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Civil Society

Common Ground

We equip community foundations with the tools and resources they need to bridge divides and solve local issues together with their communities.

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Why It Matters

When communities are connected, inclusive and resilient, they can resolve local challenges and thrive.

A large crowd gathered to celebrate the April 2021 launch of the Mafi-Kpedzeglo Community Foundation.

Our Approach

We provide support to organizations that help community foundations build common ground by bringing diverse groups of people together to identify and address local problems.

We have two strategies to achieve our goals:

Equipping U.S. community foundations with tools and knowledge to build common ground in their communities.

Our grant funding supports:

  • The development and dissemination of capacity-building tools and measurement frameworks.
  • Efforts to bolster the capacity of providers that help design, implement and assess common-ground initiatives.
  • Intermediaries that provide seed funding to community foundations to support common ground work and convene community foundations to learn from one another.

Building sustainable support ecosystems for community foundations in Africa and Latin America.

Our grant funding supports:

  • Capacity-development efforts of national-level organizations that provide technical assistance and other resources to help establish new community foundations and strengthen existing ones.
  • Efforts to bolster the capacity of national-level support organizations to help community foundations build common ground.

Learn more about Mott’s history with community philanthropy.

News

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Inside Mott’s new Civil Society program plan:
A Q&A with Shannon Lawder
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Inside Mott’s new Civil Society program plan:
A Q&A with Shannon Lawder

The Mott Foundation’s Civil Society Program Director, Shannon Lawder, shares in a Q&A how her team’s new grantmaking strategy seeks to build common ground, expand access to justice and protect the nonprofit sector at a time of rising polarization and increasing threats to the sector.

Recent Grants

All Common Ground Grants

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Additional Resources

How the Sustainable Development Goals Can Help Community Foundations Respond to COVID-19 and Advance Racial Equity

Go to How the Sustainable Development Goals Can Help Community Foundations Respond to COVID-19 and Advance Racial Equity

What Does Community Philanthropy Look Like? Case Studies on Community Philanthropy — Volume 1

Go to What Does Community Philanthropy Look Like? Case Studies on Community Philanthropy — Volume 1

The Value of Community Philanthropy: Results of a Consultation

Go to The Value of Community Philanthropy: Results of a Consultation

The Case for Community Philanthropy: How the Practice Builds Local Assets, Capacity, and Trust—and Why It Matters

Go to The Case for Community Philanthropy: How the Practice Builds Local Assets, Capacity, and Trust—and Why It Matters

The Balancing Act: The Roles of a Community Foundation

Go to The Balancing Act: The Roles of a Community Foundation

Sowing the Seeds of Local Philanthropy: 20 Years of Experience in the Community Foundation Field

Go to Sowing the Seeds of Local Philanthropy: 20 Years of Experience in the Community Foundation Field