Introducing the Trust for Civic Life

On Friday, February 9, 2024, the RBF celebrated the launch of the Trust for Civic Life. 

The Trust is a new philanthropic collaborative and learning network with a simple mission: support local efforts that bring residents together to solve the challenges they decide are most critical for their community to thrive. 

The Trust for Civic Life was born out of Our Common Purpose, a set of recommendations to reinvent American democracy by the Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, which was co-chaired by RBF President Stephen Heintz. The American Academy of Arts & Sciences has been the driving force behind an urgent and powerful effort to implement the recommendations by 2026. 

Over the past year, the Trust and its funding members, including the RBF, have developed a strategy and team to bolster locally led civic ecosystems strengthening communities and rebuilding trust to reduce polarization.  

Exciting times are ahead for American democracy.