The Big Hope Project

When the world feels overwhelming and the future uncertain, hope isn't just wishful thinking- it's a practice. It means staying connected with those around us, learning about how to strengthen our communities and movements, and focusing on where we are able to make change. 

The Big Hope Project brings people together to learn, strategize, create, and build the communities we need to face whatever comes next.

We believe that knowledge shared is real power, that community is our greatest source of resilience, and that fighting despair requires practical skills as well as deliberate and deep connection with others who refuse to give up.

Through five different learning communities, we're creating spaces where people can process difficult realities, develop concrete skills, celebrate joy and creativity as resistance, and build the networks that will sustain us through uncertain times.

Our Learning Communities

Learning Resistance through Global Solidarity: International Perspectives on Fighting Fascism 

Connect with people worldwide who have been facing rising authoritarianism in their own countries and learn about their tactics and strategies for fighting back. Each month focuses on a different country's resistance movements—both historical and contemporary—with direct conversation with key activists in those places. We learn from each other's struggles while building real solidarity networks that transcend national boundaries.

Prepared but Not a Prepper: How to Realistically Plan for Emergency Scenarios & Tap Into Existing Mutual Aid Support Systems

Forget the bunker mentality and your “go bag”. Real security comes from strong communities, mutual aid networks, and neighbors who have each other's backs. We will learn practical skills for emergency preparedness while building the relationships and systems that make everyone safer. Features guest speakers from mutual aid organizations and hands-on community projects.

Joy & Creativity Collective: Art, Celebration, and Humor as Resistance

Joy isn't frivolous—it's revolutionary. And making art together builds the connections that sustain us through hard times.

This group is for anyone who believes that creating something beautiful, meaningful, or weird is itself an act of resistance against forces that want us isolated and discouraged. For the doodlers, DJs, poets, comedians, and makers. For people who used to create and miss it, who want to reconnect with the part of themselves that imagines and dreams and plays.

We alternate between hands-on creative projects and learning about celebration practices from resistance movements around the world. One month we might be reading about festival traditions that keep communities alive under oppression. The next we're making zines, writing bad poetry, or collaborating on a community art project. We'll explore fiction that finds humor in dark times, plan community outings that prioritize joy, and experiment with irreverence as a tool for staying human.

No experience required. No "good" art expected. Just showing up with curiosity, willingness to play, and belief that laughter and creativity are survival skills.

How to Raise Resilient Children

Do you wonder (and worry about) what future our children will face? This 12-month reading group brings together parents who want to raise children who are both emotionally secure and equipped to work for positive change. We'll explore the science of resilience, learn how children process difficult emotions and world events, and discover practical strategies for creating the stability kids need to thrive even in uncertain times. We'll explore trauma-informed parenting, learn how to talk honestly with children about racism and climate change without overwhelming them, understand the difference between empathy and action, and build the community connections that protect children's mental health.

This group is about supporting each other as we figure out how to raise kids who can face the future with courage, compassion, and agency.

The Phoenix Collective: A Reading & Mutual Support Group for Progressive Career Transition

Washington DC - 12-Month Program for Government Employees, Human Rights Workers, and Progressive Professionals Starting Over

This is not just a reading group or a job search support group—it's a community for people whose careers were built around public service and social justice, who now find themselves navigating professional uncertainty in a changed political landscape. We combine learning and inspiration from books with peer accountability, mutual support, and practical action toward meaningful next steps.

How It Works

Each learning community meets monthly for a year, combining book discussions with practical activities, guest speakers, and community building. We provide structure and resources, but the real magic happens when people connect with each other and start building the relationships that sustain hope in action.

Some groups meet in person in Washington DC, others are virtual and global. All are designed for people who believe that learning together is more powerful than struggling alone, and that hope is something we create together, not something we wait for.

Ready to join us? Because the biggest act of resistance against despair is showing up for each other and refusing to face the future alone.