Community Agreements
These are LSC's default community agreements: a starting point for all working circles, designed to be adapted by each circle to fit their own context and refined over time through consent.
We assume good intent. We approach each other with the belief that everyone here is trying to do right by the coalition and the communities we serve.
We welcome feedback on impact. When our words or actions land differently than we intended, we receive that feedback with openness rather than defensiveness, and we commit to doing better.
We speak from our own experience. We use "I" statements and avoid speaking on behalf of communities we don't represent.
We speak up. If you tend to hold back, we encourage you to share your perspective.
We listen generously. If you tend to take up a lot of space, we ask you to make room for others.
We respect different kinds of knowledge. Lived experience, cultural knowledge, and technical expertise all belong here. No single framework holds all the answers.
We build trust before we rush. Some work requires relationship-building before decisions. We don't move so fast that we leave people behind.
We name harm when we see it. If something feels extractive, exclusionary, or just off, we say so, directly and constructively.
We keep our commitments. If something changes, we communicate early so the group can adjust.
We revisit these agreements. This is a living document. Any circle member can propose a change at any time.
We seek to understand before we respond. When something feels like a problem, we ask questions first.
We protect emerging ideas. Early-stage thinking deserves room to develop before it's evaluated. We lead with curiosity and encouragement, not critique.
We say “Yes and…”. We celebrate initiative. If someone wants to try something, we look for ways to support it before we look for reasons it might not work.
These community agreements were adapted from coalition agreement frameworks developed by Alliance for Justice (afj.org).