Council on Foundations Opens New Accelerator to Strengthen Dialogue Across Divides

​The Council on Foundations has launched the Community Foundations Working Across Differences Accelerator, a new grant program supporting community foundations that want to build local capacity for bridging divides in their communities. The Accelerator combines direct funding, expert coaching, and peer learning to help selected foundations design and implement strategies for working across differences, treating that work as a core function of civic leadership rather than a side initiative. Eligible U.S. community foundations can apply for a $20,000 planning grant, with the possibility of $45,000 in follow-on implementation funding, by submitting an online application before the September 4, 2026 deadline. This opportunity gives NCDD's network of practitioners and funders a concrete example of philanthropy investing directly in dialogue and bridge-building infrastructure at the community level.

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The Council on Foundations has introduced the Community Foundations Working Across Differences Accelerator, a grant program designed to help community foundations strengthen their capacity to bring people together across social, political, and cultural divides. Community foundations hold a distinctive position in civic life: long-standing relationships across sectors and the trust needed to convene residents who might not otherwise sit at the same table. The Accelerator responds to that position directly, offering funding and structured support to foundations ready to make working across differences a deliberate, resourced part of their community strategy rather than an occasional program.

Selected foundations receive a $20,000 planning grant, with the potential for an additional $45,000 in implementation funding as their work develops. Alongside that direct support, participants join a virtual peer learning circle that meets every other month, receive coaching from the Council's network of partners in this field, and take part in at least one additional capacity-building opportunity, such as a leadership cohort or a workshop series on building cultures of dialogue. This structure mirrors much of what NCDD's own network has long emphasized: lasting dialogue and deliberation work requires not just good intentions but sustained funding, skill-building, and connection to peers doing similar work.
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For NCDD members and community foundation leaders, the Accelerator signals that funders are willing to invest directly in the infrastructure of dialogue and bridge-building, not only its outcomes. U.S. community foundations meeting Community Foundations National Standards are eligible to apply, with preference given to Council on Foundations members, though non-members may apply as well. Applications are due September 4, 2026, and selected organizations begin their participation in November 2026. Foundations interested in applying or learning more can visit https://cof.org/community-foundations-working-across-differences-accelerator.