It’s a theory backed by evidence yet awaiting proof points. And it will likely be tested before and after January’s Inauguration Day. But … are Americans after Donald Trump’s election victory ready to see their political opponents as something less than mortal enemies?

That’s the hope of a number of leaders of a young and small movement that aims to bring a divided America together and strengthen bonds of community. They say that people on the left and the right — exhausted by three hate-filled presidential elections and curious about the racial and ethnic broadening of Trump’s coalition — may now be in a position to move past stereotypes and learn more about each other.

This outlook feels optimistic given that a lot of MAGA rhetoric and Trump’s anticipated moves are seen as threatening the security and well-being of immigrants, the LGTBQ+ community, and even major foundations and donors. It’s also unclear whether funders will see this as a moment to invest, particularly progressive grant makers and donors building what will likely be a hard-edged “Resistance 2.0” movement against various Trump policies.

Still, some leaders see a shifting landscape that could benefit their work. “There is a vast opportunity,” says Jake Harriman, founder of +More Perfect Union, a civic-engagement organization working primarily in rural communities. Donald Trump’s clear victory and the relative quiet that followed can persuade Trump supporters that they have been heard. “Republicans are going to be more willing to get in those rooms. And I think rural communities are going to be more apt to be involved in bridging conversations than they would have been if they had been arming up with their militia and feeling like an election had been stolen again.”

Students on college campuses — some of which erupted in protests over the war in Gaza last spring — are demonstrating a new curiosity about the motivations for people on both sides of the ideological spectrum, says Manu Meel, CEO of BridgeUSA, which has more than 100 chapters in colleges and high schools to fortify campuses against schisms. Directly after the election, a woman describing herself as “far left” wrote to say she had thought BridgeUSA was courting racists and anti-LGBTQ extremists. Now she was curious and wanted to learn more.

“We would have never gotten that message a month ago,” Meel says. “You are seeing average, everyday students and young people saying, ‘I don’t want to operate on the assumption that 72 million people are racist.’”

With the election complete — and the end of the $11 billion in political advertising that pummeled Americans with divisive messages — the grip of an “us versus them” binary framework may loosen, says Tom Fishman, CEO of Builders, a global nonprofit (formerly known as Starts With Us) that aims to reduce polarization. “The moments of acute polarization are an opportunity to put bridging and builder behaviors into practice.”

There’s also an exhaustion factor. Humans are not designed for perpetual conflict and outrage, says Andrew Hanauer, head of One America Movement, which supports faith leaders working against toxic polarization. “We have seen a lot of people in the congregations we work with who might have described themselves as fully partisan warriors a few years ago,” Hanauer says. “At this point, they are really open to: How do we get through this, and how do we bring the country back together?”

“People are fed up with all the division,” says Evan Feinberg, senior vice president at Stand Together. “They’re looking for off ramps from the division and on ramps on to making progress together.”

Read the full article on donors bridging political divides on The Chronicle of Philanthropy website.