The Transition House Walsenburg/Universal Alliance of Communities, Inc
I originally came to this way of thinking through Peter Joseph's film Zeitgeist Addendum. Through the film I learned about The Venus Project like many others have. Since neither organization provided a clear idea of what the transitional process to a Resource Based Economy would look like I sought out answers elsewhere. Through Google searches I discovered the Transition Network and the concept of Transition Towns. Accidentally in trying to find their material again I discovered The Transition. In the beginning I will admit I did piss and moan about "having to do" Your Action Plan because I wanted to meet people right away. I certainly fought the almost overwhelming desire to fuss about the seemingly unending network of links and sub links in The Transition site and the elusive Phase II review. However, now that I have digested the material I truly am better armed when I encounter a question.
Once I reached Phase II I was able to connect and meet key players in the movement and from there I realized I needed to start my own BUD. We are living the dream as we transition from a monetary based economy to a resource based economy through the Hybrid RBE System. We have chosen Walsenburg, Colorado as our point of entry into the new paradigm we are fashioning here. We truly are creating our own reality as we work together in community to create a life we can all enjoy. During that time I came to learn of the Ubuntu Movement's One Small Town proposal and decided to host a Zeitgeist Addendum movie screening in my own town with that focus in mind as a viable solution. Many people that attended that screening were receptive to the message I was offering and through that event I was able to get more involved with the local city government. I was given a job to deal with the removal of asbestos from properties in my community, which gave me the opportunity to get to know local city officials on a more personal level. Through those relationships and the notoriety I gained from drawing so many community members together through the screening I was offered another community role this time with our local community garden.
We are now a 501 C3 nonprofit known as The Universal Alliance of Communities, Inc. and have just acquired the deed for what will eventually house up to 15 community members. We now house 6 community members and numerous guests and supporters. We have dubbed this endeavor The Transition House Walsenburg. We are funding this using the hybrid money system and the UBUNTU One Small Town 1/3-1/3-1/3 system and are creating three agreements as we speak to initiate handy man services, IT Services through our in-house affiliation with the Lost Boys Network. And finally, we are in contractual negotiations to manage a large warehouse in downtown Walsenburg to centralize food distribution to the area fresh markets. We have begun modification to a 5,000-sq. ft. area to provide hydroponic / aquaponic food delivery right to the fresh market distribution level above. We are in with local agencies that support and participate. We are extremely active in local volunteer services and are easily recognized in the community as Transition House Community members. We are living in community within a community and it is awesome. Since we have garnered so much support for what we are doing we believe it is feasible to groom multiple community members to run for local office and hopefully move our town in the direction of an RBE. We have many other projects in mind as well and continue to work towards achieving those dreams one day at a time. We look forward to others following in our footsteps and finding success like this in their own communities as well.
I support The Transition as it is the most structurally sound road map I have been presented with and the resources are seemingly endless. Special thanks to the team for putting this resource together for us.
Reaching Out To Serve You Better
The Transition (www.thetransition.org) is an organization that was formed in part to better serve the intentional community and
co-op business community, to help make their impact on cultural shift have even more of an impact. We are interested in learning more about the budgets and platforms you work with in order to spread awareness about your intentional communities and community owned or related businesses, so that we might serve you and your needs better. So, that we can better serve you please answer the following questions and send your responses to Contact Us:
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Do you have an advertising and or marketing budget? (If so how much per month/year?)
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Through what mediums do you promote? -Dedicated Website, SEO, Search Engine Ads, Television Ads, Radio Ads, Magazine Ads, Website Banner Ads, Classified Ads (Print/Online), Newsletters (Print/E-mail), Directory Listings(Print/Online), Social Network Pages (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest etc), Social Network Ad Space, Blog(s), Trade Shows, Conferences (Tabling/Sponsorship), Brochures/Flyers, Earned Media-
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With whom do you promote? Please specify the specific names of those you buy advertising space or marketing services from regarding your answers to #2.
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Do you currently participate in holidays promotions or co-op media buys?
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Do you partner with any other nearby or similar intentional communities or organizations for advertising or marketing purposes?
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Do you currently cross promote via web presence on related websites that target the same niche demographic?
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What is the ROI (return on investment) you are seeing with the budget and platforms you are currently using?
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Would you promote more aspects of your group or organization if it was bundled or tied in with the fees you are already paying for advertising and marketing( i.e. speaking engagements, blogs, books written by community members or about community, numerous community owned businesses instead of just one etc.)?
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Is your current advertising and or marketing strategy meeting the needs or expectations of the group or organization you serve?
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Are you attracting quality and qualified leads from your current advertising and marketing methods?
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Do you have a dedicated staff that works exclusively on your advertising or marketing needs?
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What would be ideal for your group or organization in regards to the work you do regarding advertising and marketing and the results you get?
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How do you feel those that provide advertising and marketing to you currently could improve?
We appreciate your time and feedback and look forward to serving the needs you you bring up in this questionnaire.
Get half or more off on Books, Magazines, and Movies!
The Fellowship for Intentional Community is immensely grateful for our supporters, members, donors, and bookstore customers. Your support keeps us going, both emotionally and financially. We strive to return the support with content and resources useful to you in community and cooperation. Thank you!
In appreciation, we are offering over half-off for 35 books and DVD's, and on nearly all Communities magazine back issues! You'll find a variety of titles that focus on the topics we care about most: sustainability, climate change, group dynamics, communication, stories of building community and so much more!
See the entire sale lineup at the Holiday Half-Off Sale page and peruse the back-issues here.
Mingas
The Transition Needs Help to Complete Alternative Currency Integration
Posted by The Transition Team · January 03, 2018 10:33 PM
The Transition Team Needs Support for Feature Request on Nationbuilder
Posted by Nicole Bienfang · September 19, 2016 4:25 PM
The Transition Team Needs Support for Feature Request on Nationbuilder
We have built The Transition website on Nationbuilder and although it is feature rich there are some features we feel we need, but that they do not offer at this time. In order for their staff to work on these developments they need to see how serious we are about needing them.
Feedback from the Nationbuilder community drives what features they build and what issues they fix right away. Nationbuilder can't fix or do everything (although they really want to!), so encouraging other people to also give their feedback is very helpful. Here's the link to one of the feature requests we have asked them for in order to help us serve all of you better. Please go to the following feature request page listed below and check the box that says "Important" and leave a comment if you like!
Automatic PATH Set-up
Once you have checked the box "Important" and or left a comment. Please let us know you did so at the Report Portal so we can give you Buzz Bucks for your time.
In the News
The Transition Featured on What Would Save the World? Podcast
Posted by The Transition Team · January 22, 2018 12:00 PM · 1 reaction
Contributor Frank Kirkpatrick Featured on Ubuntu Planet Radio Show
Posted by The Transition Team · December 26, 2017 11:00 PM
Youtube Review: Sustainable Living Podcast Episode #76
Posted by The Transition Team · February 11, 2017 12:00 PM
Announcements
Look at the Progress You've Made in 2017!
Posted by The Transition Team · December 23, 2017 12:19 PM · 1 reaction
Reaching Out To Serve You Better
Posted by The Transition Team · December 19, 2016 11:37 PM
Do You Want to Start an Evolution?
Posted by Nicole Bienfang · December 18, 2016 3:28 PM
Twin Oaks Communities Conference Reports
Jon Norcross' TOCC Trip Report 2016
Posted by Jon Norcross · December 23, 2016 8:42 AM · 1 reaction
Nicole Bienfang's TOCC Trip Report 2015
Posted by Nicole Bienfang · September 01, 2015 12:00 PM
Jon Norcross' TOCC Trip Report 2015
Posted by Jon Norcross · September 01, 2015 12:00 PM
Updates
Transition BUDs dedicate themselves to sharing their successes, failures, insights and connections at the various scales across the Transition Inter-Community Network, so as to more widely build up a collective body of experience. These are just a few of the places you can find those updates.
Announcements
In the News
Mingas
New Added Content
Progress Reports
Conference Reports
Sources: Transition Primer: A Guide to Becoming a Transition Town, US Version
Contributors: Transition US
Recommended Books: Transition Primer: A Guide to Becoming a Transition Town, US Version