The Membership
For community-builders, policymakers, small business owners, neighbors, funders, thinkers, and readers committed to our generational project of civic renewal.
Connective Tissue membership is built on reciprocity: Joining is a commitment to support the newsletter and to support your fellow members. Our members help each other out — teaching each other and learning from each other, inspiring and getting inspired by one another. And our members have the opportunity to do so through a mix of interactive events, peer-led groups, IRL offerings, and a digital network.
Power Connective Tissue’s writing. Join a network of mutual support. Help make our generational project a shared project. Consider becoming a member today.
How membership works
Designed by members to have many entry points and many opportunities to deepen engagement — both digitally and in-the-reeeeeeeeeeeeal-world.
Get inspired by fellow members’ work in the Tissue Review, our monthly members-only newsletter. Connect directly with fellow members through our Member Database and Slack. Participate in our live digital events to learn alongside and build relationships with fellow members. And spend time with fellow members in-person — at our annual gathering and through local and regional member gatherings.
Interactive Events
Live quarterly digital events, including practice-driven workshops, article discussions, reading groups, and more. Check out our past events here.
Peer-Led Groups*
Member-led groups organized around shared interests, needs, and opportunities, and access to a platform to facilitate self-organization.
Member Database & Slack
An opt-in database and Slack network for members to learn about each other’s work, share asks and offerings, and connect around shared interests.
IRL Offerings*
An annual gathering — exclusively for Connective Tissue members — plus microgrants for local and regional member gatherings.
The “Tissue Review”
A monthly deep dive into our favorite reads from the past month or so, plus spotlights on what your fellow members are up to.
*Both microgrants for local/regional member gatherings and peer-led groups are exclusively for members of the Tissue Crew. Check out this page to learn more about our Tissue Crew membership.
Our membership levels
We’ve got two ways for you to exercise your membership muscle.
Membership is a natural extension of what we’re already doing with Connective Tissue. Our existing newsletter offerings — our monthly Originals and Q&As — remain free for all subscribers. What are you paying for, then? Funny you ask. The dues-paying memberships include two options, each detailed in the chart below.
Making Membership Accessible
We want to make membership accessible to those with financial need, while ensuring all members are paying something. So, we are offering a sliding scale for those who need it, with a floor of $50/year for regular members and $100/year for the Tissue Crew. We’re using the honor system, so we ask that you only sign up using our sliding scale if you actually need it. You can learn more about registering for your preferred sliding scale membership level here.
Who should join
This membership isn’t for everyone, and we think that’s a good thing.
We’re looking for members who are animated by what they’ve read in the newsletter, who want to build reciprocal relationships with one another, and who get excited to contribute to something that’s still forming. If you’re looking for a highly professionalized, transactional, polished network, we’re happy to direct you elsewhere.
You might be a fit if …
Aligned
You’re animated by what you’ve read in the newsletter and want to support it
Relational
You want to build relationships, learn, and collaborate with a network of peers
Emergent
You’re excited by the opportunity to contribute to something that’s still taking shape
You might not be a fit if …
Misaligned
You’ve never read the newsletter, or fundamentally disagree with our approach
Transactional
You primarily want to network to advance yourself and your own work
Polished
You’re looking for a refined, polished, and fully mature offering
Become a member
A commitment to reciprocity, not a one-off transaction.
As a member, you’ll have the opportunity to give and receive support, teach and learn, and help power the writing of Connective Tissue. Make this commitment official and become a member today.
Connect
Connect with fellow members, support one another on shared needs or opportunities, and deepen your engagement with Connective Tissue’s content.
Learn
Learn and get inspiration from fellow members to bring new civic strategies, practices, activities, and ideas back to your community.
Support
Support the future of our work — powering our writing and member network — and continue shaping what the member experience can become.
Thank you to our Founding Members!
Elise Allyn
Sharon Avery
Sara Fenske Bahat
Amar Bakshi
Ben Bain
Hudson Baird
Nellie Beckett
Paul Beyer
Cristin Brawner
Scott Cooper
Nancy Connolly
Brian Corbin
Elias Crim
Pete Davis
Joelle Deleveaux
Lisa Duty
Vanessa Elias
Elizabeth Gish
Eric Goldwein
Chris Griswold
Jonathan Gruber
Kate Hanisian
Sarah Hemminger
Chip Hauss
Ken Himmelman
David Hsu
Sharon Kang
Marty Kearns
Casper ter Kuile
Gabe Lerner
Eric Leslie
Lucas Levine
Susan Lukin
Daniel Marshall
Jason Mangone
Colin Mutchler
Joshua Nesbit
Annysa Polanco
Daniel Polissky
Dylan Pyne
Vivek Ramakrishnan
Beth Pressler
Justin G. Reid
Melanie Roper
Jackson Solway
Rich Speeney
Daniel Stid
Jen Stine
Gordon Strause
Taylor Stuckert
Leslie Thomas
Ryan Thornton
Alina Tomeh
Kate Tucker
James Vancel
Jennifer Wallace
Michael Wear
Louise White
Ross Wiener
Nate Wong
Daniel Yudkin
Bridgette Zorn