More Perfect Funds Local Civic Projects to Counter Polarization
Event summary
- More Perfect, a bipartisan civic alliance, is expanding its partnership with the Trust for Civic Life with an undisclosed funding amount.
- The partnership will support three community-led projects in Oregon, West Virginia, and Idaho, focused on water management, disaster resilience, and community identity/tourism.
- The Trust for Civic Life is a collaborative investing $50 million over five years (launched 2024) in local civic infrastructure across rural America.
- More Perfect's alliance includes 43 Presidential Centers, the National Archives Foundation, and over 100 other organizations.
The big picture
The partnership highlights a growing recognition of the decline in community-based institutions and the need for targeted interventions to rebuild civic trust and address polarization, particularly in rural areas. More Perfect's model, combining a broad alliance of organizations with grantmaking, represents an attempt to address systemic issues beyond traditional political solutions. The $50 million investment by the Trust for Civic Life signals a significant commitment to this approach, but its long-term effectiveness remains to be seen.
What we're watching
- Scalability
- The success of these pilot projects will determine whether the model of locally-led civic engagement can be replicated and scaled across a broader geographic area, impacting the Trust's overall investment strategy.
- Political Risk
- The bipartisan nature of More Perfect and the Trust for Civic Life makes them vulnerable to shifts in the political landscape and potential funding cuts if either organization is perceived as leaning too far in one direction.
- Impact Measurement
- Demonstrating tangible, measurable improvements in civic trust and community cohesion will be critical for More Perfect and the Trust to justify their investment and attract continued funding from philanthropists and foundations.
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