Finding your Community
On-Demand Online Course | Rolling Admission
Gain confidence in your ability to find, contact, visit, join and live in an intentional community in the Finding your Community course.
Course fee: sliding scale, starting at $99 USD
Who this course is for:
- people looking to find a community
- people looking to visit communities
- people looking to join a community
On this page:
Finding Your Community Course
Course description
There are many types of intentional communities, such as senior, spiritual/religious, commune (or income sharing), cohousing, ecovillage, and tiny home villages. In this course, you’ll gain an understanding of many of your community options as well as get a strong sense of if you want to join a community and how you might fit in.
Having visited well over 100 communities, Cynthia will guide you through how to find intentional communities, how to assess them, how to contact your ideal communities, how to prepare for visiting a community, and ultimately how to join your ideal community. You’ll also be introduced to different community structures including community decision-making, economic systems and membership structures.
What this course includes
- lifetime access to private course group in our Forum for asking questions and networking
- free access to monthly webinars to deepen your learning and connect with others
- 90 days to complete the online course at your own pace
- certificate of completion
What you’ll learn
Module topics in the Finding your Community course include:
- 1st Module: Course Intro and Discovering your “Why” for Intentional Community Living
- 2nd Module: Who is a Fit for Community and Crafting your “Community Wishlist”
- 3rd Module: Common Types of Intentional Communities
- 4th Module: Common Structures in Intentional Communities
- 5th Module: Research Tools for Finding your Intentional Community
- 6th Module: Planning your Communities Tour and Advice for Visiting an Intentional Community
- 7th Module: How to Evaluate Communities
- 8th Module: Onboarding and Offboarding in Community: Membership Structures
- 9th Module: Answering Common Questions and Joining an Intentional Community
- 10th Module: Wrapping up and your Next Steps
Your instructor
Cynthia Tina
Cynthia Tina is the “community matchmaker” and founder of CommunityFinders, offering programs to help people join and start intentional communities. She’s also the founder of Ecovillage Tours, bringing people on inspirational journeys to sustainable communities. She has visited more than 150 intentional communities around the world, including the Vermont ecovillage where she lives in her self-built passive solar home.
Formerly the co-director, Cynthia is now a spokesperson and educator with the Foundation for Intentional Community. She’s a former trustee of the Global Ecovillage Network and former director of the youth ecovillage network, NextGEN North America. She holds a degree in Sustainability from Goddard College, as well as certificates in Permaculture and Ecovillage Design, and Yoga Teacher Training.
Get started on your community journey with a short quiz to find out which type of community is a fit for you! https://communityfinders.com/quiz
Finding your Community course testimonials
“This gave me the push I needed to keep researching and exploring so many options and opportunities for the future. I found Cynthia’s approach to the course also very detailed, thorough and valuable as the content of each module’s material really made me question a lot of hidden aspects of community living in tackling diversity, connection, culture and relationships.”
-Jonahan Thangarajah
“The energy of Cynthia Tina was delightful and I felt like I whizzed through the course easily. Very easy to understand and easy step by step process. It takes the fear out of finding an intentional community..”
-Rose Ludwig
“Very comprehensive- and thorough- and multiple formats for learning addresses different learning style.”
-Harry Greenberg
“The detailed information and additional resources are what I liked best. I also liked the pace and tone that Cynthia used while presenting. I was really impressed by how everything seemed to be thought of and addressed during the course.”
-Chris Pave
The On-Demand Course Experience
Go at Your Own Pace
Journey through this course, when and where it works for you. You’ll have a full 90 days to work through the learning material. Downloadable audio modules are available for when you’re on the go.
Build Your Network
You’ll be able to ask questions of your instructor as well as connect and build shared knowledge through a private and dedicated discussion space.
Deepen Your Learning
Each module includes an instructional video, audio file, transcript, complementary learning materials, and exercises designed to support you in your unique learning style.
Free Resources
Registration
Finding Your Community Course
- $99: for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, Disabled, Low income
- $129: covers FIC’s costs
- $149+: covers FIC’s costs + supports the intentional community movement
Suggested $129.00
Other learning opportunities
- Visiting Communities (Inside Community Podcast episode with Anthony Campbell)
- Becoming a Steward of the Commons (Inside Community Podcast episode with Lee Warren)
- Starting a Community course
- Becoming a Communitarian course
- Understanding Diversity in Community course
