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Get in touch with a professional for assistance with your intentional community. Want to get general information about the types of services these independent consultants offer? The Services page has an outline and descriptions to help you understand the categories below. Here they are listed roughly in an order that they might be utilized by a group in the forming phase.
Consultants for IC Initial Development
Consensus facilitation
These professionals specialize in guiding groups in coming to difficult decisions using consensus-based decision-making.
Rosie Bolen
Northeast U.S.
Consensus facilitation, Mediation & conflict resolution, Membership &/or DEI
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
Even with the best of intentions on both sides, written agreements are crucial. Our listed lawyers can help you with document preparation. By making clear everyone’s commitments, even when you fully trust the other(s), you give yourselves a mandate to discuss potential challenges thoroughly, which can prevent misunderstandings or disputes. For any financial interactions, agreements should be in writing, signed and dated. If all maintain their good will and compliance with the agreement, it is still possible that a members’ death would call into question how much was contributed by each member. You should have signed records to prevent loss of your contributions. Don’t make it something you’ll get around to later. Each state has different laws around housing, so we recommend you check local jurisdictional requirements and limitations. It is important to consult with a lawyer for specifics on your situation. Get legal advice relevant to your state or province. With our listed consultants, you can limit your search by area. Often, a mediator can assist you in writing your agreements at a lower cost, then you should get a final review by a lawyer and officially file the document with the appropriate governing body.
Our listed realtors specialize in multiple-party purchases or are actively upgrading their understanding of location-specific legal options for joint ownership. Some organize groups to develop new cohousing projects.
Brian Horwitz
Canada
Realtor or IC housing developer, Zoning & compliance
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
These are funding or lending institutions that are willing to work with unconventional loan structures or mortgages for multiple buyers of a
property.
Grant writing
Our listed grant writers may be able to direct you to relevant funding sources even if you are not a certified non-profit organization. Professional grant writers may also be willing to train one of your members to do the bulk of the grant searches and research. Fiscal sponsors may be able to act as an umbrella organization to support your funding of a project that meets their guidelines. See our page Financing Intentional Communities by Grants page, linked from Financing, in the footer.
Hannah Swenson
Rocky Mountain U.S.
Grant writing, Group facilitation, Self-employment
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
Ideally, in an intentional community, there is a hope for an equitable outcome rather than any one party trying to have the greatest gain for themselves. We invite our legal consultants to list based on their experience with intentional communities or their training as mediators, so they can act as intermediaries rather than having double costs of a representative for each side. For relatively minor concerns, you might hire a group facilitator trained in conflict resolution who can do an adequate job at less expense to your group. Be sure to recap and write up the agreement promptly, preferably before the end of the meetings, to ensure that everyone’s understanding and memory of the agreement is the same. Get the agreement signed by all when finalized. Give each member a copy of the agreement, so there is no question later of whether unauthorized changes were made.
Philip Be'er
Canada
Consensus facilitation, Mentoring, Group facilitation, Mediation & conflict resolution
These consultants may have experience helping communities craft statements of membership criteria and agreements. Many of these consultants have specialized experience relevant to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Sky Blue Consults
Pacific Coast U.S.
Mentoring, Group facilitation, Leadership, Team recreation, Membership &/or DEI, Business management, Consensus facilitation, Finance advising, Mediation & conflict resolution
Our property managers have successfully worked with groups for several years. They can guide you in establishing time-tested procedures related to facilities management, rentals, and hospitality services.
David S. Broadbent
Rocky Mountain U.S.
Permaculture and agriculture, Leadership, Property management, Renewable power & electrical systems
These professionals have a variety of specialized skills listed in their profile descriptions, including charter school setup and alternative education styles such as Montessori and Waldorf.
Often remote residential intentional communities are interested in ensuring that their residents have viable livelihoods, which could include a business that several or most members are engaged in, or individual businesses.
Ardell Broadbent
Rocky Mountain U.S.
Mentoring, Mediation & conflict resolution, Self-employment, Grant writing
These professionals have experience with the business and non-profit aspect of ICs. This is more than just book keeping. Look for consultants who run a similar type of operation to your IC or planned IC.
Sky Blue Consults
Pacific Coast U.S.
Mentoring, Group facilitation, Leadership, Team recreation, Membership &/or DEI, Business management, Consensus facilitation, Finance advising, Mediation & conflict resolution
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
It’s best to find these professionals local to you, but even when distant, they can guide you in working with local municipalities to change or adapt regulations.
Noam Dolgin
Canada
Realtor or IC housing developer, Zoning & compliance
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
It’s best to find these professionals local to you, familiar with the climate, local resources, and local regulations.
Forest Meadow
Canada
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
Consensus facilitation, Realtor or IC housing developer, Grant writing, Group facilitation, Business management, Zoning & compliance, Permaculture and agriculture, Natural building, Sanitation & water systems, Animal husbandry
These professionals may not specialize in intentional community contexts, but they are qualified to help you reach your sustainability or self-sufficiency goals.
Combined consultant databases: This listing of intentional-community consultants combines listings by the Foundation for Intentional Community, the Cohousing Association of the United States, Global Ecovillage Network, Upwork, and LinkedIn. Having these combined from several databases simplifies your search for the best fit. It currently covers primarily the U.S. and Canada.
Permaculture-focused listing: See the ecovillages page to access lists of permaculture practitioners and consultants working worldwide.
There are unique cultural aspects and legal frameworks available in Canada that are beneficial for ICs. Co-operatively owned condominiums/strata are becoming increasingly popular.
CoHo BC: BC-based services focused on small and large housing acquisition
Alliance of Canadian Land Trusts: (BC, Ontario, and Quebec): Aims to “support the use of best practices for governance and operation, and to ensure Canadian land trusts achieve long-lasting conservation solutions.”
The following organizations have excellent resources for training and list consultants for intentional communities. Contact those closest to you, to get advice relevant to the restrictions and opportunities available in your specific area.
CoHoUSing: nationwide directories of professional consultants organized by state, as well as community seekers and events