Membership Life Cycle

Integration Process:

People can apply¹ to work as Volunteers² / Interns at the community. Volunteers have no formal responsibilities, and need only pay the (actual, so cheap) cost of their room & board to stay. Volunteers must be Hosted by an Active, Full member of the Community, who helps them find their way to the tools and resources available within the community for the skills they came (or become) inspired to learn. If they sense that the volunteer may be interested in joining the Community & be a good fit for the community, then they also provide guidance or mentoring for the necessary skills to do so, particularly: How Self-managing organizations work, deep listening, the Community Ground Rules, Values, and Governance process, and anything else they may need or want to know.

Volunteers are encouraged to explore in depth what ways the organization’s purpose resonates (or doesn’t) with their own true calling & longings.³ It is also a safe space for exploration of wholeness. The volunteer period allows them to sense whether their heart is at work & whether they are in the right place. Members of the Community are encouraged to get to know volunteers, and really feel each other out during the volunteer period.

After 3 months⁴ of Residence, volunteers may⁵ apply for Provisional Membership.

Provisional Membership is applied for by Petition. The primary point of the Provisional & Full Membership Applications / Petition Process is for the existing membership to determine whether they believe the potential member is a good fit in terms of their alignment with the Community’s Values and Purpose + whether they want to continue living / working with them.

Petitions are posted online or via the Community Bulletin Board as an open letter that allows the prospective member to reflect on their personal calling and how/whether it resonates with the Community’s purpose. Petitions are Granted when 1/3 of the Active, Full Members of the Community Sign the prospective member’s Petition. "Welcome!" events / parties for new members are strongly encouraged.

A Provisional Member can participate in the Community Governance Process & has all the rights and responsibilities of a full member except for Voting Rights/ Principled Objection Rights. After 6 months of Provisional Membership, a Provisional Member can Petition for Full Membership, which is Granted when 2/3 of the Active, Full Members of the Community sign their petition.

Full members are welcome⁶ to buy in to their community (see below). Provisional & Full members have financial responsibilities to their community (ref: Community Finances), & decision making rights (ref: Governance)

[1] The primary goal of the application is to determine “Do we sense that we are meant to journey together?”

[2] When people are self-motivated, they can pick up new skills and experience in surprisingly little time.

[3] Because where organizational purpose and individual calling start to resonate with and reinforce each other, truly extraordinary things happen…

[4] This provides ample time for both parties to really feel each other out, and decide whether they’re a good fit &  want to live / work together on a daily basis

[5] Or may not: their choice; there’s no rush & no commitment required…

[6] If Shares are available

Rights & Responsibilities of Members:

Membership entails the following rights and responsibilities:

• The right to live on the land (in conformance with their Community’s agreements regarding doing so).
• Participation in the decision-making processes.
  • Full members have full decision making rights.
  • Provisional members have all such rights except for the right to Vote & the right of Principled Objection. For more information, see “Governance”
• Financial profit & expense - sharing with the Community. For more information, see “Community Finances".

​Members are welcome to buy in to their own communities (if shares are available). Buy-ins are essentially capital contributions that replace Investor Contributions used to fund the Initial start-up expenses. 

Active vs Inactive Membership:

Members who fall more than 10 days behind on their financial responsibilities to the Community becomes Inactive until they catch up. Inactive Members are basically limited to the same powers as Provisional members because only Active, Full members can sign Membership Petitions, Vote, and raise Principled Objections. Catching up on one's financial responsibilities automatically restores their Active Status.

Any member who falls more than 6 months behind on their financial responsibilities automatically loses (terminates) their membership. Any outstanding financial obligations will be deducted from their exit buy-out (see below).

Departures:

Anyone can resign from the community at any time simply by publicly posting their decision to do so (with or without an explanation). It is strongly encouraged that Departing Members be thrown a "gratitude" good-bye event (designed according to what others imagine they would enjoy).¹

• Upon membership termination, departing members receive a Buyout of their Buy-in Capital, less any outstanding financial obligations they may have to the community, plus any money the Community may have agreed to pay them back upon their departure (i.e. capital they donated to a specific project with agreement of payback). At the Community’s sole discretion, this buyout may be amortized over any reasonable period of time… the intent is that buyouts be accomplished sooner than later (for the comfort of the departing member) while honoring any restrictions on the Community’s current ability to pay the buyout.
• Buyouts shall be paid out as soon as economically feasible without causing undo financial strain on the community, and shall meantime accrue interest equal to the current interest rate on the land’s primary mortgage note (or the current Prime Rate if there is no such note).
• Members of the community may petition to terminate another member’s membership status only for Aggrieved Cause.² The Petition must carry ¾ of the Active Full Membership’s signatures to carry.
• Departing members forfeit their right to live on the land, and must move off within 30 days of membership termination.

Miscellaneous:

• No-one can be a Provisional Member for more than 12 months. If Full Membership is not attained within 12 months of attaining Provisional Membership, it’s basically a no-match and the applicant is well advised to look for a better fit elsewhere.
• Volunteers can stay indefinitely, but may be asked to leave if things aren’t working out. 
• Visitors are classed exactly like Volunteers, but it is presumed that they are there more to visit friends and family than to scope out the Community for long-term membership. 
• It is not recommended that Significant Others be admitted to the Community as Members solely on the basis of Relationship Status. Too often, breakups occur, resulting in a member who was never particularly committed to the Community's mission and values. On the other hand, a Significant Other who is clearly a good fit for the Community and engaged in its core mission could healthily be approved for Membership.
• When children of Community Members turn 18 they may stay on as Visitors or engage in the Membership application process.

As with everything in the Foundation Template, individual Communities may choose to shift the rules of the game via their normal Governance Process.

[1] i.e. where everybody comes prepared with a personal story to celebrate the departing member

[2] Where someone is actually harmed: Members are advised to use this only as a last resort where real harm has been done: it’s a Pandora’s Box & a slippery slope…