Community, he says, is proof he’s an essential gear in a larger social machine. “You’re part of a bigger picture that really wants to see everyone succeed,” Zeff says. A community can serve as a social safety net, but finding one and becoming a part of it is different from simply making friends.

With courses, events, livestreaming, a website builder and basic email, Circle is a strong all-in-one for new community builders. One of the easiest ways to find a group you’d mesh with is to figure out where you wouldn’t mind spending a few hours of your time. Consider your talents and interests or a skill you’d like to learn, and seek out places to do those activities. If you love dancing, do some Googling to find dance clubs, studios, or meetup dance groups in your town. Idealist absorbed VolunteerMatch in early 2025 (see #3 above), and the unified platform is now one of the largest places anywhere to find volunteer roles, internships, and nonprofit jobs. Across their combined history, the two organizations have connected more than 250,000 organizations with over 40 million people.

We’ve got groups to help you meditate, practice yoga, read novels, and other activities that will help you unwind. There are Meetup groups for online conversations, classes, webinars, and more, happening every hour of the day. LearnWorlds has a good mobile app and you can livestream a course too. Recently, influencer Alex Hormozi has been heavily involved selling the platform too–he’s part owner.

Curious about living in community, but unsure where to begin? Here’s your guide to understanding these options—and deciding whether community living is right for you. The CommunityFinders Blog is designed to help you gain confidence in the search and join the community that’s a fit for you. That’s why I created CommunityFinders as the place for community-hungry folks to gather, learn, and ultimately find their home in community… or their next great adventure. With so many kinds of communities out there it’s tough to know where to start your search.

Sometimes the community you’re looking for doesn’t exist yet, and you might be the right person to create it. Before you start searching, take some time to reflect on what matters most to you. This guide offers practical, actionable steps to help you discover the groups, spaces, and people where you genuinely belong. This practical guide walks you through proven strategies to find your community and build meaningful connections. As an added bonus, your friend might end up knowing one of the other people in attendance.

It connects charities with volunteers through a simple search based on your interests and skills. Memberful is not a standalone community platform, however, but can be used to gate other community platforms like Discord and charge for access. It can also sell digital goods–including online courses–and even physical goods. And there are sales options like coupons, discounts, and promotions to give a WordPress site a lot of power. Mighty Networks is G2’s top-rated community management software and it can mix memberships seamlessly with courses and events.

But with 10% fees on that plan, that savings only works for very small communities. Kajabi is well-known among course creators as Best-Dates Review: Everything You Need to Know Before Joining a place to host an asynchronous course. It has an excellent course platform and marketing toolkit to sell courses with things like landing pages, email campaigns, and triggers. Kajabi’s marketing funnels are comprehensive, with lots of templates. And the ability to add web pages makes Kajabi a great public-facing option too.

Mix Up Your Online Recovery Meetings

I have no doubt anyone in a community journey will find great value in her guidance. Let’s say you find a community that you’re eager to get involved with, but you’re rather shy or deal with social anxiety issues. Talk to a friend with whom you feel comfortable and see if they’ll go with you to your first in-person meetup. There are few situations as uncomfortable as turning up for a group activity only to find out that you’re missing something vital.

For example, if you’re a cerebral, introverted type who likes to trade information with like-minded individuals, then you might prefer to socialize primarily online. In contrast, if you’re into running or other physical training with friends, then you’ll likely veer towards in-person interactions. Join this supportive community to connect, share your story, ask questions and receive guidance from peers and AARP experts. Let AI help you discover what you truly want and create a personalized goal plan that actually fits your life. Whether you’re interested in professional or personal friendship, here are 6 tips that will help you expand your social circles…

This may entail dropping off warm meals to homebound elders, walking dogs at a shelter, pitching in with a community garden project, or sorting items for a local library sale. One of the best ways to get involved in a community (and thus help to expand or cultivate the one that’s right for you) is to be of service. And are you hoping to cultivate a community with other people who like to toss heavy things around or get a sweat going? Many of us were ostracized by our peers at school, and thus we found community with others of like mind. You can start by getting relaxed with a journal and a pen and writing down all the things that are important to you.

• The best volunteer opportunity is one that fits your schedule, plays to your strengths, and connects you with a cause you actually care about.
• The options below are more useful starting points by country.
• For course businesses with multiple teachers and admins, the instructors can follow the discussions in their course Spaces without seeing the whole community.
• Step inside intentional communities around the world, meet the people who live there, and discover what community life is really like — all from home.

Meetup Communities Reach 1 Million Online Events

She listened attentively as I described what I was looking for in a community. After she listened, she gave me a concise list of communities that she thought would fit my needs and explained why those communities would work for my needs. Thank you again for this reasonably priced and high-quality service. Her recommendations should speed the process of me finding a wonderful Intentional Community to call home. Step inside intentional communities around the world, meet the people who live there, and discover what community life is really like — all from home.

Then you’ll always have someone to spot you while you lift or encourage you to hold that pose for just a few seconds longer. It’s great to benefit from what others have or know, but if you don’t show up for them as they show up for you, things are going to be obviously one-sided very quickly. That will likely result in you being avoided or ostracized rather than embraced with open arms. After all, you’d likely be pleasantly surprised to discover that there are many other people out there who like the same combinations of things that you do. That said, all of us are so multifaceted that it may be difficult for us to decide what kind of community to cultivate.

President’s Volunteer Service Award

And don’t be afraid to reach out to organizations directly if something looks like a good match but doesn’t quite fit the listed role. AmeriCorps is known for long-term service commitments, but there are also daily, weekly, and monthly opportunities available locally. Their Serve page lets organizations post volunteer calls and lets individuals search for nearby events and organizations. Building houses, supporting youth literacy, and distributing meals are among the many ways to get involved. Many people know AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons. Fewer people know it runs a volunteer opportunity database called Create the Good, with a network of more than 200,000 people.

After my journey to 200+ communities around the world, I built my home and am living my dream at an ecovillage in Vermont in the US. Research on relationship formation suggests that it takes roughly 50 hours of interaction to move from acquaintance to casual friend, and over 200 hours to develop a close friendship. Commit to trying at least three different communities over the next month. Variety helps you compare experiences and discover what resonates. Connect over shared interests, and enjoy meaningful experiences. So, if you’ve made plans with a new friend and they have to bail at the last minute, try to be understanding and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Join the conversation, learn, share and connect with others online and in-person. Whether you cook or just love food, connect, share recipes and explore culinary experiences with Senior Planet from AARP. It’s easy to think you need to be in a relationship to stop feeling lonely. Volunteer Ireland runs the I-VOL database, the national volunteering register for Ireland, with opportunities across the country and a network of local volunteer centres in each county.

Social media strategy, employee handbook development, business planning, and technology assessments are commonly requested. Taproot offers resources to help you find the right role and contribute in a way that makes a real difference. Catchafire matches professional skills with nonprofits that need them. Accounting, branding, engineering, web design, marketing, writing, and social media are all in demand. The majority of opportunities are remote, making it easier for busy professionals to donate their time on a flexible schedule.

Heartbeat is a growing all-in-one community platform that brings together courses, events, discussions, payments, and workflows into one place. Its AI features are smart and built for member connecting, things like onboarding flows, discussion prompts, and event setup. And–similar to Mighty Networks–it has an automated member matching feature based on interests.

Get your own branded apps and the expert support you need to launch and grow. A resource that helps connect users with therapists, Zencare also has a list of virtual groups for support and connection amid the pandemic. Some are external support groups and some are moderated by vetted Zencare therapists, such as Coping Skills for Everyday Life or Managing Return to Work Anxiety. Support groups are priced based on weekly or monthly rates, but insurance and sliding scales are available for some.

The sites below cover a wide range of causes, locations, and commitment levels, with something for students, retirees, families, professionals, and everyone in between. Wild Apricot is a community management platform created for nonprofit organizations. And it’s great for managing members in a nonprofit organization or association.