Our vision and principles

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Stand Together Vision & Principles
Our vision

Stand Together is working to move toward a society based on the principles of human progress — one of equal rights and mutual benefit where everyone has the opportunity to live a life of meaning and succeed by benefitting others.

We advance this vision by partnering with social entrepreneurs who apply these principles to empower people to realize their potential. As the effectiveness of this approach becomes widely recognized, it inspires movements that bring society closer to this ideal.

These movements create paradigm shifts, transforming society’s key institutions, so rather than control people from the top down, they consistently empower people from the bottom up.

An "empowerment paradigm"

Our vision is informed by history’s profound lesson: Every person has a gift, and progress comes when we empower everyone to find and use it to help others improve their lives.

Todd Rose, a Stand Together board member and co-founder of the think tank Populace, shows how this "empowerment paradigm" transformed the world and animates Stand Together’s work today.

The principles of empowerment

History shows that the more societies reject a paradigm of power and instead embrace empowerment, the more progress they unlock. Here are some of the core principles that empower every person.

Dignity
 A deep belief in, and respect for, the inherent worth of every person that enables people to live their lives as they see fit with due regard for the equal and inalienable rights of others and with assurance of equal protection for those rights under the law.
Bottom Up
People succeed when their interaction is organized by general rules of just conduct rather than having to agree on concrete aims, enabling those with personal knowledge of a problem to discover solutions that get the best results.
Openness
 The free movement of ideas, resources, and people generates knowledge, innovation, and opportunity, fueling progress throughout society.
Self-Actualize
 People live lives of meaning when they continually discover, develop, and apply their unique gifts to benefit others.
Mutual Benefit
People succeed by creating value for others, motivating them to assist rather than harm one another.
Our principles in practice

Learn more about how Stand Together and our partners apply the principles of empowerment to transform people's lives and society as a whole.

Man in an office holding two phones. Employees with purpose are more engaged. Data offers new insights.

Gallup research reveals the benefits of purpose at work and what employers can do to foster it.

 Photo of Frederick Douglass. What Frederick Douglass can teach us about civic life

His story shows how principled engagement can lead to progress, even in deeply divided times.

 Events leading up to Super Bowl weekend. Supporting NFL players’ philanthropy before the big game

More than a dozen photos show how NFL players, legends, and their families are making a difference.

 Three people walk along a red rock trail toward layered desert cliffs. The education shift happening in Navajo Nation that you need to see

How a community used Elevate USA’s national model to better support its students.
© 2026 Stand Together, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms like “we,” “our,” and “us,” as well as “Stand Together,” and “the Stand Together community,” are used here for the sake of convenience. While the individuals and organizations to which those terms may refer share and work toward a common vision—including, but not limited to, Stand Together Foundation, Stand Together, Charles Koch Foundation, Stand Together Trust, Stand Together Fellowships, and Americans for Prosperity—each engages only in those activities that are consistent with its nonprofit status.