The biggest topic on my SoFA-related mind, honestly, is currently our budget. General Circle is trying to figure out how to make sustainable decisions in a context where so many great things could use funding. And yet, we have to make choices that reflect our priorities and values. For me, it’s at the same time daunting, a bit annoying (talking about money again?!), but also an opportunity to talk, understand each other, and align our efforts as an organization. 

Remember, one way to support SoFA is to talk about sociocracy and SoFA in the world — on social media or elsewhere! I know we all already do some of that. Still, the more people are excited about sociocracy, the closer we get to achieving our mission and making SoFA more solid as an organization.

Share something you’re excited about, for example, the Oct 4 class on inclusive meetings — a perfect class for those who don’t know much about sociocracy but want to have better meetings. The free class is only one hour, so it’s an easy start for beginners. Sharing a post with your friends and associates takes two minutes — it helps them and SoFA!

Are you a circle leader?

New role description for circle leaders

From budgeting to conflict resolutions, circle leaders have to pay attention to the whole of the circle. Don’t worry; there’s plenty of support for you!

For your reference, the button below will take you to the Policy Manual in the SoFA Member Forum.

New SoFA Members

• Adrian Zarif (Romania) Romanian Circle, forming
• Iuliana Andronache (Romania) Romanian Circle, forming
• Jean Francois Roustan (France) French Circle
• Philippe Drouillon (Belgium) Supporting Member

Welcome • Bine ati venit • Bienvenu • Welkom

Upcoming member events

• THU Sep 22 @ 11:00 – 12:30 EDT
  Sociocracy Implementation Peer Support (SIPS) Community of Practice
  A community of practice for mutual support for people implementing sociocracy in their organizations. Meets monthly on the fourth Thursday.
• FRI Sep 23 @ 11:00 – 13:00 EDT
  Breaking Cycles Community of Practice
  A community of practice for members of sociocratic organizations that are interested in discussing harm reduction and unlearning & breaking cycles of the dominant oppressive culture within […]
• TUE Sep 27 @ 11:00 – 12:30 EDT
  Community of Practice: facilitators of sociocratic circles
  A community of practice for people holding the role of facilitator in their organizations. Meets monthly.
• FRI Sep 30 @ 11:00 – 12:30 EDT
  Sept. – Oct. 2022 Writer’s Workshop
  Join a small group of other writers for weekly mutual support in writing articles for publication on the SoFA website.
• WED Oct 5 @ 11:00 – 12:30 EDT
  Community of Practice: Schools and Education
  A community of practice for mutual support for school sociocratic practitioners.

Circle reports

General Circle

• The members of General Circle agreed to establish the Pay for Work Review Helping Circle, which will look at the details of our pay for work policy and make a proposal (in two months) for ways to improve that policy to meet the needs of our members better.
• In addition, this circle looked again at the upcoming budget decision: we have a lot of places where we want to invest the money we’re receiving, but we’re not bringing in enough money to cover it all. We may need to think hard about how we want to use the money we do have and also about how to better account for what we are using; the decision on the next budget will be on September 27. Please see the notes to glean more about the circle members’ ideas.

notes::general circle

Content Circle

• Within this department, Outreach Circle has presented a new campaign strategy with the theme of “Providing the structure to build a better future.”
• The members of Conference Circle discovered a new way to use Zoom for conferences that will hopefully streamline the way we publish conference information.

notes::content circle

Ecosystem Circle

• The members of Ecosystem Circle are working on coordinating with Outreach Circle on the new campaign strategy.  They have also hosted a Community of Practice for their delegates, and they’re working on developing a Partnership Coordinator role.
• In Permaculture Circle, the members learned from a potential new member that most of the permaculture projects in Italy run sociocratically.

notes::ecosystem circle

Membership Circle

• The members of this circle have consented to a new circle leader role description: we are asking circle leaders to help ensure that members of their circle have meaningful work to do (which may involve providing budget feedback and approving hours of compensated circle members), and also support conflict resolution processes as necessary within their circles.
• Within this department, Budgeting Circle has been working to amend the budget based on feedback and requests from individual fiscal circles.

notes::membership circle

International Circle

• Within the International Department, there are prospects for new Turkish and Romanian sub-circles.
• The members of the German sub-circle, SozFA, are preparing for their conference and need session hosts, (see announcement below). 

notes::international circle

Breaking Cycles CoP

Enrollment now open; next class — Friday, Sep 23

Breaking Cycles is a community of practice for those who wish to explore and discuss sociocracy through an anti-oppression lens. Due to the importance of building trust among defined members of the CoP, enrollment only opens every six months to bring in new members.

Konferenz für Selbstorganisation

German-speaking sociocracy conference — Oct 13

EVERY VOICE MATTERS
Konferenz für Selbstorganisation;
Co-Kreation und Verbindung 

The first German-speaking sociocracy conference will occur on October 13, 2022, 11:00 – 18:00 UTC. 

SoFA members are free! And we are still looking for Zoom hosts. To volunteer or simply attend the conference, email [email protected].

We — the SozFA-Circle — are looking forward to seeing you!

Sociocracy with Children

Workshop in two Saturday sessions, Oct 22 & 29, 15:00–17:00 UTC

For anyone wanting to practice sociocracy with children, whether you are working in a school group, at home, in a club, or in a co-op.

SoFA in the news

We have a new section on our webpage: Sociocracy in the News. If you have participated in an interview or written an article on behalf of SoFA, please send it to [email protected]. And don’t forget to share this awesome content. ?

Webinar Circle seeks members

We have fantastic stuff happening, like a webinar with Otto Scharmer. A great place for volunteer working members with many ideas!

Social Media Circle seeks members!

Could it be you?

Do you enjoy doing creative work? Are you excited to develop and produce content for social media? Are you interested in learning more about Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms? Do you have skills in video editing, graphic design, or social media management? We are especially in need of English speakers who would be comfortable reading scripts on camera for Instagram and Tiktok.

You don’t need to be an expert in social media! We offer training to help you get comfortable with the tasks.

Membership resources updated

Ready for your feedback. How do they look to you?

We’re also looking for folks to localize these pages into additional languages.

• Membership Agreement
  It’s the same agreement you sign up for when you became a member but just more clear on expectations and benefits.
  Contact: [email protected]

• Member Dashboard
  New look! The dashboard answers member questions and puts tools in easy reach.
  Contact: [email protected]

SoMBu feedback

Additional notices from role holders or circles are welcome. Submissions are due on the day when General Circle meets: Sep 13 | Sep 27 | Oct 11 | Oct 25 — all Tuesdays. Contact: [email protected].

Sombu is also the seed of the fennel plant!