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Laura Banks published Am I Stuck on My Phase Until I Recruit Someone? in Website FAQ 2018-02-18 18:54:37 -0600 on February 18, 2018 at 06:54 PM (CST)
Am I Stuck on My Phase Until I Recruit Someone?
One of our website users wrote us:
"Am I on phase 0 [or any phase I am on] until I successfully recruit someone? I’ve sent my link to people but they’re waiting to see how I experience The Transition before they join up. I’m very uncomfortable trying to do marketing type things, but it will come more naturally, I’m sure, after I’ve started working with Transition members and have a testimonial of my own to share."
A:Our official response was:
"Our team [The Transition Team] is very careful when crafting word choice on the site. When we say “I have helped The Transition Spread the Word by referring one new website user, using the Memory Jogger.” we mean just that. If we wanted to make sure someone joined because of one of our website users Spreading the Word we would have used the word “Recruit” for that task. We would never delay an active participant knowingly, because we were making their success based off of someone else’s actions. As an organization we do not believe in “Spray and Pray” marketing where a person or group spam info all over the web and pray it brings in the right people. We believe in developing meaningful relationships that build and grow as time progresses. That’s why we have people invite people they know, like, and trust on a 1-on-1 basis and reflect on who they know personally who have values aligned with those who are part of The Transition. We know a lot of people are in the same boat as you, where other people are using you as their guinea pig to test the water and we don’t want anyone to force or feel forced to be part of our organization, that kind of system doesn’t create the better world we strive for. As long as you Spread the Word and let others know what you are up to we are happy with that. Our mission cannot thrive if our organization is stagnant. The site gets better and better as each new person like you, joins and becomes active on the site."
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Laura Banks published Where Can I Find Testimonials for The Transition? in The Transition FAQ 2018-02-18 18:42:50 -0600 on February 18, 2018 at 06:42 PM (CST)
Where Can I Find Testimonials for The Transition?
A website user wrote us:
"I'm on Phase 0, on the 'Spread the Word' step. When I tell friends about the Transition, I would like to say, "Look what they've accomplished." And "when you join, you will be able to network with people who are doing x and y." Are there public testimonials that I could link to, or recent blog posts or social media updates?"
A:Our official response was:
"There are various places on the site that relate to the question you ask, but if you are anything like those of us on The Transition Team you might not find them currently in a state that satisfies what you are looking for.
We have an Endorsements page.
Individuals or Groups leave their personal reasons for why they endorse and support the work of The Transition here.
We are collecting "I'm Part of The Transition..." videos for our Youtube channel.
Over 30 people have committed to making a video for us, only 1 has been submitted.
We have the Report Portal for individuals or BUDs to submit their progress reports.
Most reports have not been substantial enough to be considered "news worthy" (not written in article format, no photos or video submitted etc. a common complaint is that The Transition Team does not do this for the individual or group, but given our team's work load and the amount of people registered and using the site this is an extremely unreasonable expectation to have). Our user base is telling us about their "successes" (however they personally define success), during their Progression Sessions or personal conversations, but they are not then being submitted as Progress Reports. Another issue is groups that are proving to be moving along towards their goals in a productive fashion don't want to report anything officially until they have hit one of their major targets that they feel would be more "exciting" (in instances like this we miss out on posts with photos of them working doing gardening, rehab work or doing every day type tasks pertaining to their cottage industry or income producing work.), because they feel most people would not be interested.
Progress Reports are then posted in the Updates section of the site.
So far one Progress Report has been properly written, submitted and posted.
We have Case Study information for Contributors to review.
While this is research material currently and not "successes" of current website users it demonstrates the feasibility of objectives we propose on The Transition website. In the future we hope to feature material from our actual user base, but such reports have not been submitted. We also intend to get more case studies up from our research, but given our team's work load and the needs of our active users this has not been marked as a high priority task.
Individuals can submit projects they want to start.
Most individuals who register on our site have a vision, but are currently alone. The vast majority of our user base are in the early phases gaining the skills they need to find a team and begin developing a group project.
Ultimately our site is co-created by those using it. While in the past we tried reminding people of commitments, we have found that to be ineffective for those who have not made it through the early phases and thus have not yet done personal development work. We have found that website users who have not yet made it to Phase 2 see reminders as "nagging" making them feel demotivated which does not help The Transition reach long term goals. We are continuing to do research to discover how we can help our user base adapt a mindset of radical responsibility that helps them see the larger vision that our organization is working towards. The more people use the site and are active on Your Action Plan the better it gets!"
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Laura Banks published My expectations in Site Expectations 2018-01-23 09:11:07 -0600 on January 23, 2018 at 09:11 AM (CST)
My expectations
1. I hope to get more involved in alternative economic systems and meet people who may be interested in joining the commune we are starting. 2. I don't know yet how active I will be. I could make time daily. 3. I don't expect anyone to do my work for me. Ideally I will contribute more than I take. 4. I hope this will be a long term relationship. 5. I don't have any expectations about funding from The Transition but it would be wonderful to find help with fundraising needs. 6. Personal development is very important to me, but I'm here more for help developing the community. 7. Yes!! 8. Sure. 9. I hope so, and I imagine that would happen through personal friendships. 10. I've been getting responses in a few days time. So far it's been all Nicole! Is there anyone else? 11. I have hopes more than expectations. I definitely don't expect to get more than I give.
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Laura Banks published Do I need to recruit to get to the next Phase? in Website FAQ 2018-01-20 17:55:36 -0600 on January 20, 2018 at 05:55 PM (CST)
Do I have to recruit to get to the next Phase on Your Action Plan?
A website user asked us "Am I on phase 0 [or any phase I am on] until I successfully recruit someone? I’ve sent my link to people but they’re waiting to see how I experience The Transition before they join up. I’m very uncomfortable trying to do marketing type things, but it will come more naturally, I’m sure, after I’ve started working with Transition members and have a testimonial of my own to share."
A:Our response is: Our team is very careful when crafting word choice on the site. When the tasks says“I have helped The Transition Spread the Word by referring one new website user, using the Memory Jogger.” we mean just that. If we wanted to make sure someone joined because of one of our website users Spreading the Word we would have used the word “Recruit” for that task. We would never delay an active participant knowingly, because we were making their success based off of someone else’s actions. As an organization we do not believe in “Spray and Pray” marketing where a person or group spam info all over the web and pray it brings in the right people. We believe in developing meaningful relationships that build and grow as time progresses. That's why we offer Examples of Spreading the Word so our website users can see positive examples of how to bring The Transition into a conversation with their peers. That’s also why we have people invite people they know, like, and trust on a 1-on-1 basis using their referral link and give them the opportunity to reflect on who they know personally who have values aligned with those who are part of The Transition. We know a lot of individuals friends or colleagues are using them as a guinea pig to test the water and we don’t want anyone to force or feel forced to be part of our organization, that kind of system doesn’t create the better world we strive for. As long as you Spread the Word and let others know what you are up to we are happy with that. If you are talking about The Transition to other people feel free to check the box and move on to your next task on your given Phase. Our Mission cannot thrive if our organization is stagnant. The site gets better and better as each new person LIKE YOU joins and becomes active on the site.
Inspired by: The Suggestion Box
Contributors: Laura Bochinski
Recommended Reading: Memory Jogger, Our Mission, Spread the Word
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Laura Banks commented on Set Your Intention- Step 1 2018-01-14 07:33:00 -0600 on January 14, 2018 at 07:33 AM (CST)I’m here to find people to help found the intentional community my partner and I are starting in Arizona. Our focus is on regenerating the forty acres we’ve taken responsibility for.
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Laura Banks commented on Report Portal 2018-01-10 14:28:34 -0600 on January 10, 2018 at 02:28 PM (CST)We are planting an orchard of fruit and nut trees for the local food bank. So far we have 14 trees in the ground and we expect them to start producing next year. Seven of the trees have sponsors who reimbursed us for the cost of buying them. When all of the trees we currently have are sponsored, we will get more.
We have filed articles of incorporation with the state of Arizona for our intentional community, which is structured as a 501(d).Report Portal
TELL US HOW YOU'VE BEEN HELPING
Thanks for helping make a difference in your community.
How did you help out The Transition, on a grassroots level, in your community?
- Volunteered at a local event
- Helped friends and family get involved
- Shared your story
- Wrote a letter to a local paper
- Shared a story on Twitter or Facebook
- Helping the Transition Team to work on the website
- Something else?
Be sure to include how many hours of your time you contributed as well!Take a few minutes to tell us which activities you took part in, and let us know how it went.
Submit Progress
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Laura Banks endorsed 2018-01-10 09:43:00 -0600 on January 10, 2018 at 09:43 AM (CST)
Our Trust
After reading this, please endorse below as The Transition sees YOU as one of our many beneficiaries.
Intent: We unite and empower people to take positive action towards enhancing and protecting all life and our environment for future generations.
Purpose: Our purpose is to construct real solutions by providing the support, space, and resources for the common heritage of the Earth's resources and to do so via our collective knowledge. We are committed to building community projects that promote organic farming, alternative transportation, clean drinking water, renewable energy, green building, and using music and the arts to convey the message.
With a special focus on street-involved youth and families living in poverty, we encourage community involvement through collaborative volunteerism, education, programs and media events. We help others enhance their food and housing security, learn life skills, and build confidence to make the transition to a more sustainable lifestyle - leading to a Global Egalitarian System for the good of all.
We strive to create an inclusive community where all members have the skills, confidence, and support to live a healthy life. It is our pledge to each other and to the world we are creating, to help each other live life to the fullest.
Our method of collaboration within our Transition Inter-Community Network is based on scientific benchmarks to meet everyone's’ needs - instead of what’s most profitable - therefore exchange between members requires no monetary attachment.
Res:
- Information
- Benchmarks
- Designs
- Procedures
- Documentaries & Films
- Funding for expansion
- Intentional Communities
- Co-ops
- Community of like-minded members
- How-tos and demonstrations
- Events and media programs
- Contributor Business Promotion
- Branding
Process:
- BUD Weekly meetings.
- Formal Consensus as described in On Conflict & Consensus, & Consensus for Cities.
- Self assignment of tasks during scheduled meetings.
- Scientific Method (Plan, Do, Study, Act)
- If a problem is brought to light, a possible solution is then brought to the table, or an adjustment to a pre-existing process or structure is suggested.
- We use the wisdom of the crowd via polls, 1 on 1 anecdotal interviews pooled together and reviewed for trends, as well as various types of crowdsourcing.
Trustees:
Responsibilities of Trustees:
- Be a beacon of example
- To serve the Contributors
- Adhere to Team Commitments
- Maintain website
- Be a source of support for fellow members
- Provide outreach to other intentional communities, co-ops, organizations, and other similar movements.
- Align values and behaviors with The Transition Benchmarks
- Do continual personal education
- Develop systems and procedures
- Maintain Communal mindset towards Egalitarian lifestyle
- Understand that all work created for and done on behalf of The Transition remain with The Transition, even if one leaves the BUD and is no longer able to fulfill the role or obligations of a Trustee.
Grantors: Mike Upstone & Nicole Bienfang
Beneficiaries: I hereby agree to the following statement:
I will participate in the positive, inclusive decision-making structure of The Transition and abide by the decisions made in my Contributorship to The Transition. I bring my integrity and commitment to the ideals of trust, respect, self-empowerment, cooperation, equal access to power, and non-violence. I am committed to the vision of diverse membership of The Transition and the site is considered a “Safe Zone". I hereby agree to treat everyone equal of value with differing gifts and Contribute for the good of all. I will attempt to minimize barriers to Contributors of any groups wishing to participate.
Endorse
(Please endorse below if you agree to abide by this Trust and all statements made herein. Use of this site is considered an implied agreement to this Trust even if your name is absent from the “signatures” below.)
Animus Terrae Community - [email protected]
I believe that networking and getting away from a monetized economy are important.
I am a founding member of Animus Terrae, and egalitarian community in Ash Fork, Arizona. I studied sustainable community development, anthropology and social ecology at Prescott College and with the Institute for Social Ecology. My MA thesis is called "
Donate on behalf of Laura Banks: