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Besides editing Communities magazine since 1993, Diana Leafe Christian offers workshops nationwide on the process of forming new ecovillages and intentional communities. She is a member of Earthaven Ecovillage in North Carolina. Acknowledgments Foreword – By Patch Adams INTRODUCTION: CREATING A LIFE TOGETHER The Successful Ten Percent What Are Intentional Communities and Ecovillages? Cohousing Communities Why Now? What You’ll Learn Here Is this Information Really Necessary? Is this Advice “Corporate”? How to Use this Book PART ONE: PLANTING THE SEEDS OF HEALTHY COMMUNITY CHAPTER 1: THE SUCCESSFUL TEN PERCENT – AND WHY NINETY PERCENT FAIL Lost Valley – How One Group Did It What Works,What Doesn’t Work? The Successful Ten Percent Why Ninety Percent Fail “Structural Conflict” – And Six Ways to Reduce It What Will it Cost? How Long Does it Take? How Many People do You Need? CHAPTER 2: YOUR ROLE AS FOUNDER What Kind of Person Founds a Community? What Else You’ll Need “If Only I Had Known!” CHAPTER 3: GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START Don’t Run Out and Buy Land – Yet When You Already Own the Property Organizing Your Group Getting Real about Finances Collecting Funds Raising Money from Suppporters Attracting and Integrating New Members Creating “Community Glue” Pioneers, Settlers, and the Flow of Members CHAPTER 4: COMMUNITY VISION – WHAT IT IS,WHY YOU NEED IT Sound a Clear Note Elements of a Community’s Vision Your Vision Documents and Vision Statements Do it First CHAPTER 5: CREATING VISION DOCUMENTS More Than One Vision? A Sacred Time “That’s Not Community!” – Hidden Expectations and Structural Conflict Exploring the Territory Sharing from the Heart Writing it Down CHAPTER 6: POWER, DECISION-MAKING, AND GOVERNANCE Power – The Ability to Influence Focused Power,Widespread Power How Consensus Works What You Need to Make Consensus Work “Pseudoconsensus” and Structural Conflict Agreement Seeking – When You Don’t Want to use Full Consensus Multi-winner Voting Community Governance – Spreading Power Widely More than One Form of Decision Making? What Decision-making Method Should You Use? PART TWO: SPROUTING NEW COMMUNITY: TECHNIQUES & TOOLS CHAPTER 7: AGREEMENTS & POLICIES: “GOOD DOCUMENTS MAKE GOOD FRIENDS” Remembering Things Differently Giving Yourselves Every Chance of Success Your Community’s Agreements and Policies Abundant Dawn’s Agreements CHAPTER 8:MAKING IT REAL: ESTABLISHING YOUR LEGAL ENTITY Why You Need a Legal Entity – Before Buying Your Property Using a Lawyer Finding the Right Lawyer CHAPTER 9: THE GREAT LAND-BUYING ADVENTURE Legal Barriers to Sustainable Development Shopping for Counties – Zoning Regulations, Building Codes, Sustainable Homesteads, and Jobs The Proactive Land Search Friendly Loans from Friends and Family Onerous Owner-financing (Better than None at All) Do-it-Yourself Refinancing with a “Shoe Box Bank” When One Person Buys the Property Acquiring Fully Developed “Turn Key” Property – Confidence, Persistence, and Negotiation If at First You Don’t Succeed CHAPTER 10: FINDING THE RIGHT PROPERTY Choosing Your Site Criteria How Much Land Do You Want? Raw Land – Lower Initial Cost, Years of Effort Developed Land – Electricity, Toilets, and Showers Fully Developed Turn-key Property – Move Right In (With a Big Financial Bite) Buying Property Like the Professionals Do Conducting the Search – On Your Own or with a Real Estate Agent Investigating Likely Properties Taking Property Off the Market While You do Further Research CHAPTER 11: NEIGHBORS AND ZONING How Zoning Issues can Impact Community Plans Zoning Issues and Your Property Gambling with Former Use Permits Seeking a Zoning Exception Negotiating for What You Want Zoning Exceptions, Neighbors, and Public Hearings CHAPTER 12: FINANCING YOUR PROPERTY (LOANS YOU CAN LIVE WITH) About “Renting Money” – What You Should Know Private Financing When One Member Buys the Property Protecting Your Sole Owner with a Triple Net Lease Owner Financing Bank Financing Drawing on the Cohousing Model What about Grants and Donations? Refinancing Your Property CHAPTER 13: DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE HUMAN SETTLEMENTS Earthaven’s Development Process Listening to your Land Creating your Site Plan Yourselves Avoiding “Urban Refugee” Syndrome Creating Privacy in the Midst of Community Designing for Conviviality CHAPTER 14: INTERNAL COMMUNITY FINANCES (CAN WE AFFORD TO LIVE THERE?) Rural Communities -How Will your Members Make a Living? The Risks of Community Businesses Keeping Member Assessments Affordable Joining Fees Housing Arrangements Site Lease Fees and the Debt Load Labor Requirements Building Equity Can People Afford to Join You? CHAPTER 15: LEGAL ENTITIES FOR OWNING PROPERTY Checklist for Choosing a Legal Entity How You’ll Hold Title and Arrange Members’ Use Rights Organizational Flexibility How You’ll be Taxed Overview: Corporations and Non-profit Corporations Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs) Homeowners Associations – Tax Advantages (and Disadvantages) Condominium Associations Housing Co-ops – Separate Ownership and Use Rights Non-exempt Non-profit Corporations CHAPTER 16: IF YOU’RE USING A TAX-EXEMPT NON-PROFIT Advantages of a 501(c)3 – Donations, Tax Breaks, Limited Liability Disadvantages of a 501(c)3 – Onerous Requirements, Irrecoverable Assets Land-owning Entities and 501(c)3 Corporations – The Best of Both Worlds How One Group Retained Control of its Board Title-holding Corporations – Collecting Income from “Passive” Sources Private Land Trusts – Protecting the Land Community Land Trusts – An Irrevocable Decision For “Common Treasury” Communities – 501(d) Non-profit Corporations PART THREE: THRIVING IN COMMUNITY – ENRICHING THE SOIL CHAPTER 17: COMMUNICATION, PROCESS, AND DEALING WITH CONFLICT: THE HEART OF HEALTHY COMMUNITY The “Rock Polisher” Effect Nourishing Sustainable Relationships The Roots of Conflict: Emotionally-charged Needs High Woundedness,High Willingness Seven Kinds of Community Conflict We Wish We’d Left Behind Twenty-four Common Sources of Community Conflict The Fine Art of Offering Feedback Receiving Feedback – Listening for Kernels of Truth Threshing Meetings Creating Specific Conflict Resolution Agreements Helping Each Other Stay Accountable to the Group A Graduated Series of Consequences CHAPTER 18: SELECTING PEOPLE TO JOIN YOU Select for Emotional Maturity -the “Narrow Door” But is it Community? Passive Victims, Outraged Victims Membership Screening and the Law Dealing Well with Saying “No” How Can You Tell? Questions, References, “Long Engagements” APPENDIX 1: SAMPLE COMMUNITY VISION DOCUMENTS APPENDIX 2: SAMPLE COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS APPENDIX 3: SETTING UP AND MAINTAINING A 501(C)3 NON-PROFIT RESOURCES INDEX
