About the Community Harvest Fund

What is the Community Harvest Fund?

In lieu of a sliding scale or scholarship system, I am developing a Community Harvest Fund. A portion of the price for each paid offering above $50, here at the JourneyPen Project, goes into the Community Harvest Fund.

This financial model allows many individuals in the Journeypen Project community support those who may require a little help. In a forest, trees share nutrients among their roots so that each one receives nourishment. Similarly, Community Harvest is intended to make sure that each person can receive what they need.

If this is you, please subscribe to the Community Harvest-specific newsletter.

You’ll find a place to sign up on the bottom of the page.

How is the Community Harvest shared?

Once a quarter, The Journeypen Project discerns how much is available in the Community Harvest and transforms it into a limited number of coupon codes, which can be used to purchase some of the available offerings at a discounted price. A limited number of the coupon codes will allow the recipient to take off 100% of the listed price.

The procedure for this is still in development and subject to change.

However, as of December 2022, this is what is currently planned:

• The end of March 2023: There will be an experimental, limited-run of drawing upon the Community Harvest Fund for a few select offerings. This will help Shelby refine the process.

• The end of June 2023: The Community Harvest Fund will be up and running, with a policy based on how the March 2023 experimental run goes.

What can I do in the meantime?

You can enjoy the content that is already available here, without charge, at the JourneyPen Project.

Much of the content here has no financial cost—the only investment required is your time and attention.

To draw on the Community Harvest Fund, you must be able to:

• receive nourishment specifically from Shelby Bach and/or the JourneyPen Project and

• to articulate how that nourishment has impacted you.

Here’s what that looks like:

Before the JourneyPen Project sends out the coupon codes, it sends out a form with a couple required questions:

1. What content from the JourneyPen Project and/or Shelby Bach* has already impacted you?

2. How has that content impacted you and/or your relationship with your own creativity?

Each recipient will have 36 hours to answer these questions. Those whose answer will receive the coupons to draw on the Community Harvest Fund.

The answer to the first question can come from anything here at the JourneyPen Project: The Shelbish Glossary series, The Renewing Capacity series, People Are Stories-in-Progress, the JourneyPen Project YouTube videos—even The Ever Afters series. So, in the interim period, in preparation for answering these questions, it would be a great idea to start enjoying some of this free content and applying it to your life.

What is the reason for this?

The intention behind this requirement is to make sure that those who draw on the Community Harvest Fund will receive the most nourishment from what they receive. It is one task to collect materials which can be of use to you and to let them live in digital space, waiting for you to use them when you’re ready. It’s another task completely to invest your own time and energy in applying those materials to your life in a way that is actually useful.

Those who draw on the Community Harvest Fund need to be ready to do the latter—to apply the content to their life in some way, whether paid or unpaid. If you’re not yet ready for that, that’s absolutely okay.

I’ve been there, and I know from experience that this stage can bring up big feelings, like shame and frustration. Be tender with yourself here, and celebrate the clarity that you have, knowing what kind of change that you want.

And also reassure yourself with this knowledge: the materials at the JourneyPen Project will be waiting for you when you are ready to receive.

Sign up for the Community Harvest Newsletter.

This newsletter goes out twice at the end of every quarter.

It is intended for those who require some support to pay for the listed prices at the JourneyPen Project.