Rooted in the Bronx. Growing for 25 years.
We started as a grassroots effort in one neighborhood. We're still here — and still growing.
How it Began
In the late 1990s, a small group of people in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx decided that their neighborhood deserved more than programs delivered from the outside. They believed that lasting change — the kind that actually holds — has to be built from within communities, by the people who live and breathe them every day.
What began as a ministry extension of King of Glory, a Mennonite congregation rooted in the historic peace church tradition, was first called The Groundswell Project. It was modest in scale but clear in purpose: equip people with the skills to resolve conflict, build trust, and create cultures worth living in.
The name fit. A groundswell doesn't start at the top. It builds from below.
Where We Are Now
Over more than two decades, Groundswell has grown from a single congregation's outreach into an independent nonprofit with deep roots across the Bronx — and a reach that extends well beyond it.
Today we work alongside residents, schools, faith communities, women's shelters, public housing developments, and healthcare systems. Our consultants, trainers, and mediators bring practical tools for communication, conflict resolution, and organizational capacity-building to the people and institutions that need them most.
In 2024, we served communities through six active programs, partnered with institutions including NYU, Lehman College, Bronx Care Hospital, and the NYC Department of Health, and continued building the next generation of peacemakers through our youth and community initiatives.
As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, donations made to support our work are fully tax-deductible. Every contribution goes directly toward building the peaceful, healthy cultures our communities deserve.
We became independent. But we never stopped being grassroots.
What Guides Us
Peace is practical. We believe conflict resolution and peacemaking are learnable skills — not ideals reserved for the few.
Change comes from within. We don't arrive with answers. We come with tools, and we work alongside communities to build what they already know they need.
Everyone belongs at the table. Our work is grounded in the belief that every person — regardless of background, belief, or circumstance — has something essential to contribute.
Want to bring Groundswell into your community or organization?
Our Mission
To collaborate with communities and organizations to co-create cultures that are just, peaceful, and healthy — by equipping people with the skills, relationships, and shared vision to lead change from within.
Ready to support the work?
Our Vision
A world where every community is a place of dignity, healing, and belonging. Wherever people live, work, play, and pray.