FAQ

The demand for new single-family housing was high in the U.S. after World War II. Families were crowded together and returning soldiers wanted to start new families in homes of their own. New suburban housing divisions were were developed rapidly in the booming post-war economy. The single-family suburban home quickly became the primary type of housing that was built. Soon, suburban neighborhoods represented a lifestyle choice and ideal for families of the newly rising middle-class. The ideal was the nuclear family with a wife in the home supporting her husband’s career and raising their children. The car became a necessary part of life for the suburban family.

Social changes during the 1970’s started to disrupt that image as more women began entering the workforce, increasing the need for childcare. Family size started decreasing, more women remained single or chose not to have children.

Today, cohousing is emerging world-wide because it is designed to better meet the needs of men, women, children and families today. People who seek cohousing desire social connection and support, but might not have family members available to help. New parents, single parents, dual-income parents, older couples, individuals who have health problems, or adults who have lost a spouse or caregiver may all feel isolated in a single-family suburban home and seek cohousing as a way to find the community connections and cooperation they desire.

Cohousing focuses on helping people get to know each other by having the design and layout of the community focus on running into people spontaneously. The smaller scale of 25-40 homes in a cohousing community combined with the idea that everyone has something to contribute and that everyone in the community is willing to participate, at least to some extent, creates a different feel to the neighborhood and makes a more socially connected lifestyle possible.

Why doesn’t CohousingMN build cohousing?

As a charitable nonprofit organization, our mission is to educate. CohousingMN is not allowed to act as a developer or to sell housing units. Our goal is to educate groups about the social benefits that cohousing offers its residents. We want to help create a movement where developers, housing specialists, builders and financial institutions know what cohousing is and understand how participate in the development of cohousing communities.

When you understand the benefits that cohousing could offer for you and others in your area, you could become a “burning soul,” that lights the fire of enthusiasm in others to put together a small group of people that helps get a cohousing project off the ground. It will be important to learn all you can about cohousing, how others have built it, and who the experts are that can help you along the way.

Donating $60 or more in a calendar year allows up to 10 individuals in our service area to access a wealth of cohousing resources at a discount from an individual membership with CohoUS. Resources include video recordings, one-time classes with professionals, multi-day trainings, and a discount on registration for the national cohousing conference held every-other year.

A monetary gift in any amount is greatly appreciated and helps our volunteers pay the operating expenses associated with running a non-profit organization and maintaining a website and providing regular communication and outreach to our audience.

As part of CohousingMN’s mission to network with and provide value to cohousing groups working toward cohousing or residing within a cohousing community in our service area, CohousingMN has defined the services offered in exchange for one or more group members volunteering with CohousingMN. 

To be fair and transparent, the value of the exchange will be clear, applied equally to every group that meets the requirements, and will not violate CohousingMN’s status as a charitable organization with 501(c)3 status.

CohousingMN invites members of forming cohousing groups and existing cohousing communities to fill open positions on one of our organizational circles as volunteers.

Once an individual from one of those groups has completed CohousingMN’s process for becoming a voting member of one or more of our circles, and has been accepted by one or more of our circles as a member, then CohousingMN will provide the cohousing group or existing community with the following benefits:

CohousingMN will provide our audience with information provided by a cohousing group regarding the availability of memberships or housing units for sale, but will neither charge a fee nor act as a sales agent for the group.  

CohousingMN will sponsor a cohousing group’s meetings by allowing the group to use CohousingMN’s nonprofit status to reserve, for example, a library room, or other spaces that require a nonprofit status in order for the purpose of holding a public cohousing meeting. 

CohousingMN will feature information and updates about their cohousing group prominently on the cohousingmn.org website and in our monthly newsletter. 

CohousingMN provides volunteers with practice using Sociocracy as a form of decision-making in our meetings. In addition, each volunteer will have a voice in the decisions of the circle/s on which they serve, thereby contributing to and shaping CohousingMN as an organization.

CohousingMN will share information about resources and cohousing professionals who might offer help or support to the cohousing group.

CohousingMN will not favor or discriminate against groups that have voting members on one or more of our circles. 

Yes! There are many ways to volunteer with CohousingMN, from completing a one-time task, to taking part in the leadership and decision-making of the organization. Volunteer positions teach leadership and governance skills. You will have practice learning Sociocracy as a form of governance. Read more about volunteering here.

Costs to build cohousing depend on many factors:

• Labor and material costs for building all types of new housing are currently very high. The cost of building cohousing will be the same as for other new housing in the same area.
• Land costs are also increasing rapidly, especially in urban areas. Land costs may be equal about one-third the cost of a cohousing project.
• Fees for attorneys, architects, developers, building permits, approvals, and any necessary zoning changes start accumulating well before construction begins. Investors who help fund these costs take on financial risk before units are built, but their investments may reduce the cost of their own housing unit at the time of purchase.
• Cohousing communities are designed with a variety of common spaces, including the common house. Fees to maintain these spaces are in addition to the cost of the unit that is purchased.