Community Group Basics
You may be wondering just what an IONS Community Group is, and what it does. If so, you came to the right place to get started.
WHAT IS AN IONS COMMUNITY GROUP?
IONS Community Groups are self-organizing, self-directing, voluntary associations of members and their friends. Each group sets its own purpose and the direction it wishes to take, consistent with IONS’ overall purpose of “advancing the science of consciousness and human experience to serve individual and collective transformation”. Since IONS was founded on the premise that both science and “direct knowing” (noetic science) are valid means of understanding the universe, groups usually draw on both for their programs. Envision a dialogue between Einstein and the Dalai Lama. The particular balance of the two will depend on the interests of the group members, thus considerable diversity of programs exists among the groups. The essence of IONS groups might be said to be: Science, Spirit, Curiosity and Community. To join an existing group, please go to our Community Group Directory to see if one already exists near you. If not, consider starting a new group; go to Starting a New Group.
WHY JOIN A COMMUNITY GROUP?
IONS Community Groups are a powerful way to connect with like-minded allies, explore frontier ideas about consciousness and transformation, and make a more significant impact on our world. On this page, you will find the basic policies and procedures that guide Community Groups. With almost 200 groups in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia, our Community Groups are an active and dynamic collection of people dedicated to exploring the frontiers of consciousness. Some of these groups sponsor lectures, conferences, and experiential events in their respective locales in addition to their regular group gatherings.
COMMUNITY GROUP PURPOSE AND PRINCIPLES:
Purpose: To form a learning community focused on living consciously and connecting our inner and outer lives.
Principles: A commitment to
- developing our personal paths and spiritual growth
- sharing our chosen paths with others
- supporting others on their paths
- linking with the global IONS network
- learning and sharing with others openly
- building a bridge between science and spirituality
- stimulating membership in IONS and Shift in Action
- supporting IONS by sharing the Institute’s research and events
RELATIONSHIP OF COMMUNITY GROUPS TO IONS “HUBQUARTERS”:
IONS’ support for groups is based upon a commitment to encouraging both diversity and local control of local activities. IONS trusts that groups will operate with integrity and guide their gatherings with good intentions. IONS’ central office or “Hubquarters” strives to foster open and communicative relationships with them. This is facilitated by the Member Council and Regional Representatives, who form a link between Hubquarters and Community Groups. (For a description and list of Regional Representatives go to the Regional/International Representatives Directory.) While IONS supports and assists groups in a variety of ways, each local community group operates independently of IONS and is legally and financially responsible for its own activities. Community groups are not "chapters" and we ask that they not refer to themselves as such.
CAN ANYONE COORDINATE A COMMUNITY GROUP?
A Coordinator or Co-coordinator must be enrolled at the $10-a-month (or higher) level in order to register with IONS to start a group. This automatically makes you a partner in the Shift in Action (SIA) program of IONS with its tremendous resources. It also ensures that the contact information for you or your Co-coordinator’s will be in the Community Group Directory. Some groups pass the hat at each meeting to share the cost as they share the benefits.
Coordinators are expected to be familiar with the guidelines and the materials provided on how to establish and facilitate a group. (For more information go to Starting a New Group). We do reserve the right to remove a Coordinator’s name from the official IONS Community Group listing if we feel that doing so is in the best interest of our members or IONS in general.
WHY DO COORDINATORS HAVE TO BE $10-A-MONTH MEMBERS?
Being a Shift in Action Partner both provides you the ability to access the multiple resources of the SIA site and enables IONS to contact you when needed. The Community Group website, is an incredible asset to Community Group Coordinators (CGCs). You can post and host events, find local members in your area, be found by other SIA members, and participate in the weekly teleseminars with today’s Noetic Luminaries. We find it is essential to stay connected to the larger Community Group Network by having the Coordinator being a Shift in Action Partner because we use the SIA CG Coordinator database as our contact list. From time to time, the SIA staff will send notices for CGCs only to announce a special tutorial, or Network call, or another opportunity. The Member Council also uses this list to send information, request information, keep Coordinators up to date on new happenings at Hubquarters, and generally communicate about what is new in the Network. We hope Coordinators will want to participate in the SIA MEET website pages and check in for new information.
IS THERE A FEE INVOLVED IN STARTING A COMMUNITY GROUP?
There is no fee except for the leader of the group being a $10/month Shift in
Action member.
CAN ANYONE PARTICIPATE IN MY GROUP?
In general, yes. We expect groups to be formed by an IONS Shift in Action member as the Coordinator to foster inquiry, dialogue, networking, and community building among IONS members and other interested individuals. The Coordinator should encourage individuals who are not members of IONS to visit the community group to learn about the work of the Institute, and eventually to become IONS members.
WHAT SHOULD WE CALL OUR GROUP?
While many groups operate without a formal name, you may choose to come up with a creative name for your group that incorporates your area and affiliation with IONS. For example, the Sacramento group calls itself "SacIONS". You might also like to use a more generic title such as "The Nashville IONS Community Group." Some groups refer to themselves as "study" or "discussion" groups, depending on their specific focus. Please do not use “IONS” as the first word in your group name, so that search engines will find the main site rather than the Community Groups when “IONS” is used as a search term.
CAN COMMUNITY GROUPS USE IONS’ NONPROFIT MAILING PERMIT OR LOGO?
Because local groups are legally and financially independent of IONS, they are not sheltered by our nonprofit status and are not eligible to use our nonprofit mailing permit or logo.
CAN LOCAL GROUPS USE IONS’ NAME FOR ADVERTISING PURPOSES?
We ask that you use your individual group name, not the Institute’s name, when advertising or sponsoring special events. For example, "The Little Rock IONS Community Group invites you to its first meeting", not "The Institute of Noetic Sciences invites you to a local meeting in Little Rock". This is especially important when advertising public events.
PUBLISHING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR GROUP:
An example to use when publishing information - "[Group Name] serves members and friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to research and education on consciousness, human potential, and personal and social transformation. [Group Name] is wholly independent of the Institute and is legally and financially responsible for its own activities." The second sentence is the more important of the two and we ask that you try to incorporate it into all your written materials.
USING THE SHIFT IN ACTION WEB SITE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP: Community Group Coordinators can use the Shift in Action site to do the following:
- post group events themselves on the Events page
- download a variety of cutting edge topics to play at meetings
- find research to stimulate group discussion at meetings
- communicate with other Coordinators via CG Coordinator Sharings
- get news and updates from the News from Member Council
- Learn about exemplary groups
- get new ideas for nurturing your Group.
- check out the videos from the IONS Video Library
WHAT IF MY CONTACT INFORMATION CHANGES, SOMEONE NEW BEGINS COORDINATING THE GROUP OR THE GROUP DISCONTINUES?
Please send changes to Susan Cooper (cooperstwo@yahoo.com) of the Member Council who is responsible for relaying them to the appropriate staff at Hubquarters to update the Community Group Directory. It is extremely important that we keep our records current so members and interested newcomers can access accurate information. In addition, if your contact information is not correct, you may miss important updates, supply mailings and access to potential new members for your group.
WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY GROUP NETWORK?
The Network is the collective of all Community Groups that exchange information among themselves in order to share ideas and materials, provide inspiration, and look for creative solutions for our common purpose: promoting individual and planetary shifts in consciousness. Networking is primarily via the Internet, and also in person or on the telephone at the instigation of the Regional Representative who facilitates connection and communication in the region.
WHAT IS THE MEMBER COUNCIL?
The Member Council is a group of committed IONS members whose purpose is to “create connection, partnership and coherence across the IONS community, in service to individual and collective transformation.” In practical terms, this means Member Council helps to connect Hubquarters with Regional Representatives and Community Group Coordinators, relaying information both ways.
