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Archived Blogs
All of our latest writing on bridgebuilding, pluralism, and civic engagement now lives on Substack.
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Cohesion as Murmuration
And an example in the Inter-Movement Impact Project. I’ve named my business Cohesion Strategy. But what do I mean by Cohesion? Not...
Allison Ralph
Jun 6, 20243 min read
Summer Internship - Not Currently Accepting Applications
Background Cohesion Strategy partners with nonprofit and philanthropic organizations working toward bridgebuilding, pluralism, and...
Allison Ralph
Jun 3, 20241 min read
Bridging and Equity need to be Equal Partners in a Pluralistic Society
Over the last year, sharp disagreements about pluralism in the nonprofit sector have come into focus. At the same time, new spaces have...
Allison Ralph
May 30, 20245 min read
If you want to do bridging work, hire a dedicated guide.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently launched the Commons project to discuss pluralism in philanthropy. I’ve loved the variety of...
Allison Ralph
May 2, 20243 min read
Embracing Individuality and Building Unity for Durable Transformation
A lot of folks believe that collaborating across profound differences requires compromising values or even relinquishing identities. But...
Allison Ralph
Apr 25, 20243 min read
Building Bridges: Navigating Language and Framing for Lasting Change
At Cohesion Strategy, I help funders and grantees build unlikely partnerships that promote long-term change across divides. Given...
Allison Ralph
Apr 18, 20243 min read
Addressing Anti-Muslim Misinformation in the Nonprofit World
Earlier this year my friend and colleague Ger FitzGerald published this report, “Mapping Anti-Muslim Discrimination and Information...
Allison Ralph
Apr 11, 20243 min read
Tools for Navigating Values Conflicts: Staff Opt-Outs
Part of my work at Cohesion Strategy is to help organizations foster unlikely partnerships to expand what’s possible. In a recent...
Allison Ralph
Apr 4, 20243 min read
Funders, Turn Adversaries into Accomplices
Highly recommend this piece by Theo Kalionzes of the MacArthur Foundation in the Chronicle of Philanthropy urging grant makers to think...
Allison Ralph
Mar 28, 20242 min read
Women in FoRB: Fundraising Challenges and Skills
This post originally posted at FoRB Women's Alliance https://forbwomen.org/uncategorized/women-in-forb-fundraising-challenges-and-skills/...
Allison Ralph
Mar 7, 20246 min read
Be a Better Philanthropic Strategist: Hone your Tools for Navigating Values Conflicts
In my last post I argued that nonprofits and funders need to promote not just immediate policy change, but long-term culture shifts....
Allison Ralph
Jan 26, 20245 min read
We Need a Change in Strategy
This past Saturday marked the three-year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection. The crowd that attacked the U.S. Capitol that day...
Allison Ralph
Jan 10, 20245 min read
The Body Politic: the most powerful metaphor for belonging or exclusion.
The metaphor of the Body Politic is the single most powerful way to create community belonging, or to justify cutting people out or...
Allison Ralph
Jan 3, 20243 min read
Philanthropy and the Black Church, Synagogue, and Mosque
If philanthropy is sincerely interested in impact for Black people, they should partner with Black religious communities. Religious...
Allison Ralph
Dec 19, 20232 min read
I Support Muslim-Jewish Partnerships for Giving Tuesday
This #GivingTuesday Cohesion Strategy is donating 10% of its annual income to #Muslim-Jewish-partnerships in the U.S: The Sisterhood of...
Allison Ralph
Nov 21, 20231 min read
Hope in the Broken Places
A person-to-person practice of pluralism: holding space for painful conversations about issues we care about most, across political divides.
Allison Ralph
Jun 7, 20233 min read
Leading new research at the intersection of religion and philanthropy ... and learning how to use it
New research and resources designed to change the culture of philanthropy to better support religious pluralism.
Allison Ralph
Jan 23, 20233 min read
Envisioning the system of religious pluralism … and figuring out how to talk about it.
A systems-thinking view that aims to make sense of the bewildering variety of stakeholders and the social systems that shape them.
Allison Ralph
Jan 20, 20233 min read
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