New Pluralists is focused on culture change — on shifting the norms, values, skills, and behaviors that shape the way we see each other and ourselves.

This is not to downplay the importance of structural change to reform institutions and enact policies to remedy deep inequities of power and build a healthier, more inclusive democracy. We believe that culture change and structural change must go hand-in-hand. We see our work as advancing a larger vision for change, strengthening pluralist culture and complementing the vital work of others to reform structures, policies, and institutions. When we see each other’s humanity and foster respect across our differences, we strengthen our capacity to address unequal concentrations of power and injustices that persist.

Guiding Principles

We are committed to the unfinished work of realizing our nation’s founding ideals — liberty, equality, and justice — by embodying five principles of practice for new pluralism.

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Honor Human Dignity

We listen from a place of mutual respect, and uphold the individual dignity, worth, and potential of every person.

Take Responsibility for Repair

We confront our past and reckon with our present in order to heal and strengthen our communities.

Widen the Circle

We expand our sense of who belongs and embrace our common humanity.

Find Strength in Difference

We design better solutions through our differences, not in spite of them.

Strive for a Greater Sum

We challenge the zero-sum view that one group’s gain is another’s loss, and instead look to create win-win situations through curiosity, collaboration, and creativity.

New Pluralists will invest in strengthening the growing field that is addressing our nation’s crisis of division, distrust, dehumanization, and disconnection.

OUR FOCUS AREAS

We recognize the urgency, and we’re humbled by the headwinds we face. We’re mindful of the decades-long commitment that’s needed for change at scale, and we know that progress will require patience and resolve.

We know that we are one actor among many, and we intend to support and learn from other field-building efforts focused on related goals. As a funder collaborative, we believe we can make distinctive contributions by investing in deeper relationships, collaboration, innovation, research, and learning across the field.

We will make investments to explore the questions that leaders in the field believe can help unlock progress. We’ll help develop “public goods” and resources for people who want to understand and apply the research that underpins new pluralism, and the practices that are working on the ground.

We will also build connective tissue and infrastructure across the field. We expect our strategy to incorporate three main elements, and in the coming months, we will share more about specific grantmaking initiatives.

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Narratives that humanize, illuminate, and inspire
The stories and information people take in have a big impact on our norms, values, and sense of what’s possible. We will support narrative efforts that aim to move our hearts and minds, prime us to be curious and open, shine a light on what it looks like to show up with empathy and embrace our differences, and help us imagine a better future where we all belong.
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Positive experiences connecting across difference in everyday settings
In addition to narratives, we need firsthand encounters in which we’re able to connect meaningfully across our differences. We seek to bring practices, principles, and tools for strengthening pluralism into the places where people already gather — faith communities, civic associations, educational settings, workplaces — turning these places into thriving practice fields for new pluralism and pathways for reaching larger audiences.
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Supporting field-led collaboration and experimentation
There is no single method or tool for bringing new pluralism to life, and there are as many hard questions as there are promising solutions. Using a dedicated pool of resources, we will support experiments, research efforts, and other projects that emerge from our Field Builder community and that involve partners beyond the community as well.

As with anything new, we don’t have it all figured out and we certainly won’t always get it right. We know this is a complex undertaking that requires bravery and humility.

We come to this growing work with a spirit of experimentation, a commitment to sharing what we learn, and an openness to evolve our strategy along the way. We will surely have disagreements and complications. But we are committed to finding a way forward — together, as a New Pluralists community, and as a country.