Over the last decade, Cohesion Strategy founder Allison Ralph has worked with hundreds of funder and grantee organizations working on some of the most intractable issues of our time, including religious prejudice, racial justice, and contested individual rights and freedoms.
And on those tough issues, she’s watched again and again as foundation leadership teams have struggled to stay on mission when their values collide.
Climate funders have refused to partner with faith-based climate grantees because of those grantees’ right-to-life stance. But without conservative support, climate-aware policy proposals have failed.
A mental health funder pull a grant from a successful mental health support organization because they received political attacks for including LGTBQ+ clients.
In both those cases and many others, foundations have left their missions on the table when values challenges came up.
These aren’t abstract challenges — they are the lived realities of leaders and boards today.
That’s why we developed Leading When Values Collide: A Retreat for Philanthropic Leadership.
This retreat is designed for mid-size grantmakers — both the board chair and top executive — who face the hard realities of navigating values conflict in today’s polarized world.
First date:
📅 January 28–30, 2026
📍 A restful Mid-Atlantic retreat location
In a confidential setting with your grantmaking peers, you will:
Strengthen your leadership team’s ability to navigate values conflict;
Gain frameworks to act with integrity when values collide; and
Build resilience and community for leading in complexity.
Learn more, register, or show your interest here:
👉 https://www.cohesionstrategy.com/s-projects-side-by-side
#ValuesBasedLeadership #ConflictTransformation #LeadershipDevelopment #Pluralism #BoardGovernance #BridgeBuilding #OrganizationalCulture #CohesionStrategy
