who we are...

we're not for everyone... but we'd like to be. 

the purpose of (un)common good collective is relatively simple; we serve as an innovative shared-resource organization to provide services and fund the work of communities, organizations and individuals within our ever-expanding circle of friends seeking to build a better world.

we come with receipts. we've partnered with and worked alongside countless individuals, higher education institutions, various religious traditions and denominations as well as other NGOs including the FACT Coalition, the Trevor Project, GLAAD, the Arcus Foundation, Human Rights Campaign, Q Christian Fellowship (formerly GCN), The Reformation Project, Sojourners, Red Letter Christians, the Wild Goose Festival, Leadership Network, the 95 network, Convergence, W/ Collective (formerly OPEN), Union of Affirming Christians, and many, many more. 

our core values...

(un)common good collective has been around the Block... more than once. ​we've combined some commonsense conscience with book-smarts and-street-wisdom to develop the following values, which are essential to our organization's orientation and help us in our planning of partners and projects::
networking. 
​at (un)common good collective we recognize the importance of developing relationships across distinctions and differences of social location in order to help realize our goals. sometimes we build bridges. sometimes we burn them. we're ok with both.

our strategic partnerships are rooted in the richness which often comes in relationship, enabling us to utilize our position as a Collective to serve as a conduit between communities and organizations whose paths may not otherwise have crossed for the purpose of social justice. no justice, no peace. we mean it.
strategy.
strategy matters. so do tactics - and there's a difference. strategy dictates what major plans will be undertaken and distributes resources toward those ends, while tactics indicate the immediate means by which an overall pre-determined plan is executed. 

(un)common good collective values both; however, in our context of an American consumerism intoxicated with endless options for instant-gratification, utilizing strategy and tactics together - like any good chess player would do - seems to be a lost art. we develop and implement strategies in order to achieve the common good for common folks... which is just common sense.
the arts. 
(un)common good collective values the arts - visual, performing, written and otherwise - as essential to understanding beauty in-and-as the human experience. we acknowledge that art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder; because of this, we platform artists and encourage individuals and communities as works of art... we believe you are a masterpiece.

to learn more about our philosophy of art, listen to Shift of the Gaze :: arθeology for our world with executive director michael j. kimpan and Dr.. JoAnne Marie Terrell's Ten Tenets of Art  series (episodes 1-5) on Soundcloud and/or iTunes.
education.
​(un)common good collective is convinced education is an essential element of bringing about much needed social reform.

when we know better, we are more likely to do better.

as we seek to educate ourselves in and through the experiences of Others through cultural immersion, we also offer educational services through teaching/speaking, consulting, internships, weekend retreats and other avenues to enhance the knowledge base of our Collective.
justice.
(un)common good collective rejects the notion that achieving the 'American Dream' is accessible (or even desirable) to all. we acknowledge the vast disparities of justice between economic classes, the injustices prevalent in our so-called 'justice' system for Black folks and other people of color, and the disproportionate partiality codified in legislation and institutionalized by our society's status quo.

not only do we increase awareness of these urgent issues of justice within our Collective, but we actively work to dismantle systems of oppression wherever we find them. 
healthy living.

(un)common good collective celebrates the humanity of of all people, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexual orientation or gender identity, 'dis'-ability or any other distinction. we seek the full flourishing of all people in mind, body and soul.

​our programs and products are designed to fit neatly into and alongside healthy choices, wherever an individual or organization may be along the path toward wholeness. we acknowledge living into abundance is not just a one-time event - it's a lifestyle.
the journey.
at (un)common good collective we recognize people are in various and unique places along their individual and collective journeys, and because of this likely hold varying perspectives; therefore, liberation may look different depending on the perceived needs of Self and Others. we do not seek to convince or persuade individuals to our preferred perspective; rather, we work within the philosophical framework provided and utilize the Collective's expansive knowledge to free folks from systems of inequity and inequality. 

while we welcome a variety of perspectives and beliefs, we also acknowledge that at the root, dismantling systems of oppression - for the individual and for entire communities - is the destination toward which our Collective is headed. our strategies, partnerships, programs and products reflect this value.