Fabrik's Homegrown Series Week 3: How To Build Sustainable, Scalable Community with Tony Bacigalupo
This three-part series is for anyone who loves their city but isn’t content to just live in it. Community-builder, and long-time friend of Fabrik, Tony breaks down the mindsets, maps, and momentum you need to move from newcomer to trusted local leader without burning out. Over three Tuesday evenings we’ll blend stories, step-by-step frameworks, and hands-on mini-workshops so you leave each session with concrete actions to take before the next one.
Whether you just got your keys or you’ve been around for years and want to level-up your impact, you’ll walk away with a clearer plan and a growing crew to cheer you on.
Week 3: How To Build Sustainable, Scalable Community
Too many community leaders burn out. Fortunately, you can avoid it and map a long-term plan that ensures your community will work for you as it grows.
In our third, and final week, we’ll cover:
The Sustainable Models of Community - Whether free or paid, big or small, there are several sustainable ways to approach community—and several tried-and-true unsustainable and tragically common paths to recognize and avoid.
How to Design for Sustainability - Looking out for the common pitfalls and how to make it as easy as possible for your community to grow without overloading yourself.
How to Scale Gracefully - What does it look like for the community to grow beyond its current size? Could it become a business? What happens when someone in another city wants your help expanding your community to their city?
You’ll learn many handy best practices and accumulate a few resources. You might even walk away with a new group chat!
Our Host: Tony Bacigalupo
Tony Bacigalupo led the charge to open Manhattan’s first coworking space, New Work City, in 2008. Much more than just a workspace, New Work City was home to countless Meetup groups and community programs, acting as a social hub for entrepreneurs and independent workers.
Along the way, he witnessed and supported the growth of the decentralized global coworking movement—seeing it grow from just a few dozen people in a Google Group to a household word that’s changed the world’s relationship with work forever.
Having worked with hundreds of community leaders, Tony has seen firsthand what it takes to build communities that can grow to make a global impact.
He wrote the 2023 State of Belonging Report and is currently hosting the You Are Invited radio show. He is also publishing a series of zines called Recipes for Belonging. He is organizing local programming and coordinating with the local government to make his new hometown of Norwalk the most belongful city in the world—and daring others to do better.