Friends

1. Fill out a short questionnaire

2. Spend time learning about cohousing (see Learn More below)

3. Read our website that includes our vision and values

4. Send your email to be added to our mailing list

If reading about cohousing piques your interest to learn more, consider attending a Discovery Call.

Explorer

1. Attend a virtual 90 minute Discovery Call

2. Schedule a one hour conversation to check on vision and values alignment – particularly what it takes to create a community that is majority People of Color. (We will send our questions to you ahead of time.)

3. If everyone feels it’s a good fit, you will be invited to join us at our monthly 2.5 hour meetings and the work of one committee. Explorer fee: $30

4. You will have up to three months to decide if Vibrant Grove is for you.

Vibrant Grove Cohousing is actively working to locate and purchase a suitable cohousing site, and all that entails. If you feel motivated to become more involved, please read on.

Core Group

If you are ready to commit to building our cohousing community, join the Core Group.

1. Meet with two core members to learn more about what core membership entails and to have your questions answered

2. If you are accepted as a Core Group member - attend our 2.5 hour monthly meetings, and (optionally) our weekly Wednesday Check-In meetings (3 to 4pm). Core Group fee: $150

3. Serve on at least one committee (see descriptions below). This involves ongoing work that may include research, writing, reaching out to locate vendors and other resources and meeting with other committee members

4. Be willing to participate in a transparent and frank conversation about your finances with other core members (in a safe and supportive environment)

5. Be a primary decision-maker about the building and development of Vibrant Grove Cohousing – its culture as well as the nuts-and-bolts of loans and construction

6. Be ready to talk about how much money you can to contribute to start-up costs, e.g. beginning the due diligence process on a land purchase or hiring a civil engineer.

Community Building and Membership

Current and future activities:

• Organize our monthly meetings

• Work to weave the Vibrant Grove culture, including finalizing community values and guiding principles

• Outreach to other interested folx, including revising the website + accompanying resources, and setting up additional Discovery Calls

• Meet with interested members

• Think about how to build community virtually--and organizing some physically-distanced get togethers

Land Search

Current and future activities:

• Research promising land parcels (from Loopnet.com) by contacting city or county planning departments for details about what type of building is possible

• Confer about which to include on the tracker spreadsheet

• Contact realtors to arrange for property visits (and schedule core members)

Construction Options

Current and future activities:

• Evaluate which building options will work on various possible properties

• Research and contact people who can help fill out the full picture of our built environment

• Identify and evaluate the surveyors, geotech firms (for soil analysis) and civil engineers needed to complete the project

• Develop new and refine existing formulas for construction costs

Finance

Current and future activities:

• Work with the Construction Options Committee to finalize estimated costs

• Develop financing scenarios

• Identify financing options for our project and work to secure loans

• Work with our realtor to prepare an offer backed by financing

• If needed, locate and evaluate developers to become project partners

Governance (not yet active)

• Develop the legal framework for ownership (e.g. homeowners association)