Nantucket Project — UNCIVIL Website

Civility Nonprofit

The Nantucket Project

Background

The Nantucket Project (TNP) is a pluralism organization founded by Tom Scott, the multimillionaire co-founder of Nantucket Nectars. Among other programs, TNP hosts “Courageous Conversations,” a dialogue initiative developed by Simon Greer. (Greer is also affiliated with Interfaith America as a senior fellow.) In spring 2025, TNP launched its flagship “Courageous Conversations: Israel and Palestine on Campus” course at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, pairing students with competing narratives about the conflict through structured dialogue.

Notable People

Simon Greer

Cohost of Nantucket Project and its Courageous Conversations

Greer is a senior fellow with Interfaith America. In an August 2024 social media post, Greer wrote, “Now more than ever the world needs to be rethinking D.E.I. practices—particularly those on college campuses, where young minds are developing opinions, habits, and discussion skills.” In a document co-authored with Michael Murray titled “Where Heroes Are the Bridge Builders,” Greer claimed that “[c]ampuses once imagined as laboratories of free inquiry are now often marked by ideological rigidity, performative activism, moral grandstanding and even violence” and bemoaned how “[s]ymbolic, disruptive protests in a corporate headquarters or individuals unwilling to work with people ‘from the other side’ mirror what has become common on campus.” According to Greer, “people who want to hunker down with the people they already agree with” are “cowards,” and “the ones who want to cancel the other team” are “bullies,” and “ the heroes are the ones who want to cross lines of difference.”

Notable Funders

John Templeton Foundation

~$3.9 million (2019)

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.

Arthur Vining Davis Foundations

$350,000 (2023-2024)

AVDF’s president, Michael Murray, is a co-author, with Simon Greer, on a pluralism manifesto from October 2025 entitled “Where Heroes Are the Bridge Builders.” In that document, they describe universities as places “marked by ideological rigidity, performative activism, moral grandstanding and even violence.” 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.

Hartman Family Foundation

$200,000 (2024)

Founded by Alan Hartman, co-president of Center Partners, and his wife, Kim Hartman. The foundation makes significant grants to several Zionist and Israel advocacy groups such as Birthright Israel, American Jewish Committee (which has been a prominent supporter of anti-BDS laws), and American Israel Education Foundation (an affiliate of AIPAC). On January 26, 2024, Kim Hartman gave a speech at Temple Emanu-El NYC, entitled “It's Time to Stand Up for Israel.” According to Variety, the Hartmans were listed among many producers on the 2025 documentary October 8, which criticizes pro-Palestine campus activists for their alleged antisemitism. For reference, see the Hartman Family Foundation’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.

See also: Interfaith America.

One8 Foundation

$200,000 (2024)

Established by billionaire hedge fund founder Jonathon Jacobson and his wife, Joanna Jacobson. Joanna Jacobson has drawn scrutiny for her financial and organizational support of charter school expansion in Massachusetts. The One8 Foundation makes significant investments in Israel advocacy groups such as Birthright Israel. In October 2023, Joanna Jacobson joined Seth Klarman (see Klarman Family Foundation) and three other Harvard alumni in signing an open letter to Harvard University’s leadership, accusing them of failing to confront a “meteoric rise in antisemitism” on campus following October 7, 2023; Jacobson and the co-signers called on Harvard to regulate protests and require students to take a semester-long course in “productive discourse.” Similarly, Jonathon Jacobson played a key role in the campaign against Liz Magill at the University of Pennsylvania for allegedly tolerating “antisemitism.” For reference, see One8’s tax filings for 2024, 2023, and 2022.