CONVERSATION

ORGANIZATIONS ON 

CROSS-PARTY CONVERSATION

The organizations below are working to bring Americans together, to put aside party differences and focus on what unites us, not divides us. 

Braver Angels: Our country is more divided than ever, with too many of us isolated from those who hold different views. This division damages our communities, disrupts our families, and stops us from working together for the common good. We believe our nation can survive and thrive for every American who contributes to the effort. Where we go from here is up to us. This is the driving force that fuels our mission: Bringing Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.

Builders Movement: If enough people adopt a Builders Mindset, we can replace our toxic “us vs. them” culture with one of curiosity, compassion, courage, and creative innovation. It won’t be easy. The incentives in our media, social algorithms, and politics reward and amplify the conflict entrepreneurs working overtime to divide, diminish, and destroy. Our approach is to reach and teach people at scale with powerful content, equip them with new skills and innovative tools, and mobilize the growing Builders movement with grassroots civic programs to hold political leaders accountable for being Builders.

Crossing Party Lines: We exist to equip you, and all individuals, to unlock curiosity about differing viewpoints through conversation and community building. Our vision is one of communities where social connections and differing viewpoints flourish and are recognized as essential for healthy relationships. Our name suggests that we are about politics.  As Hannah Arendt said, politics is the interaction of “free and equal citizens” in society.  We’re here to help us all interact civilly and respectfully so our democracy can thrive, our communities can flourish, our families can be healthy. In these polarized times, we can all use some help remembering how to talk across differences — across party lines.  We offer workshops teaching the skills that lead to success, regular conversations where you can hone those skills with people from all around the country, and experiences that illustrate just how nuanced the issues are today and how much each and every one of has to contribute.

National Issues Forums: National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves to promote public deliberation about difficult public issues. Its activities include publishing the issue guides and other materials used by local forum groups, encouraging collaboration among forum sponsors, and sharing information about current activities in the network. We also offer training opportunities and resources for moderating forums based on the National Issue Forums framework of deliberation. Moderators and conveners find our resources indispensable in organizing, leading, and advertising their forums for public deliberation. We also provide guidelines for those who wish to frame their own issues.

Search for Common Ground - USA: We envision an America where we engage in collaboration across differences to address our greatest challenges, and where we can all belong and thrive. Most Americans want to overcome the divisions we face in our society. Disagreement is an opportunity to transform conflict into cooperation on our daily and most pernicious problems. It takes courage. And everyone can do it.

Are we missing an organization doing great work? Please let us know!