Members may participate in the decision making process, including making proposals and blocking decisions.

To become a member, you must:

1. Become a supporter, by joining and participating in the supporters e-mail list (supporters at reclaimingcommunity.org).
2. Agree to the Mission and other Agreements that have already been made.
3. Ask one of the members if you can attend the next face-to-face meeting and then be invited to do so. The time between your request and the invitation could take up to a week. When you are invited to the meeting, your status changes to exploring member. Someone must be a supporter and have introduced themselves on the supporter's list at least one month before becoming an exploring member. They then must become an exploring member at least one month before the meeting they want to attend. (This time-line might change once more people become involved and we are able to schedule our meetings further in advance.)
4. Attend the next face-to-face meeting. Each attendee pays his or her own travel and lodging expenses, and a share of the meeting expenses. Exploring members are welcomed and encouraged to participate fully at the face-to-face meetings (the only restriction being that they will not be able to block a decision). The members do reserve the option, if it feels necessary, to ask the exploring members to hold their questions for a later time or even to allow the members some private time.

After an exploring member has attended two face-to-face meetings in a twelve month period (preferably with only one meeting missed in between the two), the members will meet to decide on one of three options:

• Invite you to become a member
• Encourage you to continue as a supporter or exploring member, attend another face-to-face meeting to get to know you better and allow the members to give your request further consideration.
• Decline to invite you to become a member, though you may continue to participate as a supporter

If you are invited to become a member and choose to do so, you must:

• Attend consensus training if it was not provided at the face-to-face meeting.
• Pay dues. Dues for a new member are prorated at $20 per month until the next solstice, don't include the month of membership invitation, and are due during the month following the invitation.

In other words, if you are invited to join in____, your dues would be:

December, January, June, July - - - $100

February, August - - - - - - - - - - - - $80

March, September - - - - - - - - - - - $60

April, October - - - - - - - - - - - - - - $40

May, November - - - - - - - - - - - - - $20

Further clarification and agreement was reached on the payment and consequences of non-payment of dues at the Spring meeting in 2008.

• Decision date: 1/30/07
• Decision date for "exploring member" status and related time table and role at face-to-face meetings: 3/25/07
• Decision date for the refined definition of exploring member: 5/26/07
• Decision date for the three modifications to the time-table for supporters becoming exploring members and attending a face-to-face meeting, exploring members attending two face-to-face meetings before being invited to become a member, and exploring members' participation at face-to-face meetings: 10/16/07

The following loose ends have been identified and will need to be addressed.

• The idea of an "Inactive member" status for members who want to leave the group but retain some linkage. This loose end was resolved with the agreement to create an "Inactive member category" on 12/23
• When consensus was reached on inviting Aimee to become a member, we also agreed that we want to develop membership criteria and a more formalized path to membership. Some of the ideas that we have so far can be found Here.