Building Community: It's the people in our community that matter most!

Sure, we’re busy with tasks related to building the physical structure of our future home.  And when we talk about building community we really mean people. We seek to nurture our existing community and bring new and enthusiastic people into it. This process builds our “real” Daybreak Cohousing Community. We are spending a lot of time building our community now because we will be working and playing together for many years!

We place our emphasis on getting to know each other before focusing on formal membership. Among other things, we share our vision, our self-governance processes, our ‘community’ personality and our individual personalities with you. Living in community requires commitment and hard work. We want to be sure that you are seeking and are prepared for the challenges as well as the joys that lie ahead for us all. If you see yourself participating in this community, we invite you to start on the Steps to Membership.

The Buddy System

The Buddy System is our main personal link to you, the Prospective Member, and vice versa.  The Buddy System sets up a relationship that begins when you become a Prospective Member and it continues even beyond our welcoming you as a new member into the community.

Your Buddy is a current member of the community who has experience with the history and workings of the community. The member who takes on the role of a Buddy is responsible for contacting you and making time to be available to you.  Your Buddy is your primary resource for information about the community.

Some responsibilities of your Buddy include:

1. to be available to answer questions as best they can
2. to make sure you get introduced to existing community members at socials, meetings and community events
3. to provide information and written material, as appropriate
4. to help you understand our decision-making process, how we run meetings, and the membership policy
5. to brief you before business meetings and support you at the meetings
6. to help you understand existing decisions and documents
7. to update the community on your progress in completing the membership steps
8. to facilitate your invitation to join the community
9. to support you as you integrate into the community

Steps to Membership

Our membership process places emphasis on getting to know each other as people first. Meeting Us First, you contact us by e-mail, phone or by coming to a social event. You attend at least one social event. You ask to become a Prospective Member.

Getting to Know Each Other

As a Prospective Member, you will be paired with a Buddy and will be invited to business meetings and other community events.

• Your Buddy will contact you. Once initial contact is made, you are encouraged to reach out to your Buddy any time you have a question or concern.
• You attend at least four gatherings, two of which must be business or team meetings.  Social events that you attended before becoming a Prospective Member count.
• You read one or more books on cohousing (see our resources page for recommendations) and read the materials in the Membership packet.
• Before or once you’ve joined us, you learn about consensus decision-making and obtain a book on consensus. As a member, you will participate in ongoing consensus training with the community.
• You become familiar with past community discussions, decisions and legal documents. All new members are asked to abide by previous decisions.
• You provide a statement of the household’s financial resources from an objective third party, such as a mortgage pre-qualification or realtor’s home appraisal, to the Finance Team.

Joining Us

Once you’ve completed the above steps to Membership, you can request an invitation to join the community through your Buddy or the community may ask you directly. The community has the responsibility to consent on your invitation to join.  If you accept our invitation, you are asked to: Fill out and sign the Membership Policy/Application Pay a one-time Membership Fee of $250 Initiate payment of Membership Dues, $20/month or $200/year Initiate your Capital Contribution. This contribution is payable over a six-month period and will be applicable toward the purchase of your unit. The community will formally accept your membership and gleefully hold a welcoming ceremony for you.

Benefits and Responsibilities of Membership

Benefits of Membership include:

• The opportunity to build the community with your future neighbors
• Full rights and participation in community-related decisions (the exceptions being project-related decisions and responsibilities of the Development Team)
• Unit selection seniority
• Unit discounts for early membership

Responsibilities of Membership include:

• Participation in community building activities
• Participation on teams
• Regular attendance at business meetings
• Keeping up-to-date on group discussions and decisions
• Learning more about consensus, facilitation and other community skills
• Making Dues payments and Capital Contributions