A Call to Connection
This groundbreaking primer on the state of connection in our nation is now available. Combining scientific research, stories of impact, and recommended practices to help foster deeper connections in our lives, this new primer seeks to ignite a national conversation about why we need each other.
Welcome
There’s an active and committed ecosystem of actors — community organizers, educators, researchers, policy makers, thought leaders, cultural influencers, and funders — working hard to address America’s crisis of connection. Einhorn Collaborative created this hub to lift up their stories, insights, and reflections. We hope they serve you and the organizations you work in partnership with to bring the power and possibility of human connection into our everyday lives.
Reflections
Stories, insights, and reflections from our team, peers, and partners
The Hard Part is Letting Go
There is a time in parenthood when we realize our kids are ready to expand into greater facets of this world. I know deep in my bones that summer camp is a soft landing pad for our daughter to take this next big step, just as it was for me.
What 11 Service Year Alums Can Teach Us About America
The Service Year Alums Awards recognize outstanding alumni across the national service community for their contributions during their service years and beyond. This year, we recognize alumni who embraced the lessons, skills, and connections gained during their service year to pursue meaningful careers and positively impact their communities.
From Isolation to Belonging: Building Connection Across Divides
Perhaps one of the most hopeful findings of More in Common’s research was the phenomenon of “cascading” interest in connection. The more people experience connecting with others, the more interested they might be in connecting again in the future-- finding themselves in a cycle that builds on the previous experience.
How We Are Showing Up for Our Partners
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to help all our grantee partners navigate the shifting context in which we work. We are leaning on our relational approach, actively and deeply listening, with a commitment to keep showing up in true partnership.
No One Talks About This Part: New Parenthood and the Search for Connection
About two-thirds of parents agreed that the demands of parenthood sometimes or frequently feel isolating and lonely, and nearly 4 in 5 would value a way to connect with other parents outside of work and home. I was firmly in this camp.
Being a Student of History
Every single one of us yearns to be known and understood, to lead a life anchored by our own desires and traditions, to feel cared for and loved, and to belong.
No One Talks About This Part: New Parenthood and the Search for Connection
About two-thirds of parents agreed that the demands of parenthood sometimes or frequently feel isolating and lonely, and nearly 4 in 5 would value a way to connect with other parents outside of work and home. I was firmly in this camp.
What I Learned About Early Relational Health in Durham, North Carolina
In February, nearly a hundred parent leaders, funders, healthcare practitioners, and policymakers gathered in Durham, North Carolina to explore how we can collectively support and promote strong, positive, and nurturing relationships between babies and their parents and caregivers.
A 10-Year Look Back and 10 Lessons Learned
As a way of adding punctuation to this anniversary, I want to share the ten lessons I have learned in the last ten years that have shaped my understanding of how we gather, what it takes to spark connection, and how we build on each other’s strengths.
Redefining Fatherhood with Care and Connection
The emotional connection and unconditional love that we fostered in our children’s first years of life remain critical to their health and well-being through adolescence and adulthood.
Guncles, Godmothers, and the Need for More Good Adults In Kid’s Lives
There are few cultural categories or social scripts for village-making and creative kinship after those early meal trains wind down. On the one hand, families are struggling and our kids are suffering. But on the other hand, we have a hidden surplus of potential creative caregiving.
Eight Hanukkah Nights of Nurturing Connection
Even if you do not celebrate Hanukkah, the gift of emotional connection — the reciprocal feeling of being seen, heard, valued, and cared for by loved ones — can be given and received any time of the year.
What 11 Service Year Alums Can Teach Us About America
The Service Year Alums Awards recognize outstanding alumni across the national service community for their contributions during their service years and beyond. This year, we recognize alumni who embraced the lessons, skills, and connections gained during their service year to pursue meaningful careers and positively impact their communities.
Building a Vibrant School Climate and Culture with BridgeUSA
It was clear how committed the BridgeUSA chapter leaders were to this shared experience to make their campuses a little better and healthier than they are now.
Developing the Next Generations of Civic Bridge-Builders with Generation Citizen
"Civics education plays a foundational role in helping us bridge divides in this country," said Elizabeth Clay Roy, CEO of Generation Citizen, in an interview with Einhorn Collaborative.
What Young Leaders Want – And Don’t Want – from Older Allies
Released last month, What Young Leaders Want – And Don't Want – From Older Allies is the first phase of an in-depth study based on conversations with and among 31 remarkable young changemakers committed to working across generational lines to create a better future for future generations.
How Cornellians Can Rise to the Challenge of Our Time
The value of diversity does not come from huddling with your own group. Rather, it comes from engaging with those who are different from you. The whole community benefits when you make that effort to engage.
Why Student Power is the Key to Future Civic Participation
The apathy toward civic engagement isn’t unique, and while I used to be shocked when my classmates or friends felt so unequivocally that politics wasn’t “for them,” I’m now only sad, not surprised.
A Framework to Strengthen Community Connection
Fostering connection within communities demands civic, cultural, and policy change. But what actions can government take to make this a reality?
Questions as a Doorway to Reducing Divisions
Even ardent proponents would agree that dialogue alone is not the antidote to toxic polarization or creeping authoritarianism. Yet, the coverage and commentary about dialogue as a facet of bridging work are incomplete.
Building Connected Communities: Seven Reflections for the Shared Work Ahead
Those of us focused on strengthening connection and ameliorating the effects of loneliness and isolation must widen the aperture by finding common cause with people working to solve adjacent but overlapping challenges.
A Wake-Up Call on the Importance of Social Connection
With a new advisory released in May, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is sounding the alarm about an issue that requires urgent, broad-based action: loneliness and social isolation.
Inspiration to Bridge Differences
While the animating idea behind Team Up is simple – shared service can bridge divides – the substance of the work is complex, and a challenge that constantly evolves depending on the context.
A Call to Think Big and Bold About Our Future
It is easy to see how a gloomy outlook on the country and a cynical view of humanity conspire to stifle our collective imagination. Yet that capacity to envision and work toward better futures is most needed in times of upheaval and rapid change; that is, now.
The Hard Part is Letting Go
There is a time in parenthood when we realize our kids are ready to expand into greater facets of this world. I know deep in my bones that summer camp is a soft landing pad for our daughter to take this next big step, just as it was for me.
From Isolation to Belonging: Building Connection Across Divides
Perhaps one of the most hopeful findings of More in Common’s research was the phenomenon of “cascading” interest in connection. The more people experience connecting with others, the more interested they might be in connecting again in the future-- finding themselves in a cycle that builds on the previous experience.
How We Are Showing Up for Our Partners
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to help all our grantee partners navigate the shifting context in which we work. We are leaning on our relational approach, actively and deeply listening, with a commitment to keep showing up in true partnership.
Being a Student of History
Every single one of us yearns to be known and understood, to lead a life anchored by our own desires and traditions, to feel cared for and loved, and to belong.
21 Things That Informed Our Work in 2024
Our team of seven shared a list of books, podcasts, poems, and albums that inspired and helped us think differently about our work this year.
The Year I Learned to Change My Mind
I’m taking cues from our long history of collaborative behaviors and our basic need for human connection to shape my understanding of how we can rise to the societal challenges before us and achieve better solutions by working together.
The Hard Part is Letting Go
There is a time in parenthood when we realize our kids are ready to expand into greater facets of this world. I know deep in my bones that summer camp is a soft landing pad for our daughter to take this next big step, just as it was for me.
What 11 Service Year Alums Can Teach Us About America
The Service Year Alums Awards recognize outstanding alumni across the national service community for their contributions during their service years and beyond. This year, we recognize alumni who embraced the lessons, skills, and connections gained during their service year to pursue meaningful careers and positively impact their communities.
From Isolation to Belonging: Building Connection Across Divides
Perhaps one of the most hopeful findings of More in Common’s research was the phenomenon of “cascading” interest in connection. The more people experience connecting with others, the more interested they might be in connecting again in the future-- finding themselves in a cycle that builds on the previous experience.
How We Are Showing Up for Our Partners
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to help all our grantee partners navigate the shifting context in which we work. We are leaning on our relational approach, actively and deeply listening, with a commitment to keep showing up in true partnership.
No One Talks About This Part: New Parenthood and the Search for Connection
About two-thirds of parents agreed that the demands of parenthood sometimes or frequently feel isolating and lonely, and nearly 4 in 5 would value a way to connect with other parents outside of work and home. I was firmly in this camp.
What I Learned About Early Relational Health in Durham, North Carolina
In February, nearly a hundred parent leaders, funders, healthcare practitioners, and policymakers gathered in Durham, North Carolina to explore how we can collectively support and promote strong, positive, and nurturing relationships between babies and their parents and caregivers.
A 10-Year Look Back and 10 Lessons Learned
As a way of adding punctuation to this anniversary, I want to share the ten lessons I have learned in the last ten years that have shaped my understanding of how we gather, what it takes to spark connection, and how we build on each other’s strengths.
A Framework to Strengthen Community Connection
Fostering connection within communities demands civic, cultural, and policy change. But what actions can government take to make this a reality?
Questions as a Doorway to Reducing Divisions
Even ardent proponents would agree that dialogue alone is not the antidote to toxic polarization or creeping authoritarianism. Yet, the coverage and commentary about dialogue as a facet of bridging work are incomplete.
Building Connected Communities: Seven Reflections for the Shared Work Ahead
Those of us focused on strengthening connection and ameliorating the effects of loneliness and isolation must widen the aperture by finding common cause with people working to solve adjacent but overlapping challenges.
What 11 Service Year Alums Can Teach Us About America
The Service Year Alums Awards recognize outstanding alumni across the national service community for their contributions during their service years and beyond. This year, we recognize alumni who embraced the lessons, skills, and connections gained during their service year to pursue meaningful careers and positively impact their communities.
Building a Vibrant School Climate and Culture with BridgeUSA
It was clear how committed the BridgeUSA chapter leaders were to this shared experience to make their campuses a little better and healthier than they are now.
Developing the Next Generations of Civic Bridge-Builders with Generation Citizen
"Civics education plays a foundational role in helping us bridge divides in this country," said Elizabeth Clay Roy, CEO of Generation Citizen, in an interview with Einhorn Collaborative.
The Hard Part is Letting Go
There is a time in parenthood when we realize our kids are ready to expand into greater facets of this world. I know deep in my bones that summer camp is a soft landing pad for our daughter to take this next big step, just as it was for me.
From Isolation to Belonging: Building Connection Across Divides
Perhaps one of the most hopeful findings of More in Common’s research was the phenomenon of “cascading” interest in connection. The more people experience connecting with others, the more interested they might be in connecting again in the future-- finding themselves in a cycle that builds on the previous experience.
How We Are Showing Up for Our Partners
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to help all our grantee partners navigate the shifting context in which we work. We are leaning on our relational approach, actively and deeply listening, with a commitment to keep showing up in true partnership.
Through the Prism
By asking human beings the same five questions, we remind ourselves that everyone has a powerful story that deserves to be heard.
Through the Prism with Nealin Parker
Nealin Parker leads Common Ground USA as its inaugural Executive Director. A leader in identifying solutions to polarization and political violence in America, Parker brings to this new role decades of experience in senior domestic and international positions dealing with conflict, poverty, and social change.
Through the Prism with Manu Meel
Manu Meel is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BridgeUSA, a national student-led movement dedicated to fostering responsible dialogue across political and ideological divides.
Research
The science behind how human connection shapes our lives
No Greater Mission. No Greater Means.
New research by the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution examines how national service and the bridgebuilding community can help build bridges across polarized lines of difference, increasing trust and collaboration across our divides.
Americans Deserve the Full Story
A new study conducted by Starts With Us, the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, and Common Ground Committee found that hyper-partisan politicians received more than four times the news coverage bipartisan problem solvers did around the 2022 midterm elections.
The Belonging Barometer: The State of Belonging in America
Belonging is vital to our individual and societal health, but it can be notoriously difficult to measure. The Belonging Barometer report, recently released by Over Zero and the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at the American Immigration Council, provides a first-of-its-kind measure of belonging that is robust, accessible, and readily deployable in efforts to strengthen community resilience and social cohesion. It also shares findings from a national survey to give a baseline snapshot of the state of belonging in our country.
Watch Stories of Our Work
Tools
Here are some ways to put human connection into action
No matter who we are, how we live, or what we believe, we all share a deep need and capacity for human connection and belonging. It’s at the core of our shared humanity — and baked into every human’s DNA.
No matter who we are, how we live, or what we believe, we all share a deep need and capacity for human connection and belonging. It’s at the core of our shared humanity — and baked into every human’s DNA.
Einhorn Collaborative in the News
MacKenzie Scott Gave Away $6 Billion Last Year. It’s Not As Easy As It Sounds
By Belinda Luscombe
"Imagine for a moment being obscenely, outrageously rich. I know you’ve done it before. You probably have a list of priorities—college for the kids, new car, pay off debts. Forget that list. That list is puny."
Grant Maker Bolsters Human Connection as a Way to Take on Polarization
By Alex Daniels
"More than a year of lockdown has taught many Americans about the importance of social distancing and the effects of vaccines. But perhaps the biggest lessons are about people we’ve held close and those whose company we miss, says Jenn Hoos Rothberg, executive director of the Einhorn Collaborative."
Bridging Our Divides Begins with Building Trust and Finding Common Ground with Each Other
By Jenn Hoos Rothberg
"We are in a moment of dramatic change and re-imagining, what my friend and futurist Ari Wallach calls “The Intertidal”: a significant shift in global human culture and narrative, where what has been gives way to what will be."
Authors & Guest Contributors
Jonathan Gruber
Ira Hillman
Jenn Hoos Rothberg
Chi Nguyen
Shawn Jenkins
Kristen Bennett
Eunice Lin Nichols
marc freedman
Jillian Racoosin
Melanie Kahl
Mohan Sivaloganathan
India Alcorn
Uma Vishwanathan
Meera Mani
Linsey Morrison
Casper ter Kulie
Mary Ellen Giess
Karen Murphy
Lucie Addison
David Einhorn
Itai Dinour
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