Heart-Strong is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission that humbles us every day.
Catalyzing people, projects, and organizations to cultivate a world that centers love.
Catalyzing, not controlling. You control by needing to be the center. You catalyze by making a spark and letting it catch.
Cultivating, not building. You build based on a set plan. You cultivate by tending conditions and being open to what emerges.
We believe this is the only way to approach something this complex. And we bring it into action in four ways. Storytelling. Convening. Weaving. Incubating.
All of it is working toward our vision.
A world where more of us are pulled by love than controlled by fear.
You're probably thinking that sounds naive.
Soft at best. Delusional at worst. Just hear us out.
Fear Isn’t Necessarily Bad
It's an alert. It warns us when something is wrong and when we're in danger, physically or emotionally. We need it.
But fear is designed to keep us alive, not to help us flourish and thrive.
The problem with fear is when we let it lead.
It tells us to disconnect. To other. To treat someone else's progress as our loss.
Follow it long enough and that becomes our world. Isolation. Judgment. Chasing status and calling it success.
So why are so many people controlled by fear?
Because fear is easy. It happens on its own. We don't choose it. It chooses us.
Love is an active choice. It asks us to stay when leaving is easier. To be open when judgment is quicker. To be seen when hiding is safer.
And love is harder still, because most of our systems operate on fear.
Government. Capitalism. Health care. Education.
The Solution Isn’t to Eliminate Fear
That's usually where people go with this. Get rid of fear and let love run everything.
But love without fear has its own failures. It goes naive. It loses its boundaries. It avoids conflict and calls that peace.
Fear and love need each other.
Fear sounds the alarm. Love decides what to do about it.
Fear sets the boundary. Love builds the bridge.
Fear protects. Love connects.
It’s a dance. And when we learn it, things start to look different.
Connection replaces isolation.
Openness replaces judgment.
Purpose replaces chasing status.
None of this comes easy. It's a practice.
And where does that practice start?
Curiosity. It’s the first step, and the hardest.
It's the first thing we ask. Of ourselves. Of the people and organizations we work with. And of anyone just checking us out. To be curious about ourselves and our beliefs. Curious about people we disagree with. Curious about the systems we've just accepted. And maybe most importantly, curious about why curiosity feels so dangerous.
Our Projects
That's a lot to ask of anyone. So we catalyze and cultivate ways in. Every one of our projects is an invitation to get curious about something it would be easier to look away from. Here's what we're working on right now. It’s not everything we're doing, and not everything we will do. It’s a snapshot of this moment.
In Stories from the Adventure we write about where love and fear show up in ordinary life. None of it hands anyone an answer. We publish while we're still figuring it out, which is uncomfortable and exactly the point. Watching someone think out loud makes it easier to try it yourself.
Before microphones and media, we had fire. It was the first circle and the first stage, and Campfire Conversations are our way back to it. These aren't interviews. We sit down and talk about purpose, love, and fear, and no topic is off the table. Most of the time we leave with more questions than answers.
Project Little You started with a children's book about a boy who notices that being a boy comes with rules nobody says out loud. That book became 2, and we hope 2 becomes millions more stories of Little Yous. Stories that reach kids before they put parts of themselves away, and ask grown-ups to get curious about what they already did.
FROM WITHIN is an online gallery founded by 6 men inside a Virginia prison. Making art is how many of the artists get through. Every piece carries the story of who made it and why. Learning that story means looking at a “criminal” and seeing a person instead. That isn't easy, and it changes both sides. All of the profits fund programs that use art to help people heal.
Are you starting to get curious?
Heart-Strong isn't only about the things we do. It's also a home for anyone curious about where this all might go.
Because in many ways that's the best way to describe what we are. A curious collection of people, projects, and organizations that found each other. Artists, writers, storytellers, listeners, builders. All of us are learning and curious.
And we would love for you to get curious with us.
That starts with subscribing to our Substack. It's where we release Stories from the Adventure and Campfire Conversations. It's where we send updates about FROM WITHIN and Project Little You. It's where we share our progress and invite people in.
Subscribing is free. Some readers choose to pay, which helps support our work. Either way, you get everything.
Here are some of our most recent Substack stories if you are interested in seeing what you might experience.
Curious about other ways to support our work?
Make a Donation
Why are our donations built around 5?
It’s a reminder that a great way to get curious is to start with 5 questions. Who? What? When? Where? Why?
We'd love for you to consider giving $5 (once, every month, every year) to support our work.
Heart-Strong is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so your gift is tax deductible.
Browse the FROM WITHIN Gallery
100% of the profits fund programs that use art to help people work through anxiety, depression, and addiction. Creating something is one of the surest ways to quiet fear. The programs we support reach people who otherwise would not have access to them.
Full Moon Rises
Justin Robertson
He taught himself to paint two years ago. He gives the work away because it is what he has to give.
See this painting »
Shawna: A Father's Love
Tremayne Seymour
A father's journey to break through the walls to his daughter's heart. He paints to manage anxiety, and now teaches others to.
See this painting »
Love is All Around
J Gardner
Even in the lowest of places, you can find love if you just look. An Army veteran who found art in his sixteenth year inside.
See this painting »Contribute Your Talents
We're a small, scrappy group, and we're always on the lookout for people who have talents to share. After all, we all have something to give. And we all have something to learn.
Some of our immediate needs include:
Graphic Design & Identity
Grant Writing
SEO
Social Media
Google Ad Grant Management
But our needs certainly don’t stop there. If you have something to share, please do reach out.
