We're inspired and energized by the growing movement to bridge America's divides ...

At Civic Health Project, we're dedicated to the mission of elevating ideas, people, and organizations that show high potential to reduce toxic partisan polarization and foster healthier civil discourse in America.

In 2021, which started with an attack on the U.S. Capitol (read our USA TODAY OpEd about this), we've pursued this mission with greater urgency than ever before. We've awarded numerous grants, expanding our grantee portfolio substantially. We've also invested team resources and funding into multiple strategic initiatives - including America Talks and the Strengthening Democracy Challenge - that serve the broader bridge-building field. We're excited to showcase our 2021 grant recipients and a few key initiatives in the sections that follow.

Last but not least, a teaser .... in just a few days, we'll send a follow-up with exciting details about how we're enlisting folks in the entertainment industry to contribute their energy and talents to bridging divides across America.

We're honored to serve alongside so many dedicated bridge-builders.

Here's the good news: Everywhere we turn, more and more Americans are coming out of the woodwork and saying "enough." Saying that it's time to replace our toxic divisions with healthier, more constructive forms of interaction. They are writing books, building apps, starting alternative news sites, inventing new narratives, launching dialogue programs, organizing service projects. Day by day, inch by inch, America's bridge builders are stitching us all back together.

In this edition of Depolarize, we feature our latest grant recipients and shine a spotlight on the Strengthening Democracy Challenge.

Are you planning to submit an entry for the Strengthening Democracy Challenge? Call for submissions closes on Friday, October 1st!

Can short, online interventions reduce division and strengthen our democracy?

"Anti-democratic attitudes, support for partisan violence, and extreme levels of partisan animosity have troubling consequences for democracy, and we want you to help! We invite you to submit an intervention to reduce one, two, or all three of these outcomes. If your intervention is selected, we will test how well it works in a massive, online experiment."

‍Check out the website for more details about what the Challenge is hoping to achieve, who is behind it, and -- most importantly -- how to submit an entry to the Challenge by Friday, October 1st.  For help or guidance on submitting, please reach out to Julia Kamin on our team (julia@civichealthproject.org). Don't miss this opportunity to test your idea for strengthening democracy through a short, online intervention!Learn More

Inspiring Idea:
Start a Bridging Divides Book Club!

Here's a fun and easy way to bridge divides across America ... invite your friends and family to delve into a rich crop of books that explore our country's divisions and offer promising solutions. While not exhaustive, this list provides a good start! (Don't you feel inspired already?)

• Breaking the Social Media Prism: Making Our Platforms Less Polarizing (Chris Bail)
• The Call to Unite: Voices of Hope and Awakening (Tim Shriver and John Rosshirt)
• High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out (Amanda Ripley)
• Mending Our Union: Healing Our Communities Through Courageous Conversations (J. Christopher Collins)
• Our Common Ground: Insights From Four Years of Listening to American Voters (Diane Hessan)
• Poles Apart: Why Divisions Deepen and Societies Splinter (Alison Goldsworthy, Laura Osborne and Alex Chesterfield)
• Portraits of Peace: Searching for Hope in a Divided America (John Noltner)
• The Reunited States of America: How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divide (Mark Gerzon)
• The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion (Jonathan Haidt)
• Union: A Democrat, a Republican, and a Search for Common Ground (Jordan Blashek and Christopher Haugh)
• The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization (Peter Coleman)

Meet our Latest Grantees!

These organizations inspire us with their innovative approaches to understanding and bridging divides in our schools, faiths, communities, and country.

We are so grateful for the many financial contributions we've received to expand our grantmaking capability in 2021 and beyond. Our grantees rely on the sustained generosity of individuals and institutions in order to do their important work.

Please consider donating to Civic Health Project's grant fund
or making a direct contribution to these and other
bridge-building organizations.

American Exchange Project

A student exchange program with a "domestic twist," American Exchange Project (AEP) engages high school seniors across the country in a months-long exchange process that culminates in summer exchange visits to vastly different corners of the U.S. After piloting successfully in Summer 2021, AEP is launching in 25 U.S. communities during academic year 2021-22.
Support American Exchange Project's work

BridgeUSA

Bridge USA invests in the future of democracy by equipping high school and college-level students with the knowledge and ability to improve the political culture in their communities. BridgeUSA chapters on college campuses across the country are inspiring a new generation of leaders to adopt empathetic and constructive approaches to solving problems across divides.
Support BridgeUSA's work

More Perfect Union

More Perfect Union forms veteran-led local chapters that put the interests of others ahead of their own. These community leaders, leveraging high levels of trust across divided communities, will bring together citizens from the left and right to carry out local, state, and regional service projects.
Support More Perfect Union's work

Public Agenda

Public Agenda is a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan research and public engagement organization dedicated to strengthening democracy and expanding opportunity for all Americans. See their recent reports on overcoming divisiveness and renewing democracy in America.
Support Public Agenda's work

Resetting the Table

Drawing on deep experience working across faith communities in the U.S, Resetting the Table brings its proven methodology, training, and practical toolkit to clergy, journalists, and communities across the United States who are working to understand and bridge political and ideological divides.
Support Resetting the Table's work

Urban Rural Action

Urban Rural Action's programs bring together Americans across divides to 1) engage in constructive dialogue, 2) deepen understanding of societal challenges,  and 3) take action to address those challenges. In Fall 2021 they are partnering with Lead for America to pilot Uniting for Action to Strengthen Democracy.
Support Urban Rural Action's work

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