Foundations for Strong Community Relationships
6-Week Online Course | Starts April 29, 2026
Learn the foundations for building strong relationships in community through skills for communication, listening deeply, understanding conflict, practicing empathy, and more.
Course fee: $120-$300 USD
Individual class fee: $20-$50 USD
On this page:
Foundations for Strong Community Relationships
Classes in this course are suitable for:
Community Newcomers | 
Community Starters | 
Community Residents
Course Description
Living in intentional communities creates the potential for strong connections and support that is both rare and desperately needed in these times. How fully we realize that potential depends largely on how much we work at building relationships of trust, safety and vulnerability.
We arrive to community with great intentions, a heap of kindness and so much hope but we quickly learn that building strong relationships does not passively rely on good intentions.
Building strong community relationships requires great skill and practice.
The Foundations for Strong Community Relationships course provides students with a beginner skill set in all the areas where community relationships can and do go astray.
Whether you are just getting started and want to build the necessary skills before relationships are strained, or you are already living in community and feeling the pain of inefficient meetings, unresolved conflict, and disconnection– this course is an excellent place to get started.
Karen will cover the key areas of cooperative culture necessary for building trust and stronger relationships, including the areas most commonly identified as pain points for long-standing communities. Students will learn communication and deep listening skills, tools for understanding and working with disagreements and conflict, and an introduction to key facilitation skills.
This course is highly participatory including interactive discussions, breakout group exercises, and weekly homework assignments and skills practice that you’ll want to do with friends, community members, and/or family.
Students are strongly recommended to purchase The Cooperative Culture Handbook, which is full of resources for building relationships. Throughout the course, the instructor will rely heavily on the book as a reference for exercises and materials.
Course Syllabus
All Foundations for Strong Community Relationships classes are held on Wednesdays from 10am-12pm Pacific / 11am-1pm Mountain / 12pm-2pm Central / 1pm-3pm Eastern. You can view your local time here.
April 29: Listening: What We Miss and Why It Matters
- The need for deep listening
- Mirroring, a structure for deep listening
- How and when to use mirroring
May 6: Discernment: How to Pick Your Fights
- Identifying priorities
- Balancing community and self
- How decisions impact relationships
- Validation
May 13: Feeling Safe Enough to be Vulnerable
- Balancing safety and vulnerability
- Creating a trusting community
- Making and receiving requests
- Vulnerability and connection
- A practice of empathy
May 20: Embracing Disagreement
- Welcoming disagreement
- Differences and curiosity
- Words to use in disagreement
- Power dynamics
May 27: Conflict in Community
- Structures for healthy conflict
- How to help others in conflict
- How to speak so others can hear
- Conflict support teams
June 3: Facilitation: Working Through Power Struggle to Find Common Ground
- Creating spaces where minds can change
- Authority and how it is granted
- Preparing for a meeting
- Variable activities
- Process facilitation
June 10:Q&A Session
- Ask any additional questions
- Get personalized help
- Networking
The Q&A session is optional and will take place from 10am-11am Pacific / 11am-12pm Mountain / 12pm-1pm Central/ 1pm-2pm Eastern. You must register for the full course to attend the Q&A session. The Q&A session will NOT be recorded.
Your instructor
Karen Gimnig
Karen is a group facilitator, motivational speaker and relationship coach. Her passion is to help groups achieve their goals for connected and trusting relationships through skill building and personal exploration.
As an Imago Facilitator, Karen uses the theory and practice of Imago Relationships to guide teams and communities through the complexity of working together. She helps groups and individuals identify root causes of challenges and then walks beside them offering gentle support as they seek solutions.
Karen enjoys working with non-profit organizations, communities (including communities of faith), and workplaces. Her clients describe her as “profoundly effective,” increasing trust and providing simple (but not easy) tools for improved communication and relationships.
You can learn more about Karen and her services here.
Testimonials
Registration
You might also be interested in:
- 6 Common Myths About Strong Community Relationships (Webinar with Karen Gimnig, April 22)
- The Cooperative Culture Handbook (book)
- Power & Leadership in Community (10-hour pre-recorded course)
The Live Course Experience
Live Zoom Classes
Nothing pre-recorded here! When you sign-up for an FIC course, you’ll have the opportunity to join a live session on Zoom for each class.
Recorded Classes
You’ll receive all class recordings in a follow-up email. They will also be uploaded to LearnDash found in your ic.org account dashboard. Watch or listen when it is convenient for you. Transcripts available upon request.
Access LearnDash through your Dashboard
Login to you ic.org account, visit your dashboard and go to “My Courses”. Here you have access to all course content and recordings through LearnDash. Access to courses expire 30 days after the last class.
