The American Conversation Project for Community Foundations
As America marks 250 years, invite your community to a new kind of conversation.
About the project
No surveys. No comment box. Instead, a real conversation — with your neighbors, in your community, about the things that matter most.
As America marks 250 years, the American Conversation Project (ACP) is bringing people together across the country to share stories, listen deeply, and strengthen the bonds that hold us together. This spring, community foundations began hosting recorded small-group conversations where people share what's on their minds: what they love about where they live, what feels broken, what they hope for, and how they want to take action.
Those stories don't disappear when the conversation ends. Using a combination of human listening and AI-assisted tools, ACP works with Cortico (which collaborates closely with the MIT Center for Constructive Communication) to surface insights from communities across the country and share them back — so people can hear not just what their neighbors are saying, but what Americans everywhere are thinking and feeling.
ACP is a nonpartisan initiative led by the National Conference on Citizenship, in partnership with Cortico and a growing coalition of civic, cultural, education, faith, and media organizations.
Why community foundations
Community foundations are uniquely positioned to lead civic listening locally.
You are trusted, neutral stewards who neighbors believe in
You have strong networks to recruit diverse participants
You have established convening capacity across communities
You have the ability to translate community insights into strategy and grant making
How it works
Sign up to host 60-90 minute conversations (you’ll join community foundations such as the Rhode Island Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, Community Foundation of San Luis Valley, and Community Foundation for San Benito County).
Identify and support 5-10 trusted people in your network (e.g., grantee staff, neighborhood leaders, faith leaders, educators) who could each gather a small group (4-6 people)
Hosts engage in a 30-90 minute host orientation and will be provided a conversation guide including best practices, recording instructions, and a conversation flow script
Cortico surfaces insights from conversations and shares them back with community foundations
What your community foundation gains
Beyond contributing your community's voices to a national synthesis, here are additional benefits to participating in this effort:
Qualitative insights
Scalable tools for civic listening and strategic planning
Localized insight reports, themes, and storytelling assets
Trained conversation hosts embedded in your community
National visibility and identification as part of a coordinated 50-state effort
Nonpartisan credibility that is upstream of politics and advocacy
Access to Cortico’s conversation platform for ongoing AI-supported listening work
Have questions?
Visit the FAQs or reach out to Rubén Álvarez Silva at ruben@ncoc.org.