Fetzer Institute launches $9 million cross-sector initiative to advance spiritually grounded transformation

30 organizations across Public Life, Spiritual Innovation, and Environment sectors join to foster a global movement rooted in love and sacredness.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Fetzer Institute has announced a $9 million initiative to fund and connect 30 leading organizations across three sectors: Public Life, Spiritual Innovation, and the Environment, to catalyze a spiritually grounded movement for holistic transformation.

Over a two-year period, the organizations will build relationships, share practices, and develop actionable strategies for fostering a more loving, connected, and sustainable world.

Jonathan Lever, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Fetzer Institute said, “These collaborations bring together remarkable leaders who are reimagining their fields, grounded in a spiritual approach that fosters transformation and leads to shared flourishing.”

Public Life 

The Public Life Collaborative brings together leaders who believe that spiritual formation and moral imagination can help heal a polarized civic culture.  

 Participants include: 

AND Campaign, Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program, Center for Christianity and Public Life, Hindus for Human Rights, Center for Public Justice, Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, Muslims for Progressive Values, One America Movement, The Trinity Forum, and The Witness Institute. 

These organizations are reclaiming the role of faith and compassion, with civic commitments to sacred solidarity, dignity affirmation, and the common good.  

Spiritual Innovation 

The Spiritual Innovation Collaborative gathers visionaries reimagining how people connect with the Sacred in today’s changing spiritual landscape.  

 Partners include: 

Beloved Garden, Center for Action and Contemplation, Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, Embrace Incubator (Holistic Underground), Faith Matters Network, Forum for Theological Exploration, Glean Network, Inayatiyya Sufi Order International, Sacred Design Lab, Unitarian Universalist Association, and Wesleyan Impact Partners.

These leaders are developing new forms of spiritual community and practice, translating ancient wisdom for modern life and nurturing authenticity, creativity, and inclusion.

Environment  

The Environment Collaborative unites organizations working at the intersection of ecology, spirituality, and Indigenous wisdom.  

 Participants include: 

Green the Church, The Loka Initiative, Global Optimism, Center for Earth Ethics, Conscious Food System Alliance, The Cultural Conservancy, Native American Rights Fund, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, and the Resilience Project (Commonweal). 

Together, these partners are confronting ecological indifference and exploitation through a lens of sacred interconnectedness and faithful just stewardship. 

“Lasting change requires more than new policies or programs; it requires a shift in worldview,” said Steven Harris, Vice President of Ecosystem Transformation at the Fetzer Institute. “By engaging these fields through the common thread of the Sacred, we hope to nurture a movement capable of transforming how humanity lives with one another and the Earth.” 

###

About the Fetzer Institute: 
The Fetzer Institute’s mission is to help build the spiritual foundation for a loving world. Learn more at fetzer.org and sign up for Fetzer’s newsletter at fetzer.org/subscribe.   

Contact:
Silma Suba
The Fetzer Institute
[email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RNS or Religion News Foundation.