Hey NAFN Family! 👋

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but we’ve learned something else over this past year: 

It takes a village to run a village.

Since our first meetup back in June 2024, this community has grown in ways we never imagined. We’ve shared hundreds of coffees, thousands of texts, and countless moments of shared understanding. As we’ve grown into a full 501(c)(3) non-profit, we realized we needed to evolve so we can keep showing up for you—rain or shine, meltdown or milestone.

The “Why”: Protecting Our Sanctuary We are shifting to a new “Compass System” for our volunteer board. Why? Because we want to make sure NAFN is here for the long haul. We want to protect our volunteers from burnout so they can lead with joy. We want to ensure that if one of us has a sick kiddo or a crazy work week, the Village doesn’t pause.

The New Structure: 4 Points of Support We are organizing our amazing volunteer leaders into four teams (points of a compass), each focused on a key part of our mission. And the best part? We have open roles for you to jump in! These roles are designed for real parents—meaning they are flexible (1-3 hours a month), supported, and guilt-free.

Here is a peek at the new layout:

• North Point: Community Experience (The Village Bones) 🦴
  • Focus: Empowering leaders to create joyful, welcoming, in-person moments of connection.
• East Point: Development (The Village Fuel) 🚀
  • Focus: Finding the resources to sustain our mission without becoming commercial.
• South Point: Communications (The Village Voice) 📣
  • Focus: Protecting and projecting the NAFN brand—making sure we sound like a friend and keeping everyone informed.
• West Point: Membership (The Village Heart) ❤️
  • Focus: Creating and anchoring regular, welcoming in-person moments of connection.

If the four Points are our Compass for strategic navigation, the Vital Stars are the essential lights that make sure our daily journey is smooth, reliable, and full of grace.

These special roles are the critical doing roles—the behind-the-scenes magic that keeps the village running smoothly. They are deemed absolutely essential for the daily health and stability of our network. Think of our Stars as the bridges—they link two Compass Points together, making sure there is clear flow, communication, and support across all four teams.

In our non-hierarchical Compass Model, every role is a light! The Points guide the big-picture vision, and the Stars provide the consistent, dependable, and loving support that ensures we can all thrive without burnout. They are the true backbone of our “guilt-free” operations.

Finally – we will have anchors. These are lower time commitment but high impact positions in topics that interest volunteers the most. They will align to a point and help impact their overall goals. We have some ideas for points, but which ones we end up with will be the result of the leaders who choose to serve in those roles.

Our Promise to Volunteers If you step up, we promise:

• Role Clarity: You’ll know exactly what your goals are.
• Backup Support: Every role has a “buddy” system. You are never alone.
• Grace: We know life happens. Family comes first, always.

Ready to Join the Team? If you’ve been looking for a way to give back, make deeper friends, and help build the village you wish you had when you moved here—this is it. All that’s left to do is open WhatsApp and join the leadership chat. 

Let’s build this together.

With love and coffee, 

The NAFN Board