Commonwealth
ˈkämənˌwelTH/
noun
- a community of shared interests in a nonpolitical field.
- the general good.
- where creative practitioners converge, share and provoke.
As a practicing artist, designer, author, developer, videographer, business leader, photographer or other self-identifying creative professional, you understand the value of congregating and collaborating with those outside of traditional disciplines.
It’s easy to become focused or stuck in your own field, but we’ve all seen the power of crossing boundaries and thinking across disciplines - new, amazing and valuable things happen.
Join Commonwealth and experience this power first hand as you’re immersed in and exposed to creativity in all its different forms. More than a conference or event, membership in Commonwealth includes access to nine events over a year, including: social events, signature speaker series (featuring speakers that you want to see) and a pass to the annual Commonwealth Conference.
Commonwealth is being developed by Titus Ferguson, Kevin Van Lierop and Mike Wickett. Read more about them here.
Membership
The core of Commonwealth is made up by its membership: Members and Patrons.
Limited to 50 Members and 5 Patrons. No more, no less.
Member
Members are practicing artists, designers, authors, developers, videographers, business leaders, photographers or other self-identifying creatives; all of whom understand the value of congregating and collaborating with those outside their traditional discipline.
Individual members receive:
- Exclusive access to the Social Series
- Tickets to both Signature Series events and to the Conference on Independent Publishing
- Food and beverage at each event
- Access to bi-monthly newsletters plus recordings & materials from each event
- Exclusive membership package
Investment: $699
Patron
Patrons are sustaining members (organizations & individuals) that appreciate the broader value which Commonwealth aims to create and foster across the region and disciplines. Patrons provide the ongoing support for Commonwealth to be develop, expanded and sustained.
Patron members receive:
- Patron recognition during each Commonwealth event
- Name recognition on website (linked)
- Two individual memberships in Commonwealth (transferrable)
- Chance to shape the development of the programming
- Meet & greet opportunities with select speakers and guests
Investment: $6,499
Programming
Events such as the Signature Series and Conference on Independent Publishing are open to the general public in addition to being included as part of the Commonwealth membership. The general public will be able to purchase tickets to these public events closer to each event date. The Social Series are membership exclusive events.
Signature Series
Public lectures and discussions that inspire the Commonwealth and broader creative community to converge, share and provoke. Sharing stories of success, failure and innovation, Commonwealth’s Signature Series hosts well-known and respected creative practitioners that encourage attendees to step outside their typical roles and consider their creative work in a broader context.
Value: $200 (2 lectures)
Conference
A gathering of creative practitioners from across disciplines, Commonwealth's Conference on Independent Publishing congregates creators to share their stories, be inspired and to provokes attendees to move beyond mediocrity in their individual and collaborative work. Highlighting talks from creators who are vanguards in their respective fields.
Value: $400 (1.5 day-long conference)
A note on speakers
If we're successful in developing a core membership for Commonwealth we're looking to host speakers of the same calibre as: Aaron Draplin (Field Notes & Draplin Design Co.), Max Temkin (Cards Against Humanity), Austin Kleon (Steal Like an Artist), Jonathan Snook (Shopify), Dan Martell (Clarity), Randall Lobb (Turtle Power Documentary), just to name a few. These types of speakers would be in addition to inviting back former Londoners who are 'making it big' in locations across North America. We're thinking big. We're thinking beyond London. We don't currently have any of these speakers booked.
To understand why, please read about planning events.
Partnerships
While we’re not adverse to taking sponsorship money we’re more interested in partnering with organizations to make Commonwealth as valuable as possible.
We’re looking to move beyond logo placement and name dropping.
Partners are organizations that are willing to help develop a single (or multiple) event into a meaningful experience. We’re not asking for a big investment of time, but are interested in including partners in the selection & introduction of speakers as well as the fostering of the broader Commonwealth community.
For more information about partnering please refer to the FAQ
If you think your organization would be a likely partner for Commonwealth please
Timeline
Commonwealth will only happen if there’s interest and support from the broader creative community.
We’re looking to develop the core membership of 50 Members and 5 Patrons over the next 60 days. We won’t exceed the core membership numbers; once we’ve reached our numbers no further memberships will be sold.
If we reach the FULL core membership number by March 9th, 2015 we’ll move ahead with launching the full complement of Commonwealth programming.
However, if there isn’t enough interest, and the core membership doesn’t fill out, we’ll refund all membership fees collected, wipe our hands clean and and walk away from the idea as it currently exists.
For more information about this model please refer to the FAQ
FAQ
What are the origins of Commonwealth?
Commonwealth was developed from the ashes of PodCamp London. After four successful years PodCamp London was discontinued in 2012.
Since then the organizers of PodCamp London, along with other partners, have been working on a new event that would help to further connect and enhance creative and cultural communities in southwestern Ontario.
We believe that an ongoing series of events (rather than a one-time event) provides an opportunity for more intense discussions and creates an environment of further collaborations and creative expression.
Commonwealth is an ambitious attempt to foster a purposeful community whose membership is formed from a broad cross-section of creative practitioners.
Why is Commonwealth being developed & funded in this way?
Over the past year we’ve invested a great deal to take Commonwealth from a simple idea into a potential year of valuable programming.
There’s still a great deal left to do.
In order for us to develop Commonwealth into a fully functioning community and speaker series for creative practitioners we need to know that there is an actual interest and value in it being developed further, and that there are the resources available to make it happen.
We’re more than willing to put in all the effort that’s required to make Commonwealth come to life, but unless it will provide actual value to a broader community and there’s the capital to make it happen, we can’t invest anymore of our time, energy or resources in it, at least not to develop it the way it’s currently realized.
We’re looking to form the inaugural, core membership of Commonwealth. A limited number of Members and Patrons will exist. With the benefits outline below, those who invest in becoming a core Commonwealth member will have access to the complete year of programming, including six exclusive, member-only events. The inaugural core membership will help to shape Commonwealth into a valuable experience for this and any future years.
If we’re able to sell the complete membership for Commonwealth we’ll have the known interest, the capital and ‘mandate’ to develop it fully. If we’re unable to sell all of the available memberships we’ll know that Commonwealth isn’t ready for the region, in it’s current state.
We’re setting a deadline of 60 days to sell the complete core membership to Commonwealth.
- When you invest in a membership your credit card will not be immediately charged however, it may be pre-authorized.
- If we reach our membership goals, all pre-authorized memberships will be fully charged (to the credit card provided).
- If we fail to reach the full membership goals, 50 Members and 5 Patrons, all pre-authorized orders by ‘potential’ members will be cancelled, 100%.
We’re not looking to scam anyone, we’re looking to develop and create a valuable community.
You want how much for a membership?
The truth of the matter is that not everything that is social and community focused should be free. If something provides value it should be exchanged for something of equal value; this includes money.
What we’re wanting to accomplish with Commonwealth is ambitious, we recognize this, and in order to fully develop it we need the required capital to do so.
In the case of the Commonwealth membership, we’re not selling tickets to a single event, we’re offering a membership in a community and a year long opportunity for personal and professional development. When averaged over the nine events included, the cost per event is lower than the average monthly cell phone bill.
At this point the membership fees won’t cover all of the expenses that we’ll incur, meaning that membership fees should actually be higher. With that said, we’re hoping that once we have our core membership we will be able to offset the costs with public event ticket sales and partnerships.
You want me to give you money upfront before an event is even fully planned?
While we could invest, upfront, all of the capital required to put together an ambitious year of programming there is no guarantee that there is an actual interest and audience for such a thing.
Booking venues and speakers requires up-front capital and when there's no guarantee that people will actually attend we're running the risk of having to pay contract cancellation fees, which we simply can't afford to do.
Rather than operating at a loss, and potentially ‘losing our shirts’, we’ve chosen to balance the investment of time and money.
We’re asking for an investment by a small core membership upfront to validate the concept behind Commonwealth. If the investment (and membership) proves to exist we’ll put in the time, energy and additional resources needed to bring Commonwealth to life.
What we're asking for as an investment is less than most professional development courses and we're offering to provide more thoughtful and robust programming.
We’ve developed enough events and ventures in the past to know that “if you build it, they will come” isn’t always the case. While this is a traditional business model it certainly isn’t a solid business model.
We're hoping that with a core group of members that we can jointly invest in Commonwealth; time, money and energy are all require to develop something as ambitious as Commonwealth and we're looking to share the investment with those who want to see it happen.
Along with reinventing traditional conferences, communities and events as platforms, we’ve decided to look towards reinventing the business model with Commonwealth as well.
The organization I work for/own would like to Sponsor Commonwealth. How can we do that?
While we’re not adverse to taking sponsorship money we’re more interested in partnering with organizations to make Commonwealth as valuable as possible.
We’re looking to move beyond logo placement and name dropping.
While partnership opportunities do require a certain fiscal commitment we’re looking for organizations that are willing to help develop a single (or multiple) event into a meaningful experience. We’re not asking for a big investment of time, but are interested in including partners in the selection & introduction of speakers as well as the fostering of the broader Commonwealth community.
Partnership opportunities begin at $5 000 and increase depending on the level of commitment and exposure.
We’re looking for organizations to partner with for the following segment of events:
- Social Series (members only)
- Signature Series (open to the public)
- Conference on Independent Publishing (open to the public)
- Commonwealth: Creative Community (all events)
What charge will show up on my credit card?
The transaction on your credit card will appear as Form & Foundry.
What is Form & Foundry?
Form & Foundry is a design studio that specializes in the rapid re-definition of tired & forgotten ideas. More information about Form & Foundry can be found by visiting www.formandfoundry.com.
Who is developing Commonwealth?
Titus Ferguson & Kevin Van Lierop, founders of Form & Foundry, along with Mike Wickett, have been developing Commonwealth from an initial idea to the opportunity presented here.
They're working together on this in addition to their day jobs but are no strangers to developing and delivering on their ambitious ideas, just ask around.
Can I trust you guys?
We’d like to think so.
Social Series
An exclusive, member only speaker series that connects creative practitioners in engaging and intimate social environments. Curating beyond-local speakers from a broad spectrum of creative disciplines, Commonwealth’s Social Series encourages collaboration and collective action between colleagues, peers and the Commonwealth community.
Value: $400 (6 social events)