“Rich shares a refreshing new paradigm that reframes community issues from problems and blame to what actually matters to people, bringing them together to create solutions that work.” - Rev. Carol Saunders, The Spiritual Forum podcast host
engaging 700 nonprofit leaders across north carolina
Last week, Rich keynoted the Conference for North Carolina Nonprofits in Concord, NC. Some 700 nonprofit leaders from across the state attended as they seek to put their communities on a more positive trajectory. After the conference, Rich was off to Philadelphia for a community leader roundtable with the Free Library of Philadelphia as people there aim to move one of America’s most iconic cities forward in a more hopeful way.
This week, our team is in Clarkston, GA, as part of an ongoing partnership with Mosaic Health Center, meeting with nonprofit and community leaders about what it will take to work together in a new way and address what really matters to people in the “most diverse square mile in America.” Each event reflects peoples’ appetite to do better and be better—not as Republicans or Democrats or Independents, but as Americans. And they each reflect our commitment to helping this country get on a new civic path. Because that’s how we can restore our belief in one another and create the change we need today.
Who inspires you?
We could all use a bit more inspiration and hope these days. And if someone inspires you, chances are they’ll inspire someone else.
So to better lift up and celebrate the leaders and everyday citizens who are helping their communities move forward amid these tumultuous times, we’ve launched our inaugural Harwood Catalyst for Change Awards.
We invite you to nominate yourself, a colleague, or someone in your community for this award. Nominees do not need to be a Harwood Public Innovator but should exemplify the characteristics that sit at the heart of the Harwood approach. Nominations are due by December 11.
equipping a new wave of public innovators
We’re on a mission to restore belief, spread authentic hope, and rebuild communities across America. And we’re doing it by equipping a fresh wave of leaders and everyday citizens with the capacities they need to strengthen civic culture and create real, lasting change.
In Rockingham County, NC, we partnered with Reidsville Area Foundation to host a Getting Started Public Innovators Lab. Scores of community members showed up to get to work and reclaim a greater sense of agency over their community’s future.
As part of the Richmond Ripple Project in Richmond, VA, we held an Unleashing Impact Lab to bring together dozens of leaders focused on creating more opportunities for youth and children. A chain reaction is starting to take shape and grow as people spread a new approach to creating change.
At the start of this month, we launched our latest Virtual Public Innovators Lab. Folks across the country stepped forward to join the Lab. In particular, there are entire cohorts of leaders representing the Free Library of Philadelphia; Mosaic Health Center in Clarkston, GA; PIVOT Architecture in Eugene, OR; and the El Dorado Hills region of Northern California.
Everywhere you look, Harwood Public Innovators are stepping forward, focusing on people’s shared aspirations, and getting in motion to take real action on issues that matter to people in their daily lives.
the role of funders today
In looking to rebuild your community’s civic culture and catalyze new change efforts, maybe it’s time to start small yet be intentional in how you grow your efforts over time. That’s something Rich emphasized on Exponent Philanthropy’s Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast. Exponent’s network is made of nearly 1,500 lean funders nationwide, all seeking to become more catalytic in their community work. The episode is packed with practical questions and tools funders can use to engage their community and tackle shared problems in a new way.
WHY “START SMALLL TO GO BIG” MATTERS
Exponent’s podcast wasn’t the only place Rich recently emphasized our Mantra of “start small to go big.” In a piece for The Prohuman Foundation’s Substack Prohuman Pathways, he took on the same topic through the lens of the transformational, systemic change people created in Reading, PA. They started small but they went big over time. In fact, their starting point enabled them to go big over time because it unlocked a different kind of momentum and civic confidence. Read Rich’s piece for more on the lessons Reading’s story holds for other communities that seek to move forward.
daring to dream again
Rich and Rabbi Michael Holzman recently joined forces for a faith250 virtual event centered on “Faith and Americans’ Search for Significance.” At one point, Rabbi Holzman asked Rich, “Have we forgotten how to dream?” Rich’s answer was an emphatic, “No.” But it’s true our instincts for imagining the practical possibilities before us and moving forward together around our shared aspirations have been buried. Listen to their discussion for how we might rediscover our sense of imagination and possibility.
“YOU HAVE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT QUESTIONS”
“Everyone’s looking at it this way because that’s how we’ve been conditioned to look at it and now you’re saying, ‘Here’s another way to look at it. Here’s another way to be.’ You have completely different questions.” - Rev. Carol Saunders
Addressing our crisis of belief and unlocking a new way forward requires a different frame—a different paradigm—for how we think about what enables communities to grow their capacities and function effectively. This reframing is at the core of the new civic path.
And Rich discusses it in detail during an appearance on The Spiritual Forum podcast hosted by Rev. Carol Saunders.
upcoming events
Third Annual Safe Haven for Funders | January 28-29, 2026
The Institute’s annual Safe Haven for Funders is a special gathering designed to activate and develop philanthropic leaders who seek to be catalytic by embracing a new approach to community-led change. This year’s Safe Haven—held in Sarasota, FL, on January 28-29—will examine what it really takes for communities to transform themselves at a time of such deep divides. And how you can actively support those efforts in ways that go beyond financial capital. Learn more about the Safe Haven.
THE HARWOOD INSTITUTE IN THE NEWS
New Event Brings Opposing Parties to the Table via Belmont Voice
News Into Action w/Rich Harwood via News Into Action
Follow our revamped social media presence for hope, inspiration, and connection.