Hello Reader,

Last Friday night, we hosted a CreativeMornings at Night - a convening for our creative community and a stage for the performers and artists among us.

It was a pure joy!

Singers, poets, storytellers and musicians poured through the doors with guitar cases under their arms, notebooks in hand and boomboxes on their shoulder.

For over two hours, they shared slices of their creative lives with us: poems, songs about heartache and weed and "Bradley’s dad", stories, raps, whistles

For one night, we created a little creative magic in downtown Staunton ✨

What, then, happens, when these kinds of events, and organizers, vanish from our communities, our downtowns?

Events like Friday night do not happen on their own.

Since January 2024, I have watched ecosystem builders across the country lose their jobs. I am curious about what happens next:

• Who stops convening?
• What conversations simply do not happen?
• Do partners retreat back into their siloes?
• How do entrepreneurs and creatives respond when the ecosystem slows to a crawl?

When funding is cut or delayed indefinitely, roles eliminated and programs discontinued, it might not all come crashing down in an instant but I know that these impacts are felt at the grassroots.

If you or your ecosystem have been affected by these shifts, and are willing to share your story, I would love to hear from you! What changed? What stopped? What surprised you?

Hit 'reply' to this email to share your experience!

Ecosystem Essential: Getting Things Done in an Ecosystem

In the last issue of Impact Curator, I published a Builder Deep Dive on Morgan Allen, an ecosystem builder who brings a startup mindset into government and proves you can move fast inside bureaucracy.

But if you’re like me, inspiration is not enough. You want the tools.

That’s why Morgan and I created this Ecosystem Essential. It distills her approach into a practical, ready-to-use guide with real examples of shared infrastructure, like the Indiana Yearbook, and a clear method for turning ecosystem intent into action.

In a moment when funding feels uncertain, momentum matters even more. If you’re ready to stop planning and start building, this is your next step:

Bookish

Here's what I've been reading

• ​The Wilderness, Angela Flournoy. As promised in the last issue, here's what I thought: The writing is excellent, but I definitely got lost among the different timelines, characters and geographies - not to speak of strange interpersonal dynamics. And then, 80 pages from the end, the book took a complete turn that threw me for a loop but definitely left an impression. I have a feeling this book will stick with me. If you want to challenge yourself, read it!
• ​Theo of Golden, Allen Levi. I had heard so much about this book that when I spotted a copy at our Winter Book Salon, I put everything else on hold. One of our local booksellers shared that the author, Allen Levi, self-published this novel and sold a whopping 170,000 copies before he signed with Simon & Schuster. I'm only 50 pages in but if you're looking for a feel-good read, I have feeling this is it.

Looking for your next read?

Shen-Anika-ns: To be in community

Last week, I was a guest on our town's podcast, The U is silent; we aren't (killer name, I know!). After we had talked about the importance of community, I was asked how I suggest people become more engaged in their communities.

I have thought about this question for years.

I've lived in a number of places that I felt right at home at, and just as many that I didn't.

I gave a keynote about the Wealth of Community at a Women's Symposium last November that covered exactly that question.

Here's my advice:

1. Connect. Find people who share one of your interests, or one you want to explore.
2. Engage. Take action. Do not just show up and expect to be served. Work on something small together.
3. Belong. When you connect and engage consistently, belonging follows.

And after last Friday, I assure you it's one of the best feelings in the world.

Where have you felt community strengthening lately? And where have you felt it thinning out?

I'll be back in two weeks!

In camaraderie,

Anika

P.S. Missed my last newsletter? Check out the previous issues of Impact Curator.