Listening, Learning, and Leading with Trust

As I reflect on the work of the Alliance for Social Trust in 2025, I see  a clear pattern underpinning the work of the many community organizations in our network: social trust doesn’t emerge on its own; it begins locally and is built through shared action. Trust is not built in a single moment, but through consistent actions, that honor and validate community experiences and input. It grows not from abstract commitments or lofty rhetoric, but from showing up together, working side by side, solving real problems, and engaging across differences in tangible ways.

I saw this theme emerge clearly in reflections from our 2025 Trust in Practice Summit in May and it continues to surface in the work of our thematic working groups. But it is most visible in practice.

Take, for example, SIPP Culture, a Mississippi-based nonprofit that decided to try something different: instead of telling residents what they needed, the organization started by listening. Week after week, community members gathered for listening sessions, oral history projects, and focus groups—creating space for residents to share their lived experiences and name the challenges they faced after the closure of a local grocery store. That sustained listening shaped solutions with the community rather than for it and led to the development of a food club. 

Or take Interfaith America, a nonprofit with a vision that embraces the power of pluralism and focuses on cooperating across differences for the sake of the common good.  Rather than papering over differences, Interfaith America creates opportunities for people of various faiths, identities, and worldviews to engage one another with curiosity and respect. 

Where Learning Meets Action

Over the past year, I’ve taken what we’ve learned from dozens of conversations with organizations and partners, our 2025 Trust in Practice Summit, the Building Local Trust from the Ground Up webinar series, and the wisdom of our Advisory Council to shape programming that aligns organizations for greater scale and impact, drives metrics development and policy innovation, and fosters collaboration and meaningful partnerships.

Three key lessons stand out from these conversations:

• Mindsets shape behaviors: how we see one another often determines how we act, and shifting those perceptions can be the fastest path to meaningful change.
• Trust doesn’t just grow from similarity: it can be cultivated through respectful engagement across differences, when people lean into perspectives unlike their own and choose to collaborate despite them.  
• Presence matters: it is consistent, intentional engagement over time—not titles or affiliations—that build relationships people truly trust. Consistent follow-ups and check-ins are more effective in building trust than one-off initiatives.

Consider your own work: where could shifting mindsets, leaning into difference, or showing up consistently make the biggest difference in trust-building?

Trust in 2026: Growing Together

In 2026, the Alliance for Social Trust is excited to bring more people into this work and to help communities and leaders experiment, collaborate, and lead with trust at every level. The Trust in Practice Awards and 2026 Summit will continue to highlight and celebrate innovators in trust-building, while also bringing more organizations into the work and investing in local communities as catalysts for national change.

At the same time, we hope to elevate public understanding of what trust is, why it matters, and how it can be nurtured through everyday collaboration. By combining recognition, connection, and programming, this new year holds the promise of moving trust from aspiration to action—locally, nationally, and collectively.

Turning trust from aspiration into action requires all of us, and there are many ways to get involved. Connect with the Alliance for Social Trust on LinkedIn to stay in the conversation, share your own trust-building stories, or contribute resources to our Trust Library. You can also join upcoming webinars to learn from others and explore new ways to strengthen trust in your community. Every story shared, resource contributed, and conversation started helps shape a culture where trust doesn’t just exist, but it thrives.

Looking back on 2025, I’ve learned that when we lean into one another, listen across differences, and choose collaboration over conflict, we lay the foundation for stronger, more resilient communities. Here’s to the lessons we’ve learned, and to the new ones 2026 will bring.