Compassionate Citizens Foundation

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We are currently inviting a number of national organizations to forge a FORMAL Collective Impact Initiative, that we are calling Thriving America.

Thriving America will support the creation of thousands of Meetup.com-enabled Thriving Communities across America, primarily by recruiting, training and funding Transpartisan Community Organizers.

Transpartisan Community Organizers will invite ALL faith and civic organizations (e.g., progressive, centrist, or conservative) to come together, to co-create a thriving community.

At the national level, Thriving America will straddle three arenas (culture, politics and economic), as reflected by the missions of the following projects/invitees:

#CaringCulture

1. Team Up Project (Interfaith America)

A. Catholic Charities USA

B. YMCA USA

C. Habitat for Humanity International

2. Citizen-Led Solutions (Braver Angels)

3. Bridging Movement Collaborative (Listen First Project)

4. Inter-movement Impact Project (Mediators Foundation)

#WiserDemocracy (e.g., deliberative democracy)

1. National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation

2. National Issues Forums Institute

3. Kettering Foundation

#WellbeingEconomy

1. Movement to Thrive Together (Mediators Foundation)

2. Well Being in the Nation Network

3. Wellbeing Economy Alliance

Our initial pilot will be Thriving Kalamazoo County.

The above update was crafted on Oct. 8, 2025.

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[What follows is our circa-2022 Story, written after the US Conference of Catholic Bishops formally embraced Pope Francis' call for a Politics of Love.

We continue to believe that deliberative democracy is a first step toward a Politics of Love.

Our "ecumenical path to deliberative democracy" remains an important spoke on the Thriving America wheel, and we hope that many of the mission aligned organizations below will join the Thriving America movement.]

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Our informal leadership network is committed to empowering #BelovedCommunity, and to uniting and supporting myriad intersecting movements, including:

1. The #CaringCulture movement (e.g., Karen Armstong's vision for Compassionate Communities; Bobby Austin's #PublicKinship vision; The Catholic Church's call for Loving Our Neighbor through Dialogue);

2. The Ecological Civilization movement (e.g. Institute for Ecological Civilization, National Religious Partners for the Environment; Catholic Climate Covenant).

3. The movement for an "Economy of Well Being" (WIN Network; Healthcare Anchor Network), and the aligned Asset Based Community Development movement (e.g., Christian Community Development Association, Parish Collective, ABCD Institute)

4. The Focolare Movement's vision for a Spirituality, Politics and Economy of Communion

Pope Francis' Oct 3, 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, is a powerful exhortation for Public Kinship and a #CaringCulture: http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html

Civilize It is a Catholic led movement centered on "Loving Our Neighbor Through Dialogue", and on "Building a Better Kind of Politics". It embraces Fratelli Tutti.

The (&) Campaign is a Protestant led movement to catalyze faithful civic engagement.

Integrating those two Faithful Citizenship movements into an inclusive Compassionate Citizenship movement is the #CaringCulture plank of our mission.

There are already thousands of organizations working on cultural, political and economic transformation, including over 500 organizations who are affiliated with the following three hubs:

1. #CaringCulture: #ListenFirst Coalition

2. #WiserDemocracy: Bridge Alliance Network

3. #CaringEconomy: New Economy Coalition

Because so much of our deeply divided nation is related to the divide within the Christian Church (with which 62% of Americans identify), there is an ecumenical dimension of our mission, which centers on inviting all the participating communions at Christian Churches Together (representing around 110 million "Unity Christians") to "empower #BelovedCommunity" in their neighborhoods.

Inviting Christians to come together, across political and theological divisions, to pursue the Common Good reflects our commitment to Missional Ecumenism, a movement to unite Christians who believe that "the love of Jesus might exceed all divisions".

Our vision is #BelovedCommunity, globally.

Our mission is #BelovedCommunity in America.

Our invitation is to ALL Americans, to co-create an America where everyone thrives (no exceptions).