More than a mission,
it's our practice....

Sweet Water Foundation (SWF) is an exemplar of humanities in place. SWF cultivates spaces for humanity – the physical spaces, programs, resources, and connections – that heal and nurture people across cultures, geographies, and generations. 

Since 2014, SWF has re-generated and re-storied six blocks on the South Side of Chicago into a place known as The Commonwealth. Today, The Commonwealth is a bio-dynamic campus and demonstration site for civic arts, urban ecology, human development, and neighborhood development. It is the heart of SWF’s Communiversity, an emergent institution through which humans come together to learn and engage in SWF’s practice of Regenerative Neighborhood Development (RND), an interdisciplinary practice that cultivates community and embodies civic art, design, and education. 

SWF’s practice of RND, as demonstrated through the emergence of The Commonwealth, demonstrates the unbounded possibilities of a new economic paradigm – moving beyond the bounds of economic rationality and refocusing on what is essential for We the Publics.