The Reunited States is a feature documentary (released in January 2021) featuring individuals who are dedicating their lives to promoting depolarization and de-escalation of our tensions across the political divide. The film is influenced by the book of the same title by Mark Gerzon who is featured in the documentary along with Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer who was killed at Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, insisting on difficult conversations to avoid further violence.

The Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley is the leading grassroots organization working in the six counties of the northern Shenandoah Valley to ensure that economic and infrastructure development of the region is pursued in a manner that conserves, to the maximum extent possible, the Valley’s natural resources, cultural heritage, and rural character. The Alliance’s major areas of focus are clean water, land conservation, land use, and transportation.

The grant would be made to the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa - USA to empower the emerging female leadership for peace and democracy in West Africa.

This 15-month collaboration with Just Faith Ministries (JFM) will support the adaptation of the JFM Racial Justice program from one that is exclusively Christian to a broader spiritual audience. Fetzer will work collaboratively with JFM’s Executive Director to adapt the three-components of the program to a model that will attract and engage residents of Southwest Michigan in a transformational experience that will catalyze inner transformation, leading to outer service. While the pilot will begin in Southwest Michigan, the newly replicated program will be offered nationally by JFM.

To support Asma Uddin as a thought leader to engage conservative evangelical institutions on religious freedom as a means of building bridges and reducing polarization. Asma believes that the language of religious freedom/liberty has the potential to open closed doors and provide an opening for dialogue between evangelical Christians and Muslims. If successful, the project will develop an empirically tested methodology of engaging conservative evangelical audiences to reverse polarization and advance an inclusive religious liberty framework.

The 2021 Exchange will take place the week of March 15, 2021 with the theme: “Rising to the Challenge: Ordinary People Together Making Extraordinary Change.” George Mason University (GMU) is the hosting institution.

This 18 month collaboration with Commonweal and the Retreat Center Collaboration (RCC) will pilot a 6-month residency program for young adults across social, economic, racial, political, and geographic divides. Grounded in Tomas Bjorkman and Lene Rachel Andersen’s research published in The Nordic Secret, the American Life Corps (ALC) will utilize a curriculum focused on developmental inner work and personal transformation to build the leadership skills that are needed to create a global consciousness and a flourishing world.

The Mystic Soul Project is a national nonprofit based in Chicago showcasing the voices, teachings, and dialogue of people of color at the intersection of spirituality, activism, and healing. Over an 18-month period, the Institute would partner with Mystic Soul to support: 1) the development of the “Spirit School,” an in-depth spiritual formation program; 2) virtual and in-person events on topics relevant to both the Institute and Mystic Soul communities; and 3) capacity building for additional teacher training, funding strategies for long-term support, and marketing strategies.

The National Week of Conversation 2021 is the 4th annual week of conversational activities powered by the #ListenFirst Coalition of 300+ organizations. It invites Americans of all stripes to listen, extend grace, and discover common interests. Listen First and Public Agenda are the lead organizations in the America Talks/National Week of Conversation events for 2021 and both orgs are in a strong partnership with USA Today for these ongoing efforts.

Funds to be dispersed by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation to support spiritual transformation in Southwest Michigan.