The Upswing and the mission of community foundations

By Terry Mazany, senior vice president, philanthropy

Bob Putnam thinks highly of community foundations as the backbone of civic society and it is no surprise that his most recent book, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again, provides a research-based look at profound shifts in our society from a “we” orientation to “I.”  This “I – we – I” curve, as he calls it, maps our journey as a country across one hundred and twenty-five years of economic, social, cultural, and political trends.

At a time of intense polarization and deep divisions in our country, Bob Putnam challenges us to consider that this does not have to be the case.  Our country exhibited a much stronger sense of community with a strong social fabric at the turn of the last century.  What was missing, however, was an inclusive definition of “just who belonged in a widening circle of ‘we.’”  The result was a swing toward individualism in the latter half of the 1960’s that led to the unraveling of our community values and continues today.

The mission of community foundations is the community we serve and that makes us the quintessential anchor institution.  We are deeply rooted in the community we serve, unlikely to pull up stakes in search of a better place from which to conduct business.  The very first community foundations established at the turn of the last century were part of our country’s swing toward the community orientation that Bob Putnam documents.  As a result, we have it within our DNA to serve a bridging and binding role to rebuild our sense of community and reweave our social fabric – this time with a commitment to greater inclusion.

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Join us and four other leading community foundations across the country for our digital event, Building A Better Normal: Philanthropy’s role in racial equity and shared prosperity. We will engage in conversations with three of the most preeminent authors and experts of our time to discuss their books – including The Upswing – and their thoughts on how we can continue to make progress toward shared prosperity.

Learn more about the event here. If you’d like to read along with us, email Sidney Wise, philanthropic associate to secure your complimentary copies of the books today!