New Seneca Village
Questions + Answers

A: New Seneca Village is a love offering and a paradigm shift focused on centering women and non-binary leaders of color whose work advances justice in our society. We are an intentional community centered on restoration, connection, and visioning in the spirit of reconnecting leaders with their purpose and vision through the resources of time, space, nature, restorative practices, and intentional community. Our hope is to support leaders' long-term sustainability while cultivating new levers to pull in our collective co-creation of a just future for all.

A: New Seneca Village offers three to four residencies annually, bringing together BIPOC women justice leaders and healers for residencies centered on restoration, connection and visioning. Residencies will be hosted at nature-centered venues allowing leaders to truly rest, restore, and connect to the land while also connecting to one another and restorative practices. Leaders are invited to attend one complimentary Residency with New Seneca Village. Our goal is to build a permanent retreat center space so that we can support up to 300 leaders and healers annually. See here for more.

A: New Seneca Village leaders are cis, trans and non-binary Black, Indigenous and women of color leaders working to advance justice in the world. Leaders can be front-line organizers advancing movements in the world, and leaders can be internal organizers advancing movement within organizations and structures. Priority is given to those working in the nonprofit sector and on the front lines, as well as to those who hold the following identities: Black, Indigenous, Trans, Elders and Low-Income. See our Founding Commitments for more information. Eligible leaders are able to apply via our Offerings for Leaders page. We invite you to carefully review our offering before submitting an intake survey.

A: New Seneca Village leaders are… Cis and trans women and non-binary folks of color working to advance justice in the world; Interested in an opportunity centered on restoration, connection and visioning and open to co-creating intentional and restorative community; Able to commit to and fully engage in the three (3) asks of the NSV intentional community (see leader offering) ; In healthy relationship with, and accountability for, their own mental health. We consider organizers, activists, advocates, artists, academics/researchers, and systems agitators as leaders. Leaders can be front-line organizers advancing large scale movements in the world, and leaders can be internal organizers advancing movement within organizations and structures. Priority is given to those working in the nonprofit sector and on the front lines, as well as to those who hold the following identities: Black, Indigenous, Trans, Elders and Low-Income. See our Founding Commitments for more information.

A: New Seneca Village Healers are... Practicing across various modes of healing; including therapists, body workers, energy workers, somatic practitioners, spiritual leaders, coaches, and artists who assist others in accessing their creativity, self-expression, liberation and joy; Providing for communities and the collective through individual (or small group) work centering restoration and care and in alignment with co-creating intentional and restorative community; Able to commit to and fully engage in the three (3) asks of the NSV pilot phase (see healer offering); In healthy relationships with, and accountability for, their own mental health. We prioritize healers in alignment with our Founding Commitments.

A: The New Seneca Village intention is to welcome in leaders and healers who have a connection with their internal Self, who understand the power of restoration and who are committed to exploring and strengthening this area of their lives. The hope of New Seneca Village is that Villagers will be fortified in their own purpose and vision for their lives and leading from a place of sustained leadership that knows and can access abundant resources - nature, connection, time, space, reflection, visioning - outside of current societal frames that identify money and proximity to external power as resource. We prioritize Villagers who are engaging with and/or on the cusp of opening to intentional transformation in their lives and work. We also prioritize Black, Indigenous, Trans, Elders, and Low Income leaders within our Founding Commitments. Any leader is able to apply via our Offerings for Leaders page. We invite you to carefully review our offering before submitting an intake survey.

A. New Seneca Village partners with Sister Centers that share our values around social justice and restoration and are passionate about providing space that is in alignment with those values. Residency venues are carefully vetted by the NSV team to ensure that they are willing to actively collaborate on creating space that is centered on the care and comfort of Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color.

A: The New Seneca Village Residency is a complimentary experience. There is no cost to leaders or healers to attend a New Seneca Village residency. We cover the cost of accommodations, food, and ‘final mile’ transportation for Villagers from the nearest international airport. We also offer grants to Villagers. Transportation grants for individual travel to our Village shuttle pick-up location and Back Home grants for elder care, child care, pet care. We are committed in supporting all Villagers ability to show up and be present to the experience. More here.

A: New Seneca Village is designed to be accessible for all. We provide stipends for transportation - villagers are able to access funds to support their transportation costs to the NSV shuttle pick-up location (or venue if they so choose.) NSV will not purchase nor coordinate your transportation. We provide stipends for Back Home grants - to support leaders to maintain their responsibilities at home while they are away. Potential uses are elder care, childcare, lost wages, pet care, rent, etc. The goal is to allow Villagers to feel present to the Residency offerings while they are away. In the spirit of a thriving community, leaders who do not need these grants are invited to pass on accepting them, so that those who need are able to receive. Check out our intentional community abundance practice.

A: We are glad you asked! Our Big Vision goal is to acquire land and develop a permanent retreat center to support our community in perpetuity within an environment designed for them. We would like to be responsive to our Villagers restorative wants and to support long-term sabbaticals, multi-week group residencies or long weekends, in addition to New Seneca Village residency offerings. Our Big Vision will be community driven (land trust run by Villagers and native folks whose land we are on) and committed to the mission of restoration, connection and visioning, as well as land stewardship. To learn more, visit our Big Vision page.

Q: Whom do I contact to invite the founder, a co-ED and/or Advisory Circle member to be interviewed or to speak at a conference. A: One way to invite anyone from our team to speak at a conference or event is to reach out to us directly via email at team@newsenecavillage.org. You can also connect with anyone of us directly with a message sharing more details about the speaking engagement and your vision for the conversation.

A: New Seneca Village provides leaders with a hybrid virtual and in person residency experience centered on restoration, connection and visioning. We host residencies in gorgeous natural settings and arrange for healers to offer individual and group restorative practices that all Villagers can access, or not. Villagers are encouraged to spend their time Being (instead of Doing) and are intentionally in charge of creating the residency that works best for them, recognizing their own flow within the collective energy of the community. Leaders are invited to attend one complimentary residency with New Seneca Village.

A: Leaders are expected to center themselves, their purpose and their visions within a container of land, healing and community at New Seneca Village Residency experiences. We invite leaders into a space of Being not Doing. And ask them to follow their own rhythms and flow in support of their ability to connect with and listen to their inner wise selves. To support this intention, we ask Villagers to commit to three Restorative Vision Circle sessions in advance of their residency to connect, reflect and prepare in community. This circle series is designed to bring the leaders and healers of each residency together and to support them to create the space to show up fully present to the residency experience and to the practice of creating shifts in their life and work beyond our time together. We also ask leaders to support the intentional Village community in the following ways. More here. - Commit to be part of the Village Exchange - reach out to, and be open to being reached out to by other members of the Village to connect around personal or professional interests and inquiries. - Commit to providing feedback to support the co-created and iterative design model of New Seneca Village. We are serious about centering our collective needs and we use feedback to adapt and expand our offerings.

A. Villagers will have access to gorgeous nature and the time and space to explore multiple self and community care practices. There will be opportunities to connect with one another and the space for Villagers to expand their vision for their work and their communities. You will have the agency to choose the experience that is best for you, with an emphasis on Being instead of doing. The Residency will include restorative offerings curated by healing practitioners based on requests from leaders, delicious and healthy meals each day, access to nature, and time and space to rest and vision. Villagers are invited into an active and ever-growing ecosystem of Villagers from across the US and Canada and encouraged to connect around personal and professional interests and inquiries. *We are currently fundraising to support the development of an active ecosystem that offers restorative community programming to our Village.

A: Healers are invited to join New Seneca Village to provide healing offerings - individual and group sessions and experiences - for Villagers attending the Residency. Three to five Healers will be a part of each Residency, and offerings will be spaced so that Healers can have their own restorative space and time. We ask Healers to provide roughly 8 - 10 hours of restorative offerings and participate in 3 advance co-creation meetings with the NSV team. We provide a stipend of $1,500 - $2, 000 depending on the length of residency, as well as access to transportation grant funding. New Seneca Village residencies provide complimentary accommodations and food for all. Healers are members of the New Seneca Village community and are invited to join all community offerings, including pre-Residency Cohort Circles to build community before arriving at the venue.

A: We are looking for BIPOC cis, trans women and non-binary healers who: have experience in holding space for social justice leaders, have established practices that can be adapted for both individual and group offerings, are looking for the opportunity to build restoration into their own practices, and are able and willing to hold a container - with the NSV team - of restoration, connection and visioning for all Residency guests. Preference given for healers who are able to bring multiple offerings to the Village.

A: No at this time. We intend to hold the container of New Seneca Village by only having Village Leaders and Healers on site along with the NSV and limited venue staff that will provide support for the Residency. Thank you for your support and understanding!

A: As a small team we rely on you to enable the smooth running of the Village. Your timely completion of requests will support us to ensure that you have all you need to welcome and prepare for your Residency. Your curiosity and willingness to read through Village communication for the answers you need help us focus on other priorities. We encourage you to revisit Village emails and web pages for the answers you seek. And we are available to support you, please reach out via team@newsenecavillage.org.

A. Yes, we encourage all leaders and healers (Villagers!) to attend each of the sessions of the Cohort Circle Series! These Intentional community sessions are designed to engage you in your understanding and intention for your residency in advance so that the spirit of connection, restoration, and visioning begins and continues outside of the week away. In each sessions, the Village will come together to meet one another and share individual and collective visions for expanding restorative practices. We also co-create awareness and accountability around what is needed to ensure that all can be fully present to the expansive opportunity of the Residency. Many Villagers credit Cohort Circles with their ability to feel present and connected from the start of the residency.

A. We use your W-9 Form to process your Travel stipend and Back Home grants (or in the case of healers, healer stipends). If you are a Villager residing in Canada, you will fill out a W-8BEN as an individual who resides outside the United States.

A: The New Seneca Village vision is one of an intentional community that centers BIWOC leaders and healers inside of an experience centered on restoration, connection, and visioning. Because neither these leaders nor the intentional activities of the Village are mainstream, we take co-creating this evolving and iterative experience within and with our community very seriously. Surveys help to inform the design of future residencies and the Village project at large. Surveys also allow for interconnection within the Village (more to come!) while also supporting fundraising for the continuation of the Village.

A: The New Seneca Village is an experience that deepens due to participating in the Cohort Circle Series. Our hope is that all leaders will participate in this series to intentionally support the design of their residency in advance. In light of this design, we want to make sure that all Villagers have this opportunity. If you are unable to make the Residency, we want to make sure that the leader who will be invited in your stead will be able to fully participate in the fullness of the experience.

A. The New Seneca Village team will share a Village Guide with each cohort a few weeks before the Residency. This Village Guide is designed to support your orientation toward our time together at the Residency. Here you will find details about the Residency experience, Village healers, pick-up location and time, the venue, and our team, as well as things to consider as you pack and prepare for your Residency. We encourage you to read this page carefully as we tried to answer many of the questions you may have while supporting you to attend and respond to your own restorative needs and desires.