In December 2025, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, in partnership with CivicPulse, released a national study examining polarization in America titled Polarization in America: Survey of Local Government. The findings offer both sobering realities and hopeful encouragement, particularly for those of us working in local communities.
Nearly nine in ten local officials across the country believe political polarization is severe and worsening at the national level. And yet, in a striking contrast, only about 30 percent report serious negative effects of polarization within their own communities. Even more encouraging: that local number has remained stable over time.
In other words, while national discourse may feel increasingly fractured, local communities, places like Kansas City, continue to demonstrate resilience.
Why?
The report points to a powerful truth: trusted local institutions are anchoring civic life. K–12 schools, recreational sports leagues, libraries, parks, community organizations, and other shared spaces are serving as connective tissue across differences. Local governance, in most communities, remains pragmatic and problem-focused rather than ideological. People are still coming together to solve concrete challenges like development, infrastructure, public services, education, even when national narratives suggest otherwise.
For those of us in the nonprofit sector, this research carries profound implications.
Nonprofits are not merely service providers. We are civic institutions. We convene neighbors. We cultivate volunteers. We build trust across lines of difference. We create experiential pathways for people to participate in community life. We translate research into action. We anchor hope in place.
This is where intermediary institutions like the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership (MCNL) can and must step forward. At MCNL, we see our role as strengthening local nonprofit leadership as a cornerstone of civic resilience in a polarized age. We are committed to:
Convening diverse leaders for constructive, nonpartisan problem-solving grounded in local realities.
Equipping nonprofit executives and boards with the skills of facilitation, trust-building, systems thinking, and cross-sector collaboration.
Expanding experiential learning models that connect emerging and current leaders to real civic engagement.
Translating research into practical tools for boards, funders, and practitioners.
Bridging nonprofits, philanthropy, government, and academia around shared community challenges.
The research affirms something we already know intuitively: local democracy is sustained not by national rhetoric but by everyday acts of leadership, service, and trust-building. Kansas City’s nonprofit community is part of that quiet strength.
While national polarization may dominate headlines, our local institutions: our schools, libraries, parks, and nonprofits, continue to hold communities together. The work you do every day matters not only for programmatic outcomes but for the civic health of our region.
Let us continue to lead with hopeful realism: clear-eyed about the challenges, confident in the capacity of local leadership, and committed to strengthening trust across difference.
The Midwest Center stands with you in this work.
With deep gratitude for your leadership and service,
Tom Vansaghi Managing Director
Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership
University of Missouri–Kansas City
