Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: New Members (Jan Kenney)

[Diane Craig (ddcraig]

Assuming you are looking for process and not criteria for selection, here
is what is used by Gainesville Cohousing as they recruit members for a new
community (which plans to break ground this summer, yay!):

Membership Process
1. Visitor attends at least one business meeting as an observer or attends
a social.
2. Sponsor is assigned, if appropriate. They serve as liaison and provide
information packet to potential member.
3. Visitor pays a non-refundable $250 consideration fee (payable to
Gainesville Cohousing) and becomes a participating but non-voting member.
4. Participating member then attends at least five business
meetings/socials over a minimum of two months.
5.
5. After completing the required attendance, participating member may ask
to come up for a vote or may request additional time to consider.
6. Equity Membership requires a unanimous vote and $7500 payment.

Detailed Sponsor Process
1. Potential member contacts Gainesville Cohousing through website.
2. Potential member added to database.
3. Potential member attends first meeting (they may have bypassed step #1
and we will add them to database).
4. After first meeting, membership committee member follows up with them to
see if they are interested enough to want a sponsor.
5. Membership committee assigns sponsor to the potential member (getting
approval from the sponsor beforehand, typically all done at the meeting).
6. Sponsor meets with the potential member and gives them information
packet.
7. Sponsor serves as ongoing contact for the potential member and provides
updates to Cohousing as needed.
8. Sponsor follows up with potential member who does not attend regularly,
or does not give $250 after several meetings, to find out their intentions.
9. Sponsor follows up with potential member who meets equity membership
($7500) and find out their intentions.
10. Sponsor duties end when potential member becomes an equity member.

Diane Craig
Gainesville Cohousing
Gainesville, FL