Common Ground

Common House is committed to building an inclusive and vibrant community that incorporates many different voices and perspectives. The Common Ground program seeks to recognize those who are making a positive impact in our communities by offering a free year of membership to Common House and by providing opportunities for network growth, professional development, and community engagement.

Goals:

  • Provide access to the Common House community, amenities, and programming by providing each candidate with one year of free membership

  • Connect individuals from a diverse background to one another and others within our membership base

  • Facilitate opportunities for networking, learning, and engagement beyond the usual Common House programming

Benefits:

  • One year of free Common House membership

  • Access to weekly programming and our House amenities

  • Quarterly networking events with other CG members & leaders of CH or the local community

  • Mentoring opportunities within the Common House community

  • Opportunities to lead discussions and/or participate directly in CH programming

Other Details:

  • This will be an annual program that runs from January through December

  • Four networking events will be hosted for each cohort throughout the year and we encourage all participants to attend, if available

  • Lead of the program at each House is the membership director

    • Programming manager to help plan the quarterly events, if needed

Selection Process

  • We will be cultivating a diverse cohort through our selection process managed by the Common House leadership team. We will be ensuring that each cohort is diverse in all demographics (ethnicity, sex, age, industry types, etc) to encourage learning and growth opportunities amongst participants within the program and with the membership base as a whole.

    • Each class will be at least 30% ethnically diverse

    • All participants will need to make under ~$50k in their current role to qualify

      • Company referral’s are required within the application & reach out if we feel necessary

    • Diverse industries

    • 50% gender ratio

    • Rating is 1-5 with 5 being highest rating.

    • Salary: $0-$15k = 5 | $15-30k = 4 | $30-$45k = 3 | $45-$60 = 2 | $60k+ = 1

      • Overall need based on current financial situation

    • Will this applicant take advantage of what Common House has to offer (network, amenities and programming)?

    • Community involvement?

    • Did this applicant put effort into the Common Ground application showing high interest in becoming a CH member?

    • Overall application: Do you think this applicant would be a great fit for the CH community?

    • Scoring Sheet Example (2022 CH RVA)

  • Communication templates linked here
    (remember to always update deadlines/other dates for each new CG cycle)