Enough. Time to Build. 2024 Campaign
Rich isn’t running for office, but he is on a nationwide campaign this election season to show communities a real pathway forward.
Join the New Civic Rally
Restore your sense of possibility and hope with the Civic Rally, hosted by Rich Harwood every other Friday at 1 pm EST.
Civic Virus: Why Polarization Is a Misdiagnosis
“Fascinating. It examines what might be at the heart of what drives today’s toxic politics.” — Chuck Todd, Meet the Press Daily
We Know What It Takes to Create Change and Hope
Through our 30 years of experience we can help you step forward, turn outward, and unleash your potential.
Learn How to Turn Outward
Learn the practice of Turning Outward through our interactive training program so you can take action, create meaningful change, and unleash the potential of your community.
Books on a New Path Forward
Discover how to step forward onto a more hopeful path and unleash change in Rich Harwood's latest books
Tackling Society's Fault Lines
Learn how communities are tackling society’s toughest problems and strengthening their civic culture.
Turn Outward. Get In Motion. Start Small to go big.
The Harwood Institute is part of a long tradition of small, catalytic organizations throughout American history that have worked to strengthen and advance our society to create a more hopeful future for all. For over 30 years, we have created breakthroughs on how to address the hardest and most vital societal challenges and strengthen our civic culture.
30 years. 50 states. 40 countries.
We know what it takes, in practical ways, to create change. Our approach is based on over 30 years of on-the-ground experience, rigorous research, and constant innovation. The Harwood Institute’s ideas and practices have spread to all 50 states and over 40 countries around the world.
Where It Started
RICH HARWOOD, PRESIDENT & FOUNDER
Author. Speaker. Innovator.
What started in 1988 in Rich Harwood’s one-bedroom apartment in Washington, D.C., has grown into a practice and philosophy that is spreading worldwide. Rich has invested his career in revitalizing the nation’s hardest-hit communities, transforming the world’s largest organizations and reconnecting institutions like newsrooms and schools to society.
Step Forward and Unleash Change
Many of us are frustrated by the divisive nature of our public discourse, mistrust and broken promises. We lack hope that we can bridge our divides, come together and get things done. Stepping Forward: A Positive, Practical Path to Transform Our Communities and Our Lives shows us how to channel our frustrations, energies, and aspirations to get on a more hopeful path.
Rich Harwood’s newest book, Unleashed: A Proven Way Communities Can Spread Change and Make Hope Real For All, published by Kettering Foundation Press, is available now! This book isn’t theoretical; it’s based on the Institute’s 30-year impact study of our work in 9 communities and reveals how communities can unleash a chain reaction to tackle society’s fault lines and strengthen their civic culture.
Featured
How faith leaders can reclaim their civic role
Amid debates about Christian nationalism, the role of religion in politics, and other religiously charged issues, there is a path forward. Rich’s latest for The Christian Citizen explores how faith leaders of all beliefs and doctrines can productively engage in community life beyond their church walls.
Reading, PA, didn’t wait for national leaders. It led the way.
Rich’s latest entry for The Fulcrum about the Enough. Time to Build. campaign delves into how Reading, PA is an example of what it looks like for a community to come together and build, especially at this time of such division, mistrust and lack of hope in our nation..
The 4-step antidote for America's toxic discourse
The Pensacola News Journal’s coverage of Rich’s visit to Pensacola as part of the “Enough. Time to Build.” civic campaign outlines four ways we can move forward based on what he has learned from decades of work in some of America's most troubled communities.
Reading, PA is Proof We Can Build Together Again
It can sound trite to say, “I’m so proud to be associated with you.” I’m sure you’ve felt this way at some point, right?
But when the moment comes when that feeling is real—really real—you experience a kind of transcendence. Standing before folks in Reading, PA this past week, that’s how I felt.