Do you dream of living in a
vibrant, creative, and engaged town?
Together, we can design that
dream community!
Discover our action-oriented community building framework that has been designed for driven local individuals just like you. We will empower you to launch creative experiences and ideas that strengthen your whole community, while finding the accountability you need to pursue them.
JOIN THE COURSE RISK-FREESOME OF OUR PREVIOUS PARTNERS HAVE INCLUDED:
PERFECT FOR SMALL TOWNS TO BIG CITIES
Transform Your
Neighborhoods and Downtowns
into Vibrant Communities
My proven 6-step framework is ideal for all creative placemakers, city planners, and nonprofit leaders looking for ways to design a thriving community.
- Save time designing meaningful experiences for your neighbors that increase connection
- Enable your community to be actively engaged in collaborating and shaping your shared future together
- Increase membership, engagement, and participation in your organization
- Attract creative talent to your region
- Increase creative economic development in your town
- Unlock practical and experiential facilitation techniques and activities to level-up your community building approaches
- Connect with creative community builders from other towns who you've been searching for
We've built and tested the framework.
All you have to do is apply it to your town!
JOIN THE COURSE RISK-FREE
"As a local city councilwoman, the bureaucracy can sometimes feel overwhelming and change can feel stale. Spud does an amazing job of showing how personal approaches can lead to influential change."
Deanna Behring, State College Borough Council Member
and Director of Ag Sciences Global at Penn State
INTRODUCING THE COURSE
How to Design Creative Communities
Take the Guesswork out of Designing Engaging Experiences for Your Town!
This course consists of 6 modules that will guide you through how to creatively impact your community. You'll get access to:
- Dozens of video lessons on assessing community needs and developing innovative solutions
- Tangible activities and weekly challenges to practically apply your learning
- An 80-page Field Guide full of prompts and guidance that is designed to be taken into the streets
- An online peer-learning community to grow your network and find accountability
IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU
Hi, I'm Spud 👋
Since 2010, I have consulted with dozens of towns around the country, federal government agencies, school districts, Fortune 100’s, universities, and nonprofits.
I've trained over 10,000 emerging leaders in creative community building and applied the framework to countless organizations.
Beyond my consulting work, I’ve raised more than $1 million in investment capital for community-driven social enterprises. The process works and I promise you’ll be in good hands.
"Spud is what would happen if you took the imagination and creativity of a second grader and paired it with the wisdom of a 90-year-old professor. It is a gift to meet someone with this level of creativity and skill to effectively bring these dreams to life."
Dustin Liu, United Nations, U.S. Youth Observer
Here's What Others Are Saying...
“This course gets you out of the box and forces you to consider all of the complexities of a community."
Dr. Renee Just – Community Leader and University Professor
“We had ideas but nothing concrete. Spud does a great job to organize those ideas and put thoughts into motion.”
Jamie Dunlap – Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
“Spud makes an impossible feat feel possible by walking alongside and giving you the tools you need."
Erica Quinn – Nonprofit Arts and Innovation Leader
“I ended up getting my mind blown by just how much I learned… and by the end of the course, I felt relief.”
Jessica Rodman – Past Online Course Participant
HOW IS THE COURSE STRUCTURED?
Introducing the CANVAS Framework
This framework consists of 6 steps to help you cultivate community in the places you live, work, learn, and play.
Discover practical techniques that are grounded in research, real-life experience and proven through practice. This course is action-oriented and gets you building community – not just studying it – from day one!
MODULE 1
Chart Your Path
Determine what success would look like, how your unique style will influence the idea, and how to move past fears preventing you from getting started.
1.1: Work Backward from the Future
1.2: Identify Your Unique Style
1.3: Reimagine Your Fears and Passions
MODULE 2
Ask Probing Questions
Get a pulse on what your community needs by getting face-to-face, testing your assumptions, and learning how to ask curious questions.
2.1: Get Face-to-Face
2.2: Test Your Assumptions
2.3: Spark Creativity with Curiosity
MODULE 3
Name Early Adopters
Identify those who are most eager to rally behind your idea and build momentum by asking for deeper engagement over time and incrementally.
3.1: Find Your First Followers
3.2: Stagger Incremental Asks
3.3: Build Momentum Through Trust
MODULE 4
Visualize a Prototype
Develop moments of wonder, which are small experiments to tangibly test your idea and learn what works. Think small, cheap, and fast to test the boundaries of what's possible.
4.1: Show, Don't Tell
4.2: Weave in Wonder
4.3: Divide Big Ideas by 500
MODULE 5
Articulate Your Story
Design a clear and compelling narrative for your project that stands out and is easily shareable, while leveraging various media forms.
5.1: Invite Others into a Clear Narrative
5.2: Stand Out
5.3: Navigate the Media Landscape
MODULE 6
Sustain Efforts with Partners
Find partnerships that satisfy a mutual need and learn how to lean on your network's trust as a critical currency of partnership-building.
6.1: Seek Transformation, Not Transactions
6.2: Stop Pitching, Start Serving
6.3: Rely on the Collective Trust of Others
🎁 'BOGO' SPECIAL OFFER 🎁
Buy the Course for Yourself and Gift the Course for FREE to a Friend
For a limited number of people who purchase the course in the next few days, we'll send you a bonus Field Guide along with a 100% off coupon to share with a friend. It's the gift that keeps on giving!
EXAMPLES OF HOW THE CANVAS FRAMEWORK CAN BE APPLIED
How the Course Inspires Community Projects
3 Dots: an Arts and Innovation Community Center
3 Dots is a downtown community space that supports artists, emerging leaders, and creatives to engage with their town. It features a gallery, event venue, and outdoor placemaking patio for hosting community events.
The CANVAS Framework was used to launch the organization, which now partners closely with the Downtown Improvement District and local nonprofits.
co.space: a 21-person Home for Changemakers
The co.space is a co-living space that provides intentional community for young professionals and plays a key role in recruiting and retaining creative talent to the region.
The CANVAS Framework was used to design the home and programming throughout the year. Tenants participate in shared meals, connect with local mentors, and go on regular retreats together.
New Leaf: Entrepreneurship Co-working Space
New Leaf was established to spark creativity in a town that became complacent with the status quo. Over the course of a decade, the CANVAS Framework allowed the non-profit to establish the town's entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem and inspire numerous spin-off ventures to start up.
Potluck Brainstorm: Community Visioning Series
The Potluck Brainstorm series was a year-long project that engaged hundreds of community members to design their ideal community. Using principles from the CANVAS Framework, facilitated dialogues were hosted on topics ranging from local food, faith, politics, and the arts.
Fellowship: Emerging Leaders Training Program
The Teach for America Graduate Fellows Program used the CANVAS Framework to design a fellowship and train emerging leaders who were committed to reinvesting in rural Mississippi by launching social ventures.
Innovation Hub: Renovation of High School Libraries
The Southern Tioga School District transformed two of their high school libraries into Innovation Hubs for their students and used the CANVAS Framework to engage the community in the design and renovation process.
Tailor the course to your needs and launch your own creative project!
JOIN THE COURSE RISK-FREEGET STARTED TODAY!
How to Design Creative Communities Course
Individual Access
$395
Get started today and receive a BOGO coupon to share with a friend!
PURCHASE NOW14-DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE
Not sure if the course will be a good fit? That’s ok! Give it a try risk-free. We offer a money-back guarantee for the first 14 days if you find the course isn’t a helpful tool for you. No questions asked!
Not ready for the full course? Consider reading our book "Designing Creative Communities" to get inspired
BUY THE BOOK ON AMAZON