Taster: A Learning Community for Community Stewards

Are you a Community Steward? You might be called a manager, (vice) president, point-person, coach, leader, entrepreneur, teacher, event-planner, consultant, principal, director, counselor, boss, librarian, instructor, chief-of-something, coordinator, organizer, or any number of other titles. But regardless of the official title you have, you are someone who helps coordinate the steering of a group of people – a community. You are a part of a hub in a wheel that makes sure that that wheel keeps turning to help benefit the group.

Does that description fit? Then this learning community is for you! Not sure, then this FREE taster session is where you can join us to find out!

For this free session, we will have fun, mingle (meet new people!), and answer any questions you have about the series.

Here is the description of the full series:

Join us for an impactful eight weeks to get inspired by your peers, feel grounded by new ideas, and make connections that will last a lifetime.

Each week of this series we will meet together to focus on a section of our Guide for Community Stewards. The exact focus of the session will depend on our group, and what everyone is facing at that moment, but below is an outline of the weekly topics, and what might be covered under each one.

Sessions will meet for 1-hour, except for the opening and closing sessions, which will meet for 1.5 hours. If you are unable to make a session, no worries, all of the materials will be sent to you, (recordings will not be made nor shared to respect the confidentiality of this group).

This will truly be a fun and inspiring (dare we say, life-changing?) experience! Please reach out to us at evajomeyers@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Weekly Topics (based on our new Guide for Community Stewards!)

I. Gather and Connect

• Consider more closely how you design and facilitate community events
• Understand which gathering options will work best for your group
• Gain insight into how to increase community connections

II. Learn Together

• Discuss how to help your community share their expertise with each other including through formal learning relationships and activities
• Look at how to integrate reflection and storytelling as a way to learn and grow together
• Share and learn strategies to collect and integrate community feedback in authentic and meaningful ways

III. Cultivate your Membership

• Gain insight into how to find, retain, and uplift community members
• Develop a vision for what membership means for your community
• Understand how to create roles and space to allow everyone to participate and contribute
• Notice membership gaps and address them

IV. Communicate Clearly and Consistently

• Develop a communications strategy
• Learn ways to increase transparency and coherent documentation within your community
• Develop a plan to celebrate and acknowledge community contributions
• Share and learn strategies to foster clear, open channels of communication

V. Be Intentional with Power

• Notice how habituated dynamics may be influencing your thoughts, feelings, and actions about your community
• Understand how to address traditional power differentials and hierarchies present in your community
• Rethink the structure and language you use to upend those dynamics

VI. Model Empowering Governance Structures

• Define the purpose of your community, and outline what success will look like for you
• Connect your community vision to governance, decision-making, and member expectations
• Understand how to collect and utilize community input

VII. Build an Aligned Business Model

• Be able to clearly outline what resources you need and the most aligned way to source those
• Identify membership fee structures and options that will work for your community
• Understand your legal structure options
• Develop accounting and administrative protocols

VIII. Prepare for the Unknown

• Develop protocols for handling incidents, privacy, and the unexpected
• Understand how to foster creativity and resilience
• Recognize when it’s time for big change within your community

Dates and Times:

Please note that all sessions meet on Tuesdays.

1. September 24: 9am - 10:30am PT (12 - 1:30pm ET / 11am - 12:30pm CT)
2. October 1: 9am - 10am PT (12pm - 1pm ET / 11am - 12pm CT)
3. October 8: 9am - 10am PT (12pm - 1pm ET / 11am - 12pm CT)
4. October 15: 9am - 10am PT (12pm - 1pm ET / 11am - 12pm CT)
5. October 22: 9am - 10am PT (12pm - 1pm ET / 11am - 12pm CT)
6. October 29: 9am - 10am PT (12pm - 1pm ET / 11am - 12pm CT)
7. November 5: 9am - 10am PT (12pm - 1pm ET / 11am - 12pm CT)
8. November 12: 9am - 10:30am PT (12pm - 1:30pm ET / 11am - 12:30pm CT)

About the facilitators:

Arika Virapongse and Eva Jo Meyers met 20 years ago as Fulbright scholars in Thailand. In 2022 they launched a project to co-author a guide for community stewards, in order to support leaders in steering more empowered and impactful communities of purpose. Arika and Eva both have extensive experience facilitating mission-driven learning initiatives and communities of practice, and strive to create spaces where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and heard. You can read more about Arika, here, and more about Eva, here. To peek into the guide they recently authored, click here.