Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: recognizing time versus financial investment in early days

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Jun 12, 2017, at 11:05 AM, Michelle Keiserman <msmakman1 [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> We are a group of five enthusiastic households who want to bring cohousing
> to Nevada.  Four of us are investing both the time and money ($2500 each so
> far) for initial marketing to attract more members.  

The first concern is spending money on marketing. I think few cohousing 
communities will say that marketing in the traditional sense placing ads or 
hiring consultants was profitable. One group, for example, bought an ad in the 
Utne Reader because a marketing consultant said that magazine’s profile matched 
the characteristics of cohousers. They got hundreds of responses and not one 
taker. It was a waste of time to just respond.

Personal contact, flyers in health food stores, chiropractor’s offices, 
Unitarian Churches, Reform Synagogues, etc. have been much more productive. An 
ad on CohoUSA is different because that is your target market.

> One individual has
> invested that amount but does not have the time to dig in and help us get
> the work done.  While we recognize the value each of us brings to this
> effort, we are wondering if other communities have accounted in some way
> for the time/effort invested in the early days. We are familiar with the
> benefits of making an early financial commitment, but what if you've made
> both and some other members cannot?

I think most communities don’t and they should. Start out with levels of 
promise to households who are engaged and those who are not engaged. “Engaged” 
needn’t be measured, but if a household says from the beginning we have money 
but no time, clearly they are in a different level of commitment than those who 
are contributing both financially and working as well. Make room for everyone 
but balance the levels of privilege given to each.

Begin accounting from the beginning. If the first households are investing 
$2,500, later joiners should contribute equal amounts or the first contributors 
receive greater discounts on their homes. One way or another, things need to 
feel balanced when you move in. And people who join later should recognize the 
importance of the contributions of the first members.

Build a priority list of first to choose a house/unit based on commitments. 
This encourages people to join early on rather than sitting aside and watching.

And: Everyone has 24 hours in a day. No one has more than anyone else. The 
issue is how each person prioritizes their time. There are temporary periods of 
overload with a new baby or caring for an aging parent, but people have to make 
room for building community now just as you will need them to build community 
after you move in. It won’t appear full blown when the last box is unpacked.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org