Foundational Ideas
These concepts were key in the founding of the Community for Change and are still core to the design of our various virtual and in person gatherings. The links below provide more on our thinking.
#1: Five Rings of Action
This piece outlines the five rings of activity that make up the Community for Change: connecting, collaboration, contribution, insights, and gatherings. Each ring represents a different type of activity or outcome in support of community members, organizations they represent, causes they want to rally around, and importantly, opportunities to dive below surface-level discussions so that any actions coming out of the group come from a deeper place of patience, wisdom and insight rather than knee-jerk reaction.
#2: The Housefly Formula
Here, Pip outlines our “housefly formula,” or formula for creating lasting change - intention times exertion times change insight leads to making lasting change. Societally, we don’t have nearly enough comprehension of how to make lasting change and implicitly we behave as if intention and exertion are enough…but we don’t think they are at all. Looking through a change lens is also key.
#3: Student-Minded Thinking
Student-minded thinking is an orientation and design principle key to the Community for Change. In this piece, Pip describes what this means and how it is different from closed-mindedness and open-mindedness. Our working definition of student-minded thinking is: "Being completely unattached to any specific thoughts and available to fully consider the utility of any new thoughts that arise without becoming in anyway attached to those new ones either. By “attached” we mean unwilling to let go no matter what.” A "student-mind" will allow the widest range of ideas to be truly considered.
#4: Non-Obligation and Passion Matching
Non-obligation and passion matching are another two core building blocks of the Community for Change. No one in the CFC is obligated to participate in something if they do not feel that it is the right fit and we hope people feel comfortable saying “no.” At the same time, we hope that people would want to contribute and say “yes” to opportunities that feel right - we call this “passion matching.” Pip talks more about these concepts in this piece and how they can be pathways for joy.
#5: Direct and Indirect Models
This piece goes into more detail about what the Community for Change is and what it aims to do. The CFC, largely designed and lead by Brynne, is a kind of “indirect philanthropy,” meaning one of the activities of the CFC is to seek out nonprofits where financial donations can create transformation change and non-linear impact. This is a direct model. The indirect model also used by the CFC is also about unleashing potential, but through people in the community - creating a rich space of trust for people to share.
#6: Making Lasting Change
After reading and analyzing a variety of texts and articles related to change, Amanda outlines here a unique framework for sparking and sustaining meaningful change. She ties together her own personal experiences with the ideas of leaders such as Yvon Chouinard to delineate eight core elements for creating lasting change. She goes on to share her own plans for how she aims to make changes in her life and educational career in order to guide her in reaching her goals and incorporating her passions along the journey.