Transforming FIC

Posted on November 19, 2018 by
- 5 Comments

 

Developments for FIC at Organizational Meeting at Twin Oaks

The Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) met for its twice annual Organizational Meeting at the end of October. For over thirty years, this gathering has taken place at different intentional communities throughout North America.

This year we met at Twin Oaks, a 50+ year old income-sharing community located in Virginia. The meeting marked a pivotal milestone in the evolution of FIC.

We are excited to share some of our new developments!

With autumn rain and chill outside, we met in “the pit,” a comfortable carpeted area sunken into the floor next to a fireplace in one of the common spaces at Twin Oaks.

In this cozy space twelve FIC Board Members and Staff dreamed, designed, and debated together over the course of three days.

 

Sharing Stories, Purpose, & Progress

Each FIC Org Meeting begins with telling stories from the “bag of beads.”

A long thread holds a unique array of beads, different colors and shapes, each one signifying an important moment in the history of FIC.  

Rooted in our history, we focused our first morning session on the present moment.

We each shared our reasons for being part of FIC and the wider communities movement. We spoke about how much inspiration, purpose, and support we find in this network. We affirmed that FIC has huge potential as a lever for global transformation.

We then outlined key ways that FIC isn’t yet meeting our expectations as an impactful presence in the world. It was immensely satisfying to see progress in each of these areas during our meeting days.

 

Transforming Legacy

FIC is working to build a more diverse, inclusive, and accessible organization. During our meeting at Twin Oaks, we took another important step in many strides FIC has taken in recent years to decenter our culture as predominately white, male, and middle-class.

We are thrilled to welcome a woman of color to FIC’s Board. Courtney Dowe lives with her young son in an urban intentional community called Compersia in Washington D.C.

It was amazing to witness how Courtney’s strong, visionary, and unique voice transformed the nature of our conversations to include broader perspectives. We are committed to follow up our talk about collective liberation with real action.

As another example, we approved a new project to build a nation-wide community land trust program! We hope it will make land more affordable and accessible for intentional communities. (For more information about this initiative, contact Mayana Ludwig at mayana.ludwig@gmail.com.)

Reimagining FIC

FIC is in the midst of an extensive and substantive branding evaluation and evolution process. We are completely reimagining our self-identity – our visual presence, our stance on important issues, and how our services can better meet the needs of users.

We receive over 40k unique visitors to ic.org each month. We want to do our utmost to make sure these visitors have an enjoyable experience on the website. Based on recent survey results from over 150 participants, we know we can make many improvements.

Thank you to all the FIC Members, Subscribers, Donors, Staff and Board (past and present) who completed the survey for your valuable feedback. We felt your voice in the room as we approved new brand elements while meeting at Twin Oaks.

Stay tuned for more updates about coming brand changes!

Sharing the Fire

A spirit of close community infused our meeting days. We eagerly listened to stories from elders in the room and embraced revolutionary new ideas from younger people.

We sensed our cohesion as a team, the leveling up of our vision, and our trust in innovation, growth, and change.

We were vulnerable enough to ask ourselves difficult questions.

FIC is walking humbly towards the questions, serving as keen observers to what is needed at this moment in humanity and our planet’s history.

We welcome all voices within our movement to speak to us and through us.

We hope to build on the rich contributions of our past, and to become an even more relevant, resilient, and revolutionary organization in years ahead.

Thank you for your part in our story!

If this article touched you in any way, please leave a comment below or write to us at connect@ic.org. We’d love to hear from you.

To support FIC’s work, please become a Member of FIC!

 

 

 


5 Replies to “Transforming FIC”

BFEarl

Transcendental Humanism is my name for any way of life which opens the door to mutual self-improvement that will establish a personal creed for living.

I have been wondering if a network of talents could be formed which combines the last version of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles with the format of the IWW employment skill identities created by a former priest. For example, I could mail these two laptops I have to enterprising technicians who could strip them for parts or restore them for resale or giveaway to local at-risk-kids who improve their lives after a correctional or traumatic event. Maybe one of these kids could join an online FIC community to create a mini-super-computer the size of a notebook. Other members could specialize in HTML and programming blockchain code to safely vote in elections from cellphones with electronic keys. This in turn, opens the door to eliminating Congress if can represent ourselves before the electoral college which formed our original Continental Congress.

Talent pools could also be set up for those who have the skills to restore structural landmarks like some of these abandoned mansions that pop-up. Such estates could be used to train service workers with special skills–sort of like a ‘secret-service’ FIC unit.

Some communities could network as legal services for FIC communities which would include being trained by lawyers to become lawyers. These could be extended into a network of FIC members who specialize in grant writing. FIC could build tenant students special housing around the globe located at progressive artisan & technical colleges.

I am also thinking of a ‘Free University’ that would make it impossible to buy a degree of any credibility, but be earned by CLEP tests and challenge testing. My dream is to build scrapyard near or on a reservation that has a rail line running through it for reclaiming ‘old ponies’ to rebirth new ones &c. In the center of the yard a tech school could be built for those of us who don’t fit in with clocks and desks.

warteeeesa

hello i am new user thanks for approved 🙂

noambz

Hey y’all.

Throughout these past years I’ve been struggling to find a community to join, organization to connect to, and a movement to support. Your website/organization is helping me access and think of how to work on and learn from different communities and their elders. The vision and mission of your movement and the changes you’ve described on this page truly warm my heart.

I want to send you my thanks for working to diversify your board, for trying to revamp the website to make it more accessible, and for having visions of FIC becoming an impactful presence throughout our planet.

I truly believe that local economies, intentional communities, and sustainable practices are essential for the next generations to live life without the endless suffering that exists today. There is potential beyond words hidden within this organization and all who stand behind it. May we all work together to bring that potential to fruition.

Sending you motivation, gratitude, and love from just another person who y’all inspire.

morgansiem

Thank you for all of your incredible work and for sending out a recap. I agree with you that FIC has “huge potential as a lever for global transformation.” Thanks for standing in those big shoes.

I’m leaving a comment to note how excited I am to hear that there’s an initiative started for a nationwide community land trust! YES! That’s what we need. I’ve thought about that for years now, but don’t have the resources myself to make it happen. I’d love to help. Thanks for bringing energy to that vision!

Wishing you all the best,
Morgan

Ugo

Keep up the good work guys !

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