May 2024 Newsletter: How We Can Overcome Our Toxic Politics; Catalyzing Change in DeSoto County
“The Public Innovators Lab will help you see the bigger picture of what your community needs and what it could be and the smaller picture of why community matters to you and how you can help your community get to that better place. ” - Spring 2024 Virtual Lab Participant
How We Can Overcome Our Toxic Politics
Rich was recently interviewed by Judy Woodruff for her series “America at a Crossroads” on PBS NewsHour. In response to a question about how we address our big national divisions, he said: “If we can get on a civic path, we can actually make progress. Not only can we make progress, we can push out the culture wars. We can push out the divisive politics that are seeping into our local communities.”
Making the case for a new civic path is at the core of our “Enough. Time to Build.” campaign. It also animates our latest ad from the campaign. Everywhere we take this message, people inevitably step forward to work with others in their community in new ways in response.
But it’s fair to ask, “Why is this campaign working?” Rich offers an answer in his latest piece for The Fulcrum.
Get Started With OUr Virtual Lab
Are you feeling stuck in your efforts to create meaningful change in your community? Harwood’s Getting Started Virtual Public Innovators Lab is the roadmap you need to unleash your potential and build a stronger community. Having just finished a packed-house edition of this Lab in April, we’re offering a second one this year in July. And there’s a spot for you, if you act fast!
“The Lab helps you focus on what you can do WHERE YOU ARE to help move things forward for the betterment of our communities.” - Spring 2024 Lab Participant
Grounded in 35 years of innovation, this high-impact 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 July 29 at 2 pm ET.
From the Campaign Trail in Alamance County, NC
What can a community do when it faces numerous divides? The place to start is not with comprehensive plans or grand strategies. The answer is found in one of our Key Mantras: Start small to go big. See how this message resonated at our recent campaign events in Alamance County, NC
“Alamance County is hungry for change. We’re hopeful this is the initiative we need, and the encouragement that we need, to start moving forward.” - Kurt Ward, Pastor of Northside Fellowship
The ongoing initiative in Alamance County is part of our larger work to prove that Americans have the public will and ability to address society’s fault lines by coming together to get things done. We’re working deeply in iconic communities like Reading, PA; DeSoto County, FL; Owensboro, KY; and Union and Logan Counties, OH. Each has unique demographics, histories, and challenges. Individually, they represent the different divides plaguing 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.
Catalyzing Community-Led Change in DeSoto County, FL
Earlier this year, The Harwood Institute launched a partnership with The Patterson Foundation on a multi-year initiative to catalyze action on issues that matter to people while strengthening how the community works together. The work in DeSoto County is part of our larger effort to prove that Americans have the public will and ability to address society’s fault lines by coming together to get things done.
DeSoto is a proud community, home to numerous assets. At the same time, it faces deep challenges. It ranks 65th out of 67 counties in Florida for third-grade literacy. Its per capita income ranks at the bottom for Florida counties. And its lack of adequate infrastructure is constraining growth.
Over the past four months, we’ve held a series of 24 resident conversations, eight leader roundtables, and 36 one-on-one interviews with a cross-section of community leaders. All told, we engaged hundreds of people. Later this summer, we will release a report in partnership with The Patterson Foundation based on what we heard from across the county. The report won’t prescribe specific solutions to DeSoto’s challenges. Instead, it will seek to illuminate a path forward that can actually build and accelerate the community’s ability to bring about real change that matters to people.
Upcoming Events
Catalytic Funders Virtual Convening - Hosted by Harwood CIRCLE Members | June 13 at 10 am ET and June 14 at 9 am ET
In the Harwood CIRCLE of Catalytic Funders, philanthropic leaders from around the country come together to discover and explore how philanthropy can unleash the potential of people and communities, address society’s growing fault lines, and strengthen civic culture. Current CIRCLE members invite you to join them for an upcoming virtual convening with dozens of nationwide funders to discuss what we are wrestling with and how we can forge a more hopeful path forward. Register for either June 13 at 10 am ET or June 14 at 9 am ET.
Civic Rally with Rich Harwood | June 14 at 1 pm ET
The Civic Rally is a new kind of civic space that is designed to build us up, nourish us, and restore a sense of possibility and hope as we seek to make a difference in our communities. Each Rally, Rich and community leaders from around the country wrestle with a complex issue that sits at the intersection of our civic and personal lives. We’ve tackled everything from grief to civic joy to how we build momentum when feeling stuck. Come find meaning, connection, and belonging at our next Civic Rally on June 14. Register here.
The Harwood Institute in the News
We need a civic path forward this election season via Yahoo! News
Americans want a civic path, not more divisive politics via The Fulcrum
Our civic confidence is at an all-time low. How do we build momentum? via The Fulcrum
DeSoto Catalytic Community Guide Program Spotlight - Amanda Reuter via The Patterson Foundation
Make sure you follow Rich on LinkedIn to be nourished and supported as we go together this election season.
