Finding Dignity, Hope and Community in America Today

How do we bring people together when it feels like our society is breaking apart? How can we unleash a greater sense of shared responsibility among us? How can we be a part of something larger than ourselves to truly make a difference in our communities? And how can we personally find the courage and humility to take such a path?

Americans are searching for answers as the country confronts rampant polarization, gridlock and even hate speech. People are looking for a trusted voice who can provide a clear path for how to channel their frustrations, energies and aspirations to get on a more hopeful trajectory.  We will need to be ruthless in our pursuit of hope to rediscover what we share in common and actively build upon it. Enough is enough.

In 2019, Rich Harwood, President and Founder of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, launched a yearlong multi-city tour to speak about how we can get on that more hopeful path, starting in our local communities. Over 80 organizations reached out to be part of this incredible initiative. Click a point to learn more about these communities leading the way forward.

 
 

A New Speaking Tour in 2022: Healing & Hope

Photo of Rich Harwood, president of The Harwood Institute, giving a speech to a room or residents and leaders from Alamance County North Carolina.

In March 2022 after the Institute released its latest report, Civic Virus: Why Polarization is a Misdiagnosis, Rich Harwood launched a new in-person and virtual speaking tour to mobilize Americans across the country from Stamford, CT, and Ripon, WI, to Jackson, MS, and Alamance County, NC with more to come.

If you’re tired of hearing that we are polarized and can’t move forward, Rich will inspire you to bring your community together and get in motion to create a more hopeful path forward. Click below for highlights, videos and stories from the tour and stay tuned as it continues through 2023.

ABOUT RICH HARWOOD and The Harwood Institute

Richard C. Harwood is an innovator, writer, and speaker. For over three decades, he has devoted his career to revitalizing the nation’s hardest hit communities, transforming the world’s largest organizations, and reconnecting institutions to society.

The Harwood Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that equips people, organizations, communities, and networks with the tools to bridge divides, tackle shared challenges, create a culture of shared responsibility, and build capacity. The Harwood Institute’s work is rooted in a philosophy of Civic Faith and the practice of Turning Outward. Founded in 1988, the Institute’s approach has spread to all 50 states across the US and 40 countries around the world.

Rich’s Redeeming Hope Blog

Read Rich’s blog for inspiring and hopeful commentary about topics at the intersection of politics, society, and culture, where our public and personal lives overlap, and how to develop intentional strategies for community engagement and lasting change.

Rich's Posts
Reading, PA is Proof We Can Build Together Again
Reading, PA is Proof We Can Build Together Again

It can sound trite to say, “I’m so proud to be associated with you.” I’m sure you’ve felt this way at some point, right? 

It’s a statement that can ring hollow. 

But when the moment comes when that feeling is real—really real—when it pierces your soul, when your eyes well up with tears, when your heart is so full you’re convinced it’s going to burst—in that moment, at that time, you experience a kind of transcendence from being truly awake, present, even naked in your genuine sense of connection and joy. Standing before folks in Reading, PA this past week, that’s how I felt. 

No More Hiding. It's Time to Build. - A Sunday Letter from Rich
No More Hiding. It's Time to Build. - A Sunday Letter from Rich

“Remember, your mission is to hide from me…. If you’re in the open, you don’t want to look human.” All across our country, people are seeking to hide from others in one way or another. But can we create the communities and society we aspire to if we are in hiding? 

What Does it Mean to Say ‘Enough’? - A Sunday Letter from Rich
What Does it Mean to Say ‘Enough’? - A Sunday Letter from Rich

I’ve been thinking a lot about the word “enough” lately. Its use gives rise to both anger and aspiration. Think about it. What have you had enough of? What does it propel you to want? 

From the Campaign Trail: What Two Women in Fresno Have to Teach Us About How We Build Together
From the Campaign Trail: What Two Women in Fresno Have to Teach Us About How We Build Together

I’m writing this note on a plane heading home from our first “Enough. Time to Build.” campaign event in Fresno, CA. Among the many profound experiences I had on this trip, I find myself thinking especially about two women I met. They each have much to teach us about how we can build together as Americans.

Why I Am Launching a New Nationwide Campaign
Why I Am Launching a New Nationwide Campaign

I am writing a deeply personal note to you this Sunday. I hope that you will take a few minutes to read it, and to write to me. I hope you will join me. It’s that important. This week, I launched a new nationwide campaign, “Enough. Time to Build.”  

Please, Don't Feel Alone. Here's How.
Please, Don't Feel Alone. Here's How.

A community leader recently said to me, “I just don’t know if I can do this anymore.” It’s a common refrain I’m hearing. People’s words often come haltingly, filled with regret, pain, and anger.

Maybe you feel this way, too. 

It’s easy to feel exhausted, beat up, frustrated by just how hard it is to get things done nowadays. The challenges that our organizations, communities, and society face are mounting, piling up, and getting harder to address. Some are new; others are just being uncovered, but have long been with us.

Sometimes the very people who are supposed to be your allies, your supporters, your partners, throw up more obstacles than clear pathways for you to move forward. At times, you might feel weary, even scared, to step forward and say what you really think or believe for fear of being shut down or having your motivations questioned. 

You’re not alone. Please, don’t feel alone.

About Our Work

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. 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?