Disagree Better
Project Title
For general support
Date
Sep. 11, 2025
Duration
24 months
Description
Disagree Better is a nonprofit initiative that originated as a twelve-month campaign under the National Governors Association (NGA), where twenty-three bipartisan U.S. Governors publicly modeled constructive dialogue to demonstrate civil disagreement across ideological lines. The initiative garnered substantial national attention, reaching millions through earned media and public events, and catalyzed engagement from 225 elected officials across levels of government. Its success revealed both a public appetite for cross-partisan leadership and the viability of top-down strategies for addressing polarization. With its incorporation as an independent 501(c)(3) in June 2024, Disagree Better is now positioned to scale its proven approach through coordinated national awareness campaigns, cross-sector partnerships, and evidence-informed messaging. With Corporation support, Disagree Better will design and deploy four national advertising campaigns featuring political, cultural, and business leaders. Each campaign will aim to reach more than eighty percent of adults in selected markets. Stanford University will continue to advise on message development and assess campaign impact through behavioral research and survey experiments
Project Title
For support of the Disagree Better Initiative
Date
Dec. 14, 2023
Duration
39 months
Description
Fueled by partisan animosity, polarization is threatening the state of democracy and preventing policymakers from being able to deal with disagreements in a manner that is productive and healthy. For a healthy democracy to endure, citizens must be equipped with the skills to engage in constructive dialogue, as well as have examples in government that model and encourage healthy conflict. Founded in 1908, the National Governors Association (NGA) is a bipartisan organization comprised of the nation’s governors dedicated to the development of policy research and bipartisan government relations. With Corporation support, NGA will launch the Disagree Better Initiative, connecting its members to organizations and tools that help model good behavior and set examples of how to foster spaces for constructive conflict for governors and the public.