The Intentional community workshop is a special track for people interested in learning about intentional communities. It will be held as part of the Weekend 1.5 program, on July 26 - 28.
Friday July 26
6 pm Dinner
7:30 – 8:30pm Introduction to Community Living
8:30 – 9:00 Q & A
Saturday July 27
8 am Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30 am
Three aspects of a healthy, thriving community: (1) "community glue," (2) good process & communication skills, (3) effective project management. Benefiting and influence all three: Governance. Difference between governance and decision-making. Preventing "structural conflict." The "Visionary/Idealistic — Community Experience" Scale.
10:30 – 10:45 – break
10:45 – 11:00 am
Ways communities own land together. Kinds of communities, including co-housing. Different ways communities finance properties: (1) owner-financed, (2) private loans from members,
(3) private loans from friends & families, (4) one or two members buy property and serve as "bank" until paid off, (5) bank loan/mortgages, (6) Revolving Loan Fund.
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 pm
Overview: No specific legal entities just for intentional communities. Legal entities (from businesses or real estate law) for co-owning property. (Not tenants in common or joint tenants.) Housing co-ops/land co-ops, LLCs, Homeowners Associations/Condo Associations, 501©3 nonprofits (not recommended for land ownership), non-exempt nonprofits. Membership flexibility, bank loan potential, and tax consequences for each. Examples of communities that use two or more legal entities together to meet their specific needs.
2:30 – 2:50 break
2:50 – 3:50 pm
Vision, mission, and aim for a community. Governance methods with a built-in decision-making method: Sociocracy, Holacracy. Why I recommend Sociocracy. Resources for learning more.
Decision-making methods only: Difference between the consensus process and the consensus decision rule. Why I no longer recommend consensus as it's usually practised in intentional communities (consensus with unanimity, consensus with no recourse if someone blocks.) Why I recommend the N St. Consensus Method instead. Resources for learning more.
3:50- 4:10 break
4:10 – 5:30 pm
Membership processes. Founders' Perks. Anything else workshop participants would like to talk about. Workshop closing and evaluation.
6 pm Dinner
Sunday July 28
8 am Breakfast
9 -11 am Breakout sessions: Where do we go from here?
12 noon Lunch …
workshop is over