StriveTogether: What Can They Teach the Rest of Us Local Futurists?

A reflection from Future Here Now — by Wise Economy Workshop / Wise Fool Press

For more than 15 years, StriveTogether has been on my radar. I’ve consistently been impressed by their work—yet I’ve never crossed paths with them often enough to really understand how they do what they do.

Lately, I’ve been wondering if that’s a mistake. 🤔

StriveTogether is a nonprofit foundation focused on “Cradle to Career” opportunity, supporting people from early childhood education through workforce development—especially those facing systemic disadvantage. Important work, no question. And while it’s not exactly my usual lane, something about their approach stopped me in my tracks.

What caught my eye wasn’t just what they do, but how they combine two things that are rarely done well together:

🧩 Deep, authentic community decision-making
🕸️ Intentional national network-building—and activation

They don’t just convene people. They don’t just publish reports. They seem to be building and activating a nationwide learning network—one where local practitioners aren’t isolated, but connected, learning from each other, and contributing their insights back into a shared body of knowledge.

From where I sit, that’s a meaningful departure from how most conventional nonprofits operate.

⚖️ The Two Traps of Community Work

Most of us end up stuck in one of two familiar buckets:

Bucket One:
National or regional organizations that bring people together—but don’t meaningfully help them learn with and from one another. Conferences and newsletters help a bit, but mostly scratch the surface of what’s possible when people across places co-create solutions and document them well.

Bucket Two:
The day-to-day reality many of us live in—fighting local fights, learning through trial and error, grabbing occasional insights from white papers or conferences (complete with droning speakers, dense PowerPoints, and uncomfortable chairs 😅). We mostly figure things out alone, sharing what we learn only with whoever happens to cross our path.

In both cases, what we actually need is something far more alive.

🐝 A bee hive, not telegraph wires
🧠 A neural network, not a static mailing list

A live, responsive, heavily interactive system that helps places learn faster—together.

This is where StriveTogether’s approach feels especially worth studying.

🔍 A Question Worth Asking

StriveTogether is well-endowed, and that allows them to produce a huge volume of reports, insights, and analysis. Honestly, that’s where I’ve tended to drop off over the years—the sheer scale can feel overwhelming.

But I’m now wondering:
👉 Is there something in their networked learning model that the rest of us—Local Futurists, place-based leaders, civic innovators—can adapt?
👉 Could this approach help accelerate both local and national work in the places we care most about?

I’d genuinely love for you to take a look at strivetogether.org and share what you see.

📬 This reflection comes from Future Here Now
A weekly newsletter from Wise Economy Workshop / Wise Fool Press for people preparing for the Fusion Economy—right where they live and work.

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Let’s stop building telegraph wires—and start building systems that actually think, learn, and evolve together.

🚀 The future of place depends on it.

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