Nonprofits Are Messy: Lessons in Leadership | Fundraising | Board Development | Communications Ep 240: NEIGHBORS FIRST: HOW TO FIND COMMON GROUND with Garrett Cathcart
Nov 8, 2025
Garrett Cathcart, an Army veteran and co-founder of More Perfect Union, talks about building community bridges through the power of conversation and service. He shares the inspiring origins of MPU and its model focused on connection, service, and civic engagement. Garrett discusses the innovative 'brickyard' concept, where neighbors unite locally, fostering trust and understanding. He highlights a successful event in Glen Rose, Texas, showcasing the impact of simple neighborly acts and emphasizes the importance of diversifying leadership within nonprofits to reach wider communities.
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Social Self-Sorting Cuts Real Conversation
- People self-sort into like-minded groups which reduces real conversation and deep connection across differences.
- More Perfect Union counters that by creating low-bar social events that invite diverse networks to meet and humanize each other.
Sequence: Social First, Then Service, Then Civic Work
- Do start with social connections before politics to build relationships and reduce defensiveness.
- Then layer service projects to build trust and finally civic education to foster local ownership.
Use Community Mapping To Diversify Attendance
- Do recruit different networks into one event by training local leaders in community mapping.
- Invite your network and ask leaders to invite theirs to create genuine diversity at events.