You and other individuals across our country have already made the decision that there are challenges in our communities and in this nation that must be addressed - and now.

And we know that you want to make lasting change on the challenges you see. You want to foster a sense of possibility and hope in the work that you do. But, the reality is that oftentimes, conditions exist that make this work difficult:

• With each passing day, public life and politics becomes more divisive and acrimonious, often out of touch with people's concerns.
  

• Every day, individuals yearn to be involved - but turn away instead, or are stymied, or become tired from trying.
  

• Each year, those of us who fund projects or work in seeking to create change worry that our efforts might fail to fundamentally improve society ñ and that our successes may not stick.
  

This work matters because it offers people the possibility for pursuing an alternate path in public life and politics that moves us beyond these troubling conditions.

This work matters because it is about how we can authentically engage people when so many have retreated from public life; how we can help our communities grow and accelerate their progress; it is about what it takes for you and others to be trusted and authentic public leaders when people are so deeply skeptical of their leaders. This work matters because it is about how we can generate pockets of change in society, and successfully spread those pockets; and it matters because it offers the opportunity to shift the ingrained negative stories in public life to ones of genuine self-trust and hope.

This work matters because it is about how we can tap people's own potential to make a difference and join together to build a common future.

We can do better; we must. Together, we can create this alternate path.

Here are some ways you can join us.