Help us launch
Project will launch once we reach 100 funders
3 challenges that bring us together across ideology
1 million people ready to overcome division
1 person that can help spark it all, you!
Star Unifiers
Detailed information
Learn more about the campaign, outcomes, challenges, timeline and financial plan.
$25,000
Bestir Group seeds project
(Done!)
$50,000
Supporters match funds
(we are here)
$100,000
Kickstarter matches again
(ready)
$500,000
4 Foundations match again
(in discussion)
Timeline
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Title Text
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What is our theory of change?
Social polarization is a dynamic process that can be reversed. Human societies are similar to living systems where individuals impact the whole and vice versa. By empowering individuals with new disruptive skills we can strengthen human connections and build new ones.
PROBLEM
Likeness in ideology shapes our
group identity
Group identity is defined in opposition to an out-group
When people suffer they blame out-groups and harden boundaries
SOLUTION
Broaden group identity based on common human experience
Create meaningful opportunities for cross-group interaction
Empower people with new skills to overcome challenges and suffering
What problem do we address?
Freedom of Thought / Freedom of Speech / Democracy / Tolerance / Diversity
Social Polarization
Around the world our societies are increasingly divided and polarized. We are divided by narrow identities and us-them ideologies that separate us into in-groups and out-groups.
Polarization is clearest in the political sphere, but the problem is more widespread. We are divided by schools of thought, faith practices, health choices and myriad other issues.
We define polarization as the moment that we are willing to break off social relationships or create social distance because of perceived differences in identity and ideology.
What research underpins our work?
In 2018, Bestir Group was engaged by Omidyar Network to study the issue of polarization. Our work focused on biomimicry; that is, examining interdependent systems in the natural world and identifying ways to make human societies resilient against the forces of polarization.
We found that all interdependent systems demonstrate at least five elements: connectivity, diversity, reciprocity, common purpose and oneness, and that by strengthening any of these areas we can strengthen the health of the system as a whole.
Other ways to help
Introduce us to your employer
We have a special plan for organizations.
Are you an employer, CEO, manager?
We have a special plan for you and your team.
Know somebody in city government?
We are working with city councils to pass America Together resolutions and promote the campaign.
Have journalist friends?
A warm introduction goes a long way.
Have influencers friends ?
We would love to work with them to promote the challenges and will have a budget to pay them.
Are you a VIP that hangs out with celebrities?
We would love celebs to model the challenges and have a whole plan for them.
Own a cafe, restaurant or know somebody who does?
Any help with hosting "breaking bread" or e.g. offering discounts to participating patrons will help accelerate our efforts.
Have design and branding skills?
Help us with the branding of our campaigns, custom artwork or collaborate with influencers to design co branded merchandise.
Are you a teacher / coach ?
Embrace America Together challenges with your class or team.
Do you have a high social following?
We would love to work with you to promote the challenges and will have a budget to pay if needed.
Draft Slides
Advisors
Travis Granfar
Mission
Director of Bestir Group and Together. Former attorney with Ropes & Gray LLP, lecturer in ethics and innovation at Parsons New School, volunteer lawyer at Oxfam, NGO delegate at U.N. Subcommittee on Human Rights, entrepreneur and investor.
Na'im Moore
Art
Communications specialist working with MNCs, organizations, and innovators. Clients include Microsoft, NGOs, universities, startups, and prominent authors. Prior development work with UNICEF and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Artis Apskalns
Management
Business manager at LICIOUS and lvl Design with multiple years of collected experience within marketing, sales and design across various companies and industries. Working with clients such as Civic Financial, Crossknowledge, Comerica, Jackson Lewis and others.
Marina Terteryan
Service Design
Service, transformational experience and systems design. Design instructor at General Assembly.
Marisol Enciso
Research
BA in International Relations. Researcher, analyst and content developer.
Alya
Experience
Founder @ Openthink, an innovation strategy consultancy with a dynamic approach to business challenges producing value through transformative, cutting edge solutions. Innovation Advisor, Strategic Design and Management specialist with background in Political Science.
Adam Hayes
Strategy
Partner & Founder at Openshop. Physical UX expert and a Systems Architect driven by Deep Play. Faculty of Strategic Design + Management at Parsons New School. Clients include Nike, Artsee, Silverneedle, McDonald’s, QT and Gordon Development.
Phil
Technology
With 15 years of experience within technical roles, Phil has led and worked in teams of varying sizes and on projects of differing scale and complexity. Brings a solid foundation in methodical research and knowledge within business sector.
Ricki Peralta
Communication
Senior Graphic Designer. Branding, web design and editorial design for new companies.
Shannon Leigh
Former head of digital production for Hearst Magazines responsible for the creation of digital video content for Elle, Esquire, Cosmopolitan, Car and Driver and other brands. Seasoned television producer with Disney and BBC. Prior philanthropic work at NSPCC and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Jeff Eisenberg
Long time production executive at Disney’s ABC network and Vice President of Production at WEtv. Veteran television producer experienced in development of multiple award winning television series including The View and Good Morning America.
Sara Awada
Design
Researcher, Strategist & Account Manager at CUBOCC. Business dev. at Magid.
Dr. John Woodall
Psychology
Board Certified Psychiatrist formerly of the faculty of Harvard Medical School. Founder, Unity Project.
Jennifer
Founder @ Content Matters. Led Art Access II - designed to increase museum attendance among under-served communities through education and community outreach. Faculty @Parsons, @FIT. currently @SVA Products of Design teaching design for social impact. Writer & lecturer about design and social justice.
Jason Ighani
Coaching
Co-Founder, KITE. Founder, The Humanitarian Coaching Network. Team Design Specialist.
Cynthia Artin
President of Artin Arts, a strategic market- ing, branding and communications company headquartered in New York. Clients include private equity groups, hedge funds and venture capital firms, supporting their port- folio companies with growth strategies and market positioning. Prior philanthropic work at Birds Nest Foundation.
Roy Steiner
Impact
Managing Director Food Initiative at The Rockefeller Foundation. PhD in Agricultural Engineering with a decade leading agricultural development initiatives at the Gates Foundation. Ex. Director of Learning and Impact at the Omidyar Network.
Dan Makoski
Design
Leading design at Microsoft, Walmart, Google, Dell, United Airlines, among many others.
Dr. Jonathan Jelen
Academic
Strategic Design and Management at Parson’s New School. Ex. VP sales and marketing at MIS.
Lauren Weinstein
Communication
Expert speaking coach focused on increasing impact through compelling messages.
Andalib Khelghati
Education
Urban education and leadership expert with a focus on children and communities.
Kevin Bracken
Social
Marketing and social media expert, post-exit startup founder, event production-obsessed.
Jon Clinkenbeard
Media
Content and Media Storyteller, Virtual Reality Filmmaker. Creative Director and Brand Strategy.
Polarization Examples
Abortion
Borders
Climate
Equal pay
Education
Guns
Health
LGBTQ
Police
Taxes
Vaccination
Voting
App
We plan to deploy a fully functional app for anyone to become a Unifier
Worldwide
We want to reach xxxxx people in the US and worldwide
Grow
We will continue learning and improving our methodology
Why a Pre-Kickstarter
Creating a Movement
Movements are all about participation. It belongs to all of us.
We can't do it without you
Bigger funders will only get involved if they see a groundswell of support.
A Massive Kickstarter
A pre-launch campaign is the key to a successful Kickstarter.
Campaign Support
There are various ways that individuals and organizations can champion America Together.
Star Unifiers
Our first fifty super-funders will be permanently recognized as "Star Unifiers" for their vision and courage to help bring Americans together.
Artists
Artists and musicians can help create campaign artwork, collaborate with influencers to design co branded merchandise and use their talents to spread our message.
Brands
Brands can sponsor America Together by teaming up with influencers, promoting challenges and hosting special events.
Communities
Local communities can make the campaign their own, decorating their towns, creating special events, and inviting business owners, institutions and families to participate.
Employers
Employers can encourage employees to participate and promote a culture of greater understanding within their organization.
Hosts
Restaurants, coffee shops and other venues can make "breaking bread" even more enticing by offering discounts to participating patrons.
Influencers
Influencers can bring the campaign to life by inviting their fans, modeling the "breaking bread" challenge and creating co-branded merchandise to help sustain the campaign and their own efforts.
Media
Media companies and journalists can raise awareness, explore the challenges and tell the human stories that emerge.
Organizations
Schools, churches, sports teams and other organizations can embrace America Together and vie with each other to mobilize participation.
Welcome friends!
Together is a philanthropic project that empowers all of us with practical skills to overcome social division. America Together is our kickoff campaign which aims to inspire 1 million Americans to take part in our unity building challenges. We need 100 funders to launch!
Hi friends & family!
I'm so excited to share with you a truly special project that has the potential to reach millions of people and help us overcome division.
To make it happen, we need to fund this stage with the contributions of many friends in order to attract support from institutions and prepare a public kickstarter.
Travis, Joel and Shervin would love your support!
Hi friends!
I'm so excited to share with you a truly special project that has the potential to reach millions of people and help us overcome division. It's the culmination of many years of work, will involve celebrities and major foundations, but I've decided to involve my closest friends to seed the campaign as I want it to be a movement that belongs to many people. I would love your feedback and support if you feel inspired to join me on this journey!
Pre-campaign activities include: fundraising; building our coalition of artists, entertainers and influencers; seeking media partners, sponsors and advisors.
Funds used: securing IP social channels, developing campaign materials, collateral, campaign web and mobile platform capable of handling millions of users, support materials developed by anti polarization experts, managing civic society and institutional partners, engaging influential supporters, creating legal framework for B Corp to fund future work if project proceeds exceed costs, engaging artists to design rewards, organizing grassroots events and additional challenges.
Challenge #1 - UNLOCKED
Common Values
Break bread with someone you profoundly disagree with about a polarized topic, listen to each other and answer a simple question: what do we agree on?
#1
Champion
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#2
Common Values
Ask a simple question: what do we agree on? Use a mobile phone to record the interactions with folks of all walks of life at open houses, town halls, coffee shops and bus stops.
#3
Grand Kitchen
Engage neighbour's family members -- children and grandparents -- in cooking a meal together.
#4
Challenge
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#5
Challenge
America is going through a crisis.
The United States are divided and our families and communities can’t seem to find common ground.
We want to change that.
America Together aims to get millions of Americans to start talking, listening and working together to make a positive change in our families, cities and country.
Join the movement
Support America Together
Sign-up to follow the campaign
Just for fun: this is us!
Polarization in numbers
39% of Americans argue with friends or family over politics
39% of Americans had arguments with family and friends over politics during the height of the 2016 presidential election.
(Reuters/Ipsos poll, 2017)
55% of social media users are worn out by political posts
55% of social media users are worn out by how many political posts and discussions they see on social media.
(Pew Research Center survey, 2020)
34M hours of dialogue eliminated due to different political views
34 million hours of discourse were eliminated during Thanksgiving dinners due to diverging political views among families.
(University of California Berkeley, 2016)
85% of Americans think political debates are negative
Over 85% of Americans say that the political debate has become more negative and less respectful.
(Pew Research Center survey, 2019)
53% of Americans are stressed and frustrated when talking with people with different views
53% of Americans find it stressful and frustrating to talk about politics with people whom they disagree.
(Pew Research Center survey, 2018)
76% of Americans think the country is deeply divided
76% of Americans see the country deeply divided on its most foundational values.
(Monmouth University poll, 2020)
7,314 hate crimes in America
were recorded in America, the highest number since 2008.
(FBI Hate Crime Statistics report, 2019)
93% of Americans see incivility as a problem
93% of Americans believe incivility is a problem, 75% say it has risen to a crisis level, and 65% expect it to get worse.
(Civility in America poll, 2019)
55% of parents care about political affiliation in marriage
28% of Americans want their kids to marry a Democrat, 27% a Republican, with only a 45% saying they didn't care.
(Gallup Organization, 2017)
21% of marriages are politically mixed
21% of marriages are politically mixed with only about 4% being between Democrats and Republicans.
(American Family Survey, 2020)
60% of Americans are suffering high levels of stress
6 in 10 Americans are suffering from levels of stress on par with those experienced during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War and even World War II due to political polarization.
(American Psychological Association, 2017)
62% of Americans believe diversity makes the country stronger
62% of Americans believe that the country's diverse population makes the US stronger.
(Public Religion Research Institute, 2018)
75% of Americans want to practice civility
75% of Americans would be willing to set a good example by practicing civility, 66% are willing to encourage friends, family members and colleagues to be civil, and 53% will speak up against incivility if they see it.
(Civility in America poll, 2019)
66% of Americans are optimistic that we can come together
66% of Americans feel optimistic that people who belong to different racial and ethnic groups can still come together and solve the country’s problems.
(Public Religion Research Institute, 2018)
54% of Americans think that community organizations and nonprofits are bringing people together
(Public Religion Research Institute, 2018)
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