The Friends of Follett Campaign

Miss Follett was a very distinguished woman, who wrote two books on philosophy, which made a great mark, and are likely to make a greater mark in the future. In fact, Miss Follett, in my opinion, lived before her time. – Dame Katharine Furse in 1934, shortly after Follett’s death.

I am sometimes told that mine is a counsel of perfection only to be realized AD the millennium, but we cannot take even the first step until we have chosen our path. – MPF, The New State, 1918

Perhaps you were drawn to Mary Parker Follett through the field of management. Or through a career in dispute resolution. Or studies in public administration, social work or political science. Regardless of how you arrived here, you know how important Follett’s insights have been, how under-recognized Follett remains, and how important her work is for our world today.

Since the launch of the Mary Parker Foundation in 2026, we’ve accomplished A LOT based almost entirely on dedicated volunteer energy. Over the past year we’ve focused on laying groundwork: getting connected; gathering and making resources easily accessible to the wider public; building awareness of Follett’s work for new audiences; and planting new seeds for positive change. Along the way, our network of Follett fans like you has grown to more than 600 in 53 countries.

True to the spirit of Follett’s work, the Foundation’s activities have been designed not only to honor Follett’s legacy, but to help inspire and empower today’s generations to bring to life the promise of democracy as a creative experience.

On the Follett Legacy side of our mission:

  • We’ve made key Follett writings easily accessible directly on our website;
  • We’ve developed the “Who Cited Follett?” database (now up to more than 860 citations!); and
  • We’ve been hosting the Zoom-based Follett Talks series; are exploring how to catalyze creation of a documentary about Follett’s life and work; and we began an effort to get Follett’s Creative Experience reissued by a well-known publisher.

Activities on the Democracy as a Creative Experience side of our mission—the action-oriented dimension—have included:

  • Organizing the in-person Mary Parker Follett Conversation on Creative Democracy–an in-person gathering oriented around creating new insights and new initiatives (November 2-4);
  • Launching the first-ever Declarations of Interdependence Contest for schools; and
  • Working to catalyze an innovative, participatory approach to the design of truly meaningful civics education in and by communities.

As we build our track record, grow stronger as a community, and partner with other organizations, the capacity to fulfill our mission will grow ever stronger. In the remainder of 2026 and into 2027, we look forward to pursuing collaborations and grant funding for the Follett-inspired programs and projects that fire our imaginations!

Your time, ideas, energy, and skills are welcome! (see below for volunteer opportunities) And..

Your financial contributions, no matter the size, will help us cover administrative costs, such as those related to website hosting and development, communication tools like Zoom, and more. You can use the Givebutter form below to make a contribution. Thank you for your support.

Contributions by US taxpayers are tax-deductible under the IRS’ 501(c)3 rules for public charities.

Volunteer Opportunities

We are seeking volunteer help in the following areas:

  • 2026 Follett Conversation on Creative Democracy: Assistance with planning and coordination for this conference to be held in the fall of 2026.
  • Follett Talks: Supporting these regular online discussions using the Zoom platform.
  • Declarations of Interdependence Contest: Assisting with this contest for K-12 schools that will be run from fall 2026 through spring 2027.
  • Mary Parker Follett Documentary: Assisting in an effort to catalyze the production of a documentary about the life and work of Mary Parker Follett.
  • Follett References Project: Assisting with this effort to create a comprehensive bibliography of works citing Follett.
  • General administrative assistance.

Please reach out via info (at) follettfdn.org if you are interested in volunteering.