Village Builders are...

Individuals or teams who want to bring their local communities together using our Village Gathering Model.

The Village Building Cohort is...

A project running from October 2024 to April 2025 to test our Village Gathering Model. Our aim is to get self-sustaining regular community gatherings that promote deepening connection in all kinds of communities around the world. This pilot project is organized as a co-learning experience with all builders in the cohort.

Q&A Sheet For Potential Builders

Watch our September 23rd Kick-Off Call Recording

Meet the 2024-2025 Builders!

2024 Cohort Is Full!

Thank you to all who signed up

Our builders represent diverse people passionate about bringing their local communities together. From a refugee settlement in Uganda to a condo building in Tacoma, these builders will be testing out our Village Gathering Model all over the world in all kinds of communities.

Check Out our Blog To Follow Their Stories!

How the Cohort Works

Builder Cohort

Builders join the cohort if they are interested in committing 6-9 months to bring together their neighbors or community members.

Builders will be provided a model to work with, tools to use, and a support structure to help them with each step of the process.

The primary goals for each Builder are;

Meet with a few existing connections to share about the project and see who would like to help
Hold a first gathering
Plan an outreach campaign to inform the larger community about ongoing gatherings
Recruit 20 members
Train 5 members to take roles during gatherings

Builder Support

A team of coaches and experienced community builders will lead this cohort from start to finish, providing support in three key ways:

Weekly Calls - Builders will attend optional weekly VillageCore calls where trainings, skill workshops, and opportunities to check in are offered.
1:1 Support - each Builder is assigned a Support Team member and will check in with them regularly on their efforts
Inspiration & Acknowledgement - the team will provide incentives, fun events and activities, and celebrations of milestones as each builder moves through their goals

Assessment Team

Builders will use our VillageCo Village Building Toolkit V1 in a co-learning project to see what works, what needs tweaking, and what we can improve for the next cohort.

A team of researchers will be following the work of the Builders and Support Team to understand the effectiveness of the Village Gathering Model at building connections within a community. They will also assess modifications and deviations from the model and the impact on outcomes.

Most importantly, the research team will advice VillageCo work teams on how to improve the tools and model for the next cohort.

Village Builder Resources

Village Builders are not alone in their work! Here are a few resources that Village Builders anywhere will be using to bring together their neighbors

Weekly VillageCore Calls

VillageCore is a weekly call facilitated by Village Affairs Officers at VillageCo.

Mission: we steward and grow our Villages by recruiting members, expanding role experience, and addressing any issues related to Village.

Village Builders will use VillageCore in these primary ways;

To receive training and support
To invite new members for a New Member Orientation
To invite members to receive role trainings
To co-work on recruitment and role expansion administrative tasks

Village Platform

Village Builders will have access to our Village Platform - software designed specifically for Village Builders to keep track of visitors and members, plan gatherings, and monitor goals and metrics.

The Village Platform also provides backbone communications to Villages through an email system that sends invitations, bulletins, and summary emails surrounding each gathering.

The Village Platform is open source, providing a way for a Village community to wholly own and control their data.

Village Tools

Builders also have access to a complete, customized set of tools which include everything they need to start and run ongoing gatherings. These tools include;

Signs to post directing visitors to the gathering
Posters to put up and social media post images to use
Scripts and program guides to facilitate gatherings
Role training documents
Gathering Cards used to randomly pair participants with each other during the gathering
Information sheets about Village
Village Builder Packet including pre-launch checklists, goals sheets, and best practices

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