August 5, 1 pm ET
A recurring refrain we're hearing from funders is that too many of the nonprofits in their communities are trying to tackle the same issues. That in today's environment, well-meaning folks are so hunkered down and locked in, they've lost sight of how to work together and ended up creating duplicate efforts. OnWednesday, August 5 at 1 pm ET, we will host our next funders virtual conversation to explore what we could achieve if we reimagined how nonprofit groups can really work together. Register today .

A Safe Haven for Libraries | August 6, 1pm ET
Libraries are facing tough times. It’s natural for library leaders to feel frustrated and exhausted right now, maybe even at a loss for how to keep making progress. That’s why Harwood’s next virtual conversation on August 6 at 1pm ET is designed for library leaders. The conversation will focus on what it takes to find and grow hope and belief during these difficult times. In this rejuvenating space, you’ll connect with other library leaders facing similar challenges and engage with immediate steps you can take as you seek to create local change. Register today.

Getting Started Virtual Public Innovators Lab | October 2026
You want to create real, lasting change. Our Getting Started Virtual Lab, a signature offering of The Harwood School, can teach you how. And the next edition is headed your way this October. The result of nearly four decades of innovation and learning, this Lab offers the very best of Harwood’s time-tested approach in an accessible, high-impact experience. Bring your team, build capacity, and be equipped to unleash a new chain reaction in your community. Register now to secure your spot.