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Community Connect 2023
On this page:
- Event description
- Which event should I attend?
- About Community Connect for Newbies + Registration
- About Community Connect for Starters + Registration
- About Community Connect for Seekers + Registration
- About Community Connect for Residents + Registration
- Location
- The Community Connect Experience
- Testimonials for Community Connect
Event Description
Gather around our virtual hearth for an opportunity to connect and share with other communitarians around the globe.
Imagine gathering in the common house, but online and with communitarians across the world. You’ll meet new friends (including FIC staff), share your intentional community dreams or experiences, and be inspired by others. This is a chance to network with and learn from others, all for the price of a coffee.
Community Connect is for:
- Community Newbies: 1st Wednesday of the month from
10:30am-12pm Pacific / 11:30am-1pm Mountain / 12:30-2pm Central / 1:30-3pm Eastern - Community Starters: 2nd Thursday of the month from
4-5:30pm Pacific / 5-6:30pm Mountain / 6-7:30pm Central / 7-8:30pm Eastern - Community Seekers: 3rd Thursday of the month from
11am-12:30pm Pacific / 12-1:30pm Mountain / 1-2:30pm Central / 2-3:30pm Eastern - Community Residents: 4th Thursday of the month from
4-5:30pm Pacific / 5-6:30pm Mountain / 6-7:30pm Central / 7-8:30pm Eastern
Learn more below about which event will best meet your needs.
Which should I attend?
Newbies Community Connect is for:
- people who want to learn more about intentional community, in general
- people who want to learn more about the resources available to you to start your intentional community journey
Starters Community Connect is for:
- people who are interested in creating an intentional community
- individuals or groups in the early stages of dreaming or designing a new community
Seekers Community Connect is for:
- people considering joining or actively visiting communities
- people in the process of deciding on a community to join
Residents Community Connect is for:
- people who currently live in an intentional community
- people who have previously lived in an intentional community and are wanting to reside in community again
About Community Connect for Newbies
What you get from the Newbie Community Connect experience:
- a sense for what’s alive in the communities movement right now
- networking with presenters and fellow participants
- the opportunity to get your community questions answered
- inspiration and resources for your own community journey
About your Host
Neil Planchon (He/Him pronouns)
Neil is a founding owner and co-developer of Swan’s Market Cohousing, and longtime FIC and Cohousing ambassador. Over the last 20+ years, he has held volunteer and leadership staff roles with the Cohousing Association of the US and the Cohousing Research Network. His national communities tours have introduced thousands to the world of cohousing and intentional communities. He is a certified life coach who helps individuals through life’s many transitions. He loves working with seekers, residents of intentional communities, nonprofit technology leaders and other coaches. Neil is a connector and champion for open source software.
About Community Connect for Starters
What you get from the Starter Community Connect experience:
- network building with presenters and other intentional community starters
- share stories with other aspiring founders
- gain new ideas, inspiration and allies in your community journey
About your Host
Avi Kruley (She/Her pronouns)
Avi grew up in the village of Oak Park, IL—a diverse community where most people know your name. With a BA in English/Creative Writing from Stanford University and a dual degree MBA/MPA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School, Avi builds bridges from our ideals to our daily life. She recently served as the Director of Community Well-Being at Mount Madonna Center, and continues to explore the question of how we can make intentional communities more accessible and sustainable. Avi is available for organizing and facilitating workshops and retreats, consultations, and anytime someone says, “It’s time to play!”
About Community Connect for Seekers
What you get from the Seeker Community Connect experience:
- network building with presenters and other community seekers
- learn about the intentional community options available
- learn the process for joining an intentional community
- find the community that’s right for you!
About your Host
Cynthia Tina (She/Her pronouns)
Cynthia is the “community matchmaker” helping people find and join the hundreds of intentional communities she has visited and worked with around the globe. She is a speaker, educator, and former co-director at the Foundation for Intentional Community. Her mission is to strengthen the bridge between sustainable communities and mainstream society. After a decade of travel, Cynthia now lives at an ecovillage in Vermont where she’s building a passive solar home, tending a garden, and guiding yoga classes. She has a B.A. in Sustainability from Goddard College, as well as certifications in Ecovillage and Permaculture design. Learn more and book a community matchmaking session with Cynthia at www.cynthiatina.com.
About Community Connect for Residents
What you get from the Starter Community Connect experience:
- network building with presenters and other community residents
- learn from each other about the challenges and successes experienced living in community
- foster mutual support between communities and for the movement as a whole
- discussions on topics important to people living in community
About your Host
Sky Blue (They/Them pronouns)
Sky has spent 22 years living, working, and organizing in intentional communities, cooperatives, and community organizations. Their parents met in Twin Oaks Community in the late 70’s, where Sky moved as an adult and raised a child. Sky has visited over 130 different communities, worked with the Federation of Egalitarian Communities and Global Ecovillage Network of North America, co-organized numerous communities conferences, and has served as Executive Director and on the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Intentional community. They contribute to a variety of groups as an organizer, consultant, and speaker.
Location
You’ll get the Zoom link after you register in your confirmation email. Please check the spam folder of the inbox you use to register for an email from orders@ic.org.
The Community Connect Experience
Live Zoom Sessions
Nothing pre-recorded here! When you sign-up for Community Connect, you’ll have the opportunity to join a live session on Zoom with the event host and other participants.
Affordable and Accessible
All our events are run on a sliding scale basis. Generous donations cover the costs for low-income attendees. FIC is committed to making our programs accessible to people of all walks of life.
Stay Connected on the Forum
All Community Connect participants will have access to a private area of the FIC Forum to stay connected with the host and other participants.
Testimonials for Community Connect
“I enjoyed getting to speak with a variety of people around the world with both similar and different ideas about community. An excellent opportunity to share ideas and have them supported and validated by others at different stages of the community building and living process.”
-Melanie Conran
“This is a great way to connect with others who are involved in intentional community on every level.”
-Steve Fiko
“There is a nice unpretentious character to the discussion, and that works for me. And any time I listen to others who are somewhere on the spectrum of Intentional Communities processes, I learn things.”
-Robert Feagan
“I enjoyed it all. Mostly just enjoyed seeing what others are doing around creating community. The facilitation was really great, and I really enjoyed it all and left feeling a bit more connected.”
-Tanager Kastner
“These are a great way for connecting with others who have a passion for community. I recommend it to anyone at any level of interest or experience in community.”
-Steve Fuji
“I enjoyed meeting young people who are just beginning the “community” journey, and old folks who know a lot about communities, and middle agers who help out a lot.”
-Linda Kato
