Questions about The Intentional Living Collective

• What is The Intentional Living Collective?

  TILC is a non-profit organization based in Ann Arbor, MI and we make it our business to provide tools and programs that deliver hope, inspiration, resources, and a sense of real community to people during times of change and especially during major life transitions. We believe that strong, authentic communities are the product of an intentional and sustained effort by members of a group to come together and to stay connected for the better of everyone involved.

• Is The Intentional Living Collective a federally recognized non-profit organization?

  Yes, TILC has been a licensed 501c3 charitable organization since October of 2016, EIN 81-4138693.

• Who is the founder of The Intentional Living Collective?

  TILC was founded by Callan Loo in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Callan is also the founder and President of Intentional Legacies.

• How is The Intentional Living Collective funded?

  Since its inception TILC has primarily been funded by operating loans and donations from Intentional Legacies and Callan Loo, with some additional funding coming from individual program sponsors and donors. The Covid-19 crisis had a significant impact on funding availability and as a result TILC has begun working more closely with community donors and sponsors through their Grassroots Heroes campaign (see below).

• How does The Intentional Living Collective define community?

  TILC defines community as a group of people and/or organizations that a.) have something important in common, b.) make a sustained investment of time and energy to remain connected together in some way, and c.) have a genuine concern for the well-being of other members of their community.

• What does The Intentional Living Collective offer to the community?

  TILC believes that now is the perfect time for us to come together in authentic community to rise up and support each other even as we find our own paths to health, happiness, and a sense of peace. TILC offers programs and resources that offer hope, inspiration, access to resources, and a sense of authentic community to its members.

• Why does The Intentional Living Collective focus on supporting people through major life transitions?

  TILC recognizes that all people encounter major life transitions from time to time, that most people don't learn how to navigate these big challenges until they're faced with them, that they often occur in bunches and can be overwhelming, that resources for navigating them effectively can be hard to find, that navigating them alone can feel very isolating, that these major life transitions can be catalysts for meaningful personal growth, and that finding others that can truly understand and provide support during critical times can alchemize feelings of isolation and despair into connection and hope.

• Which major life transitions does the Intentional Living Collective provide support for?

  As of October 2021, TILC explicitly supports seventeen major life transitions, and they can currently be explored at The Life Transition Zone. Once launched, the Eos community connections portal will replace the Life Transition Zone.

• What is the TILC Life Transition (LT) Ambassador Program and how do TILC Life Transition Ambassadors help community members?

  LT Ambassadors are everyday people that have been deeply affected by one or more of the life transitions that TILC supports and they have a deep passion for helping others experiencing those same transitions. They volunteer to help because they care, and they "get you" because they've been there too. They listen and understand people during times of need, and they help direct them to the resources and organizations that can help them. TILC's Ambassador Program offers these volunteers training, access to LTZ resource banks, and the support of the whole team. Local Ambassador teams are led by "Lead Ambassadors" who coordinate the efforts of volunteers on their teams. Get more info about the program and a link to apply to become a TILC Ambassador here.

• Are TILC Life Transition Ambassadors compensated?

  At this time all ambassadors are volunteers so there is no financial compensation. TILC intends to compensate Lead Ambassadors when funding is secured.

• What geographic areas does The Intentional Living Collective support?

  TILC's home community is the Southeast Michigan / Northwest Ohio region and their initial efforts are focused there. Their intention is to expand region to region until they support the entire United States and Canada.

• What does it mean to be a member of The Intentional Living Collective?

  TILC offers individual and organization memberships, and becoming a member means joining a community that explicitly accepts the terms of the TILC membership agreement. The agreement includes a code of conduct which says members will behave toward other members in line with the shared community values that are clear and simple - and they effectively add up to treating each other as good human beings.

• Are there different types and levels of memberships in the Intentional Living Collective?

  TILC offers individual and organization membership types, and there are four membership levels of each type that offer benefits commensurate with the annual membership fee. There are free provisional and basic levels, and there are also paid preferred and premier levels which offer additional benefits for a reasonable annual fee.

• Why does membership in the Intentional Living Collective require acceptance of TILC's code of conduct?

  Because TILC is a safe community in which members can choose to show up authentically and share personal information if they choose to – and for members to feel safe it's important for them to know they can trust other members to treat them in predictably positive ways.

• What are the community-shared values that TILC's code of conduct is based on?

  • 1.)Community: We value all member voices and strive for productive and healthy collaborations between all.

  • 2.)Safety: We behave toward all members in ways that help them feel safe, in all situations.

  • 3.)Integrity: We let our actions reflect our values and strive to meet all commitments. If a commitment can't be met we will correct our actions in a timely and effective manner.

  • 4.)Respectful: We treat all members with respect at all times and use language that reflects appreciation of their wisdom and perspective.

  • 5.)Fairness: We are inclusive, fair, and equitable in all our transactions and interactions with all members.

  • 6.)Supportive and Inspiring: We use words and actions with all members that encourage and uplift them on their individual and collective journeys, encouraging them to be their best, authentic selves.

  • 7.)Constructive: We address disagreements constructively, giving others the benefit of the doubt and attacking problems in collaborative ways rather than attacking the people.

  • 8.)Organic: We interact with all members in a way that allows things to unfold in the most natural way possible

• How will the Intentional Living Collective enforce its code of conduct?

  The membership agreement, available at eosportal.org, details the process by which members are expected to hold themselves and each other accountable to behave in line with the community shared values. If members can't resolve a dispute between them there is a defined process to enlist the help of the TILC curations team and escalate if needed. If absolutely necessary the TILC curations team may choose to take down offending content and, in extreme cases, terminate the membership of a member that refuses to honor their agreement.

• Will TILC proactively monitor members' content for potentially offensive material or wait for a member to flag content before acting upon it?

  Both. In addition to helping address content that's flagged by a member, TILC reserves the right to periodically check content stored in a member's account to ensure that private folders and groups aren't being used to store and/or share content that would be harmful to other members if shared. TILC will not ever sell a member's private information, nor will they expose it without due process.

• If a member loses their membership because of repeated violations of their code of conduct, will that member receive a refund of their membership fees?

  No. The membership agreement makes it clear that refunds will not be offered if a member violates the terms of their agreement.

Questions about the Eos Community Connections Portal

• What is the Eos Community Connections Portal?

  Eos is an online community-building website that's part social media platform, part beacon of light and hope, part event management tool, part resource and service matching system, and part community-building space.

• What benefits does Eos offer to users?

  Eos offers, among other things, hope and inspiration through the power of real, personal life transition stories; access to resources and programs through a resource portal and community support feature; and authentic community connections through discussion forums, community events, and members-only blog posts. Setting itself apart from other membership-based digital platforms, TILC guarantees that members' data will never be used for financial gain or sold to a third party without the members' prior knowledge and approval.

• Do you have to be a member of the Intentional Living Collective to use Eos?

  While membership is a requirement for posting content to Eos, some information in Eos is viewable by non-members as well. Non-members can use Eos to view this "public" information and to perform resource searches. Members can also access "members-only" information that the content owner gives them access to and they can post personal life transition stories, participate in discussion forums, and use the event management system.

• Is Eos a social media platform?

  Yes, but it's very different from today's mainstream social media platforms. Because only members can post content in Eos and all members agree to a community-oriented code of conduct, you can think of Eos as a community-oriented social media platform with a heart and a conscience.

• Why is a platform from the Intentional Living Collective better or safer that other mainstream platforms?

  TILC is an established 501c3 non-profit organization that has been building community and offering local programming in Michigan since as early as 2010, and their mission centers around making the world a better place rather than around making money. They envisioned Eos from the beginning as a platform in which members' private data would never be sold and the Eos privacy policy says that. Further, the TILC board of directors has taken steps to ensure that the privacy policy won't be change to allow that and that ownership of Eos won't change without their approval.

• How does The Intentional Living Collective ensure that members' private information is secure and safe in Eos?

  While it is impossible to guarantee that data is secure and private, TILC has taken extraordinary steps in this area and will continue to do so. The Eos platform was architected to allow members to decide which of their private information would be accessible by other members of their choice. Eos is hosted on a highly secure hosting platform with many security features enabled to protect members' data. Further, any efforts by members to misuse any other members' private information will lead to suspension and possibly cancellation of their membership

• How does The Intentional Living Collective ensure inclusivity and that members of underserved communities can access the resource in the Community Connections Portal?

  TILC is a non-profit organization built on the belief that all people deserve to be treated fairly and that we should treat all people – TILC members or not – in ways consistent with the TILC community values discussed above. TILC offers free basic memberships to anyone that wants to use the Eos platform and is willing to abide by the community code of conduct spelled out in the membership agreement – which also explains how TILC will curate content posted by members and enforce the code of conduct to ensure members' safety.

• Why now? How is this the perfect time for the Eos Community Connections Portal?

  The current socioeconomic environment – at global, national, regional, and local levels – is challenging for many people and feelings of isolation and disillusionment are rampant. Mental health issues, addictions, and suicide are clearly on the rise. Many people are experiencing one or more major life transitions and that often brings feelings of insecurity and uncertainty. Further, we're struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our connections to the people and organizations around us are being changed in ways we really don't fully understand. For all those reasons, now is exactly the right time to deliver a community-oriented online Portal that enables safe, authentic connections and gives us the hope, inspiration, resources, and connections to help ourselves and each other heal and grow.

• Where does the name Eos come from and what does it mean?

  In Greek mythology Eos is the name of the Goddess of the dawn, and the Eos community connections portal ushers in the dawn of a new type of community.