Constructive Dialogue Institute

Civility Nonprofit

Constructive Dialogue Institute

Background

Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI) was founded in 2017 by Jonathan Haidt and Caroline Mehl. According to the group's website, it was created “in response to rising division and distrust.” CDI offers the “Perspectives” program, which it describes as an “evidence-based online learning experience that helps students build the skills to engage across differences with curiosity and confidence”; concepts covered include “[p]erspective-taking and intellectual humility,” along with “[e]motional regulation during disagreement.” CDI also offers workshops and certification programs, campus-wide programming, and leadership programs for college presidents and senior administrators. The organization says it has partnered with more than 150 campuses; its 2025 annual report reported more than 190,000 “Perspectives” learners.

Notable People

Jonathan Haidt

Co-founder of Heterodox Academy and Constructive Dialogue Institute

Haidt is well known as the co-author of the controversial 2018 book The Coddling of the American Mind (with FIRE President Greg Lukianoff). In a December 2023 blog post about pro-Palestine activism, Haidt described college campuses as “rife with antisemitism” and chastised university administrators for being too “slow, weak, or entirely absent” in their response to protesters.

Caroline Mehl

Co-founder and executive director of Constructive Dialogue Institute

In August 2024, Mehl told an interviewer:

Between 2015 and maybe 2022, you had all these high-profile incidents of student protests, shutting down speakers… A lot of administrators either didn’t respond or they went along with these student demands and student protests. What I’ve been seeing in the last year is that a lot more university leaders have been taking a firmer stance.

Tamar Remz

serves as board chair of Constructive Dialogue Institute

Remz serves on the board of Hillel International (an explicitly anti-BDS organization) and she is also a Senior Advisor to the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. The Grinspoon Foundation makes significant grants to pro-Israel and Zionist organizations, including Birthright Israel, Israel on Campus Coalition (which the Center for Constitutional Rights describes as an organization that “coordinates anti-Palestinian advocacy groups”) and Jewish United Fund (which Palestine Legal describes as having “a documented history of funding anti-Muslim hate groups”). For reference, see the Grinspoon Foundation’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.

Notable Funders

John Templeton Foundation

~$3.9 million (2020-2024)

Established by billionaire investor John Templeton. The foundation was led from 2015 to 2025 by his granddaughter, Heather Templeton Dill. It is now headed by the former CEO of Christianity Today, which describes itself as a “globally minded evangelical magazine.” Templeton makes significant grants to conservative and right-wing advocacy organizations such as State Policy Network and Mercatus Center, and Atlas Network (all three of which are described by Greenpeace as “Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Groups”). The foundation also has documented ties to the Koch Network. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Templeton’s giving.

Mike and Sofia Segal Foundation

$3 million, including support for a “CDI Leadership Institute” focused on training college presidents and senior administrators (2026)

Established by billionaires Mikhail (“Mike”) and Sofia Segal. The Segal Foundation has made significant grants to groups such as Aleph Institute (which has a formal partnership with Israel Defense Forces), as well as American Israel Education Foundation (an affiliate of AIPAC). Segal’s philanthropic advisor and media contact, Misha Galperin, co-authored a November 2024 op-ed arguing that higher ed is one “front” in a larger “war against antisemitism.” In the piece, Galperin and his co-author called for “something like a campaign to promote legislation on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism” (a definition that has been criticized by human rights groups and scholars for the risk that its Israel-related examples can be used to suppress criticism of Israel); they also recommended “educating corporate leaders, using research on current DEI that indicates that such policies hurt corporate culture and profits, and that there is a positive impact when companies reverse policies that are based on these neo-Marxist, racist and antisemitic underpinnings.” For reference, see the Segal Foundation’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.

See also: Heterodox Academy; Disagree Wisely.

Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

~$1.52 million (2021-2025)

In May 2025, CDI received a ~$400k grant from AVDF that includes the following language in its public description:

The disruptive protests and encampments that broke out in 2024 made it clear that today's college campuses struggle to promote constructive engagement across lines of difference.

AVDF has made significant grants to Hillel International (an explicitly anti-BDS organization) and Tablet magazine (a self-described “Jewish, Zionist publication” whose editor-in-chief has called on Jewish communal groups to replace leaders who do not explicitly support Israel). Refer to UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on AVDF’s giving.

The Snider Foundation

$200,000 (2020-2023)

Established by the late billionaire Ed Snider. The foundation makes significant grants to right-wing and pro-Israel advocacy groups such as the David Horowitz Freedom Center (described by SPLC as a sponsor of “anti-Muslim fear mongers”) and the Lawfare Project (described by the National Lawyers Guild as a “right-wing anti-Palestinian group”; not to be confused with Lawfare, the nonprofit online publication focused on national security issues). Current and former Snider Foundation board members, including Craig Snider and Tina Snider, have documented ties to the Koch Network. See UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on Snider’s giving.

The Tepper Foundation

$200,000 (2024)

Established by billionaire hedge fund founder, David Tepper. The foundation is a major donor to the Anti-Defamation League and also funds anti-BDS groups such as Israel on Campus Coalition (which the Center for Constitutional Rights describes as an organization that “coordinates anti-Palestinian advocacy groups”). In November 2023, the foundation invested $2 million in a “Security Fund to Protect College Campuses and Jewish Meeting Places Amid Rising Antisemitism” and collaborated with Hillel International (an explicitly anti-BDS organization) to “identify college campuses that require increased security for their students.” For reference, see the Tepper Foundation’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.

The Applebaum Foundation

$150,000 (2024)

The Applebaum Foundation has made significant grants to pro-Israel and Zionist groups including Hillel International (an explicitly anti-BDS organization), the Philos Project (a Christian Zionist group), and the staunchly pro-Israel UJA-Federation New York. For reference, see Applebaum’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, 2022.

John Brown Cook Foundation

$125,000 (2022, 2024)

The foundation makes significant grants to PragerU (which SPLC describes as a “far-right propaganda” group), the University of Austin (which reporting by The Nation and an investigation by the Center for Media and Democracy have tied to right-wing networks), and America's Future (a conservative nonprofit chaired by Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, whose popularity in far-right circles has been documented by The New York Times). Refer to UNCIVIL’s June 2026 Funder Analysis for more details on the Cook Foundation’s giving.

Mercatus Center

$60,000 (2022)

Mercatus is a conservative think tank, housed at George Mason University. Koch Foundation president Brian Hooks serves on Mercatus’ board, and Charles Koch, himself, is listed as an emeritus board member. Greenpeace USA describes Mercatus as a “Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group.”

See also: Braver Angels.

Maimonides Fund

Amount not identified; funding relationship documented here

A firmly pro-Israel funder with close ties to the politically conservative and Zionist Tikvah Fund. In September 2024, Constructive Dialogue Institute launched a special partnership with Maimonides, which led to the creation of a dialogue training program tailored for Jewish nonprofits. The program webpage includes an endorsement blurb from Rabbi David Wolpe, the Inaugural Rabbinic Fellow for the Anti-Defamation League. He has been an outspoken critic of the Palestine solidarity movement at Harvard, which he has linked to “antisemitism.”