Weave: The Social Fabric Project with Fredrick Riley

Weave: The Social Fabric Project with Fredrick Riley

From Next in Nonprofits by Next in Nonprofits

May 12, 2026 · 42 min · Episode 147

About this episode

Fredrick Riley discusses the Weave project and its efforts to rebuild social trust and community connections.

Fredrick Riley is the Executive Director of Weave: The Social Fabric Project at the Aspen Institute. Weave "tackles the problem of broken social trust that has left Americans divided, lonely, and in social gridlock. Weave connects, supports, and invests in local leaders stepping up to weave a new, inclusive social fabric where they live. " Fredrick talks about the nature of an ongoing crisis is relationships, and an overall erosion of trust. These are concerns the Aspen Institute has seen for some time, and has started a concerted effort to encourage people to use tools to build more trust and connection across social "threads" weaving together. One of the tools available from Weave includes trustmap.org, which allows users to see strengths for their social fabric, but also opportunities for improvement. Fredrick goes on to share some examples from his own history as well as the work of Weave in encouraging nonprofits to connect people in community across mission and goals. Fred urges individuals to find opportunities to connect to people in their community, as well as urging nonprofits to provide volunteer opportunities not only for their own work but to provide connection for…

People in this episode

Guest: Fredrick Riley

Topics covered

  • social trust
  • community connection
  • nonprofit engagement
  • social fabric
  • volunteer opportunities

Keywords

  • social trust
  • community
  • nonprofits
  • volunteering
  • social fabric
  • trustmap

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Weave: The Social Fabric Project, Aspen Institute, trustmap.org

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