Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Sharon Villines (sharonsharonvillines.com) | |
Date: Fri, 5 Jun 2015 07:43:02 -0700 (PDT) |
> On Jun 4, 2015, at 3:57 PM, Alice Alexander <alicecohous [at] gmail.com> > wrote: > > As a career fundraiser and foundation manager, I do not see how Coho/US could > attract foundation support - given we are not targeting most foundation's > "priority" audience of need. Am I missing something? Of late, I've been > trying to attract funding for research but even that is a hard sell. I think funders want to fund a project that is targeted toward change. A foundation a friend works for lost their major foundation funding and almost went under because the foundation wanted to fund projects that made an impact today. The organization was doing workshops for professionals and funding a speakers bureau. They felt that national publicity for the cause would bring change faster than education on an individual basis. So interviewing foundations to see what they would be interested in about cohousing would be a start. But also look at cohousing more broadly than just starting communities and providing support services. These are important but as everyone knows it is currently a middle-class movement. Even when cohousers are not rich, they are well educated. That places them higher on the socio-economic scale. So one question might be "What would it take to move the lessons of cohousing into the public awareness” so they can be applied in other contexts. Particularly affordable and low income housing. Another might be “What would a lower socio-economic class need to make a cohousing-like community workable?” Most cohousing communities seem to be in areas with a university or lots of colleges. The presentation at the conference on Swedish cohousing was interesting in this way. The cohousing was more like typical housing projects that required donating time for gardening and other tasks. They are very large buildings. Moving cohousing from a highly educated population to the less educated would require what? The book that Ann Zabaldo and others wrote to interest developers in cohousing was very well done. It said what developers need to know. Funding for a project working with Habitat for Humanity to build a whole community. The small house movement. A small house community. Partnering with groups that already have a national awareness presence. Those are also projects that would bring more donations from individuals. They would be supporting more than an interest in themselves and the middle class. How to work with government agencies to allow/promote cohousing features into public housing. It sounds like a move away from the things Coho US has started doing well but I think it feeds cohousing. It adds a spark. As another poster just said and others have found as well, the bloom is a bit off the flower in terms of finding burning souls who want to do the work required to start a community from scratch. Condominium associations are finding that building community in a building decreases turn over. Does it also may produce more cooperative and self-sufficient residents? How to develop shared housing into child-friendly communities. What does it take? Banks may also have foundations that fund community projects. What if cohousing worked with a bank that would take an interest in cohousing that could fund projects nationally. They would be familiar with the concept and provide both construction loans and mortgages. And donate to the organization. What bank has funded the most projects? Or would a small bank be a more likely candidate? They would have to be able to fund in all 50 states. Obviously all this is a lot of work to get off the ground, but the working with an already established organization also brings you their contacts. And ideas. Finding the key visionary in those organizations would be key. But cohousers have tons of contacts. Raines Cohen alone could produce a long list. Send him in with his hat. He’s very persuasive and speaks well. Ann Zabaldo always has her ear to the pavement. Sharon ---- Sharon Villines Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC http://www.takomavillage.org
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Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US Sharon Villines, June 4 2015
- Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US CORRECTION Sharon Villines, June 4 2015
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Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US Linda H, June 4 2015
- Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US Sharon Villines, June 5 2015
- Message not available
- Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US Sharon Villines, June 5 2015
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Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US Fred-List manager, June 5 2015
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Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US Kathryn McCamant, June 5 2015
- Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US Alice Alexander, June 8 2015
- Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US R Philip Dowds, June 9 2015
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Re: Funding and Organizational Model for Coho US Kathryn McCamant, June 5 2015
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