Last summer, when we started working on the idea that eventually became Gravitate, we came up with the concept of a “Community Members” (originally called “Social Members”) to the space. The idea was to find a way for people who aren’t going to cowork at Gravitate to still participate and be a part of the space/community. Community Members have been invited first to our events, are included in our Founding Member wall and will receive a t-shirt.
To date, we’ve had 86 people join as Community Members which is tremendous. We’ve been thinking a lot about how to provide further value to this membership plan and we’re launching a revised plan on March 1 (don’t worry, all current Community Members get these benefits, immediately as part of their existing membership, too).
Community Membership Plan 2015 — $150
- Inclusion in Gravitate’s TownSquare member directory
- One coworking drop-in day each month (a $180 value!)
- 10% discount on any Gravitate services, such as Daily drop-in, mailbox membership or meeting room rental
- 10% discount to Gravitate events
- Annual Member t-shirt
TownSquare is our new community software and one of the most interesting benefits in the membership directory. All Community Members and Coworking Members are encouraged to create a profile and list their skills and interests. Both skills and interests can be searched through the directory, so if you’re looking for a designer, just search Graphic Design or UI Design or similar in the directory to see everyone in our community with that skill.
Similarly, you can search on interests, like people interested in tabletop gaming if you want to organize a game night or Apple, Inc. if you’re want to find some folks to watch the next big keynote.
As more of our members join TownSquare it will keep become more and more valuable.
Click here to join us a Community Member
A note on billing
TownSquare is also handling all of our membership billing. The Community Membership plan is $150/year and all billing is done by credit card (they’re working on incorporating Dwolla, too). As you sign up for TownSquare, you’ll need to enter a credit card but you won’t be charged until your renewal date (the date that you originally joined).
Hat tip to 100state in Madison and Vault in Cedar Rapids for their inspiration on this plan.
Geoff Wood has been helping tell the story of the Iowa startup community since 2009. In addition to writing here, he hosts a podcast, speaks at conferences, organizes events and runs Gravitate—the entrepreneurial center of gravity in downtown Des Moines.