Connection Academy 201: Sustaining Belonging
Connection Academy 201: Sustaining Belonging is a hands-on workshop for community builders who are ready to think seriously about what it takes to build sustainable social connection. This is Part 2 of a two-part workshop series. You do NOT need to attend both, but they do not have the same content. Part 1 is linked here.
This workshop picks up where the 101 leaves off. We'll dig into what it means to nurture a community once it's forming, how to bring others in without losing what makes it work, and how to think about the business side (including monetization) of community without losing its soul.
You'll learn how to:
Recognize where you are in the community-building lifecycle and what's actually needed at each stage
Design for commitment, so people move from curious to connected to actively invested
Build a team and share ownership without burning out in the process
Think clearly about money, membership, and sustainability - and why it's OK to ask for money
This workshop is designed for people who are already building (who have run at least a few gatherings) and are navigating the harder questions of consistency, growth, and sustainability. 101 is helpful but not required. Expect honest conversation, real tools, and time to work through the specifics of what you're building.
The workshop also includes access to your cohort community via WhatsApp.
About the Facilitator Jesse B Rauch has done the work across every dimension of what it takes to build a community. With 20+ years of experience spanning grassroots organizing, nonprofit leadership, sponsorships, operations, and facilitation, he has repeatedly taken communities from spark to scale and made them stick. He founded and ran a 500-person multi-city karaoke league for over a decade, co-founded a young education professionals network that grew to 3,000+ members, and built and led the community around one of the nation's most iconic outdoor film festivals. At Reading Rhythms, he closed over $100,000 in publisher partnerships helping fuel the growth of a 140,000-person reader community. Jesse is a co-founder of week nights.
About week nights week nights is a community engine and all-in-one platform designed to help organizers build, grow, and sustain their communities. Beyond the platform, week nights offers 1:1 community coaching and the Connection Academy workshop series, providing practical skills for community builders at every stage. week nights is also a founding partner of Community Week NYC, a citywide celebration of belonging and the builders making real social connection possible in New York City. Visit their website at www.weeknights.co to learn more.