Vision & Agreements

Community Vision

Creating a community vision serves two functions:

It helps the founding team cohere and understand their own vision as a team.
Once created, it can be used to put out to the world to attract the kind of community members that you want to join your ship.

Take your time developing this. The vision should be something that reaches high and that can magnetize a collective around a vision bigger than themselves. It can often be framed as a question or inquiry (e.g. “how can 10 people learn to help each other connect, grow, and make a positive impact on the world?”). It’s most likely already been formulated in your mind and heart for some time, here is our process for bringing it into words

Process

Access the worksheet using the link above.
Make a copy of this template (This one is view-only)
Create a space to discuss these questions as a group. Make sure to give people time to answer the questions for themselves before sharing with the group otherwise the loudest voices will tend to dominate the conversation. We find it useful to do this after a tasty meal, out in the woods, etc. Find a time where you feel spacious and connected to your capacity to dream big.
Meet together as a whole group and compare responses. These meetings work best when there is a designated facilitator. Make sure to give time for each person to share.
Use a white board or post-it notes to capture responses.Discuss points of tension or difference. Find the key values & vision elements where there is strong overlap.
As a team, select a scribe to take a draft at a community vision based on the common themes and interests of the group. (Note: The vision is constantly evolving. Whatever you come up with is something that will change as time goes on.)

Where it will Live

Your community vision will live on the OpenDoor listing page for your community. (It can be updated whenever you feel it needs a refresh.)
Your community vision will also live in the founding documents for your house and will be used during interviewing and onboarding new members.