Home / Chapters
100 chapters. 100 countries.
The Common Ground Foundation is opening chapters to students everywhere. A chapter is three to five students doing locally what we already do globally: finding learners, finding tutors, and making English and schoolwork feel possible.
What a chapter is
Local people, global access.
Most of our work happens online, but a strong in-person community does things a video call cannot: awareness campaigns in a school hallway, a donation drive for families down the road, a table at lunch where someone finds out free tutoring exists.
Every chapter is listed on this website under its name, school, and district. Every chapter has a core team with defined roles. And every chapter is supported by CGF’s Head of Chapters with onboarding, a toolkit, a Discord channel, and monthly follow-ups.
Chapters can be started in any country. That is the whole point of the number in the title.
The core team
Four roles, one chapter.
Every chapter has three to five student ambassadors. One person can hold more than one role at the start; the point is that each job has a name.
President
Leads the chapter and its initiatives. Coordinates with the school, the community, and CGF.
CGF Liaison
Co-head. Sends every update to CGF and spreads CGF’s reach through the chapter.
Social Media & Outreach Head
Contacts local initiatives and organizations. Posts about CGF and the chapter’s impact, and tags CGF in every post.
Members
Work on projects, spread the word, get people access to CGF tutoring, and find more tutors.
The non-negotiables
Eight rules that keep every chapter safe and recognisable.
These are the conditions of being a Common Ground chapter. Everything else in the guide is a recommendation.
- Tag @commonground_org in your bio and link www.commonground808.com.
- Add @commonground_org as a collaborator on every post.
- Every chapter member fills out the CGF volunteer and membership form.
- Link the volunteer form in your chapter bio.
- Repost from the main CGF Instagram.
- Send CGF a monthly update by the 5th of each month.
- Follow the Chapter Code of Conduct and sign the Chapter Agreement.
- Contact CGF before any donation drive or awareness campaign with local schools.
Before any donation drive or awareness campaign with local schools, contact kshinha27@punahou.edu and afong27@punahou.edu so the campaign stays coordinated across the network.
Seven steps
How to start.
Recommended order, not a gauntlet. The application is the step that makes it official.
Name your chapter
Common Ground [School] or Common Ground [City].
Get approval
School chapters talk to a counsellor or teacher and use the School Club Approval Kit. Community and online chapters name an adult contact instead of a faculty advisor.
Apply to CGF
Fill out the chapter application form so we can approve the chapter, list it on this website, and set up your Discord channel.
Build your team
A core team of three to five student ambassadors, each with a defined role.
Recruit members
Present at assemblies, put up recruitment posters, and use the presentation script and outreach templates in the toolkit.
Grow the impact
Collaborate with other clubs, partner with local organizations, recruit tutors, and get students into tutoring.
Stay active
Meet weekly or every two weeks, post twice a month, contact five new local groups a month, and name a successor before a leader steps down.
In person
What a chapter actually does.
Ideas that are impactful, visible, and good evidence of leadership. The In-Person Event Planning Kit has step-by-step plans for each one.
Donation drives
Collect school supplies, hygiene products, clothing, and non-perishable food. Contact Keiko and Alana before you start so the campaign stays coordinated.
Awareness campaigns
Posters, announcements, tabling, and short classroom presentations about immigrant and refugee communities and CGF’s mission.
Fundraisers
Bake sales, snack sales, or donation tables. Written approval from CGF is required before raising money in CGF’s name.
Post creation sessions
Meet in person to plan posters and social posts together. The time counts toward community service hours.
Local volunteering
Help at shelters, community centres, or nonprofit events that align with CGF’s mission.
Recruitment and outreach
Lunch tabling and classroom announcements that bring new members and tutors into the network.
New ideas worth trying
What you get
You are not starting from nothing.
Onboarding with the Head of Chapters, a chapter toolkit, a private Discord channel, monthly follow-ups, and a monthly call with other chapter leaders. If requested, we send recruitment posters and the classroom presentation script.
Chapters also get a spotlight: CGF features one chapter a month on social media, and cross-chapter campaigns let two chapters in different countries post together on the same day.
Staying active
The bar is simple.
- Meet weekly or every two weeks.
- Send the monthly update by the 5th.
- Post at least twice a month.
- Contact at least five new local groups every month.
- Name a successor before a leader steps down.
Start here
Bring Common Ground home.
Applications are open in every country. Tell us where you are and who is on your team.