We believe in relationships.

The issues we work on come out of small-group gatherings, where people share their stories about issues they’d like to see changed and have energy to work on. We are driven by the testimony of concrete experience, not pre-conceived ideology.

We believe in citizen leadership.

We identify, bring together and develop leaders across our communities, so that we can accomplish more together than we could apart.

We believe in ownership.

We accept no money from government sources. The organization is funded by dues from its member institutions, in addition to some foundation and business support. This allows the organization to belong to, and be accountable to, the institutions that make it up.

We believe in practical solutions.

We work on concrete issues that we can do something about. Once potential issues are identified, community leaders do research to develop practical, achievable solutions.