The Connective Collective is a peer support group for community-serving builders/leaders. Membership is by self-selection, and the only requirement is a desire for all to flourish.
The Next Gathering of the Connective Collective:
Constellation Studios
2055 O St, Lincoln, NE 65810
10am-12pm, Saturday, February 21, 2026
History:
- November 8, 2025 Hosted by Kinzee Hillis at Create 48
- August 23, 2025 Hosted by Lawrence Gardiner at Monarch Integrative Care.
- May 31, 2025 Hosted by Karen Kunc at Constellation Studios, and a guided reflection on appreciating difference makers was facilitated by Larry Sternberg.
Do you steward the wellbeing of a social ecosystem that has events that are free and open to the public that enhance the cultural life of the community or serve in a role that empowers people to experience a full sense of belonging and mattering?
Click here for a sample of the social offerings being created by local community builders.
Are you involved in a community activity, neighborhood association, community garden, literary arts, theatre arts, dance arts, visual art, music, book clubs, discussion groups, bowling, sewing, pickleball, crafting, that is free and open to the public or occasionally has events of that sort? Do you mentor? Do you host a social gatherings (potlucks, excursions, karaoke nights, etc.) for people in a trade or professional association? Are you a researcher, scholar, inventor, or entrepreneur who organizes socials for your peers that are open to friends of science, the humanities, technology, and entrepreneurship?
Our focus is on connecting place-based (neighborhood associations, the Lincoln Neighborhood Alliance, etc.) and activity-based community builders (music jams, community conversations, public lecture series, free yoga in the park, open-mic nights etc.) who are creating regular (weekly or monthly) social offerings that are free and open to the public. Social offerings feed the soul of the community and elevate our love of place.
Do you volunteer, work, or participate in a compassionate endeavor that is strengths-based and/or grounded in the science of hope (e.g. recovery groups, therapists, social workers, domestic violence shelters, food pantries, etc.)? If you are using wellbeing science resources like strengths psychology or Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) in your organization with staff, clients, and/or volunteers, you are especially encouraged to take part in the Connective Collective.
The collective impact of the community builders in Lincoln is immense!
We socialize and share about our communities and best practices. We will occasionally have a facilitated experience. We seek to expand our understanding of how gathering people around a shared interest strengthens the mental wellbeing and social health of the people in our ecosystems. We are people who appreciate and are curious about wellbeing science (strengths, self-determination theory, hope science, awe, flow, play, aesthetic experience, etc.) and how it can elevate our connectedness and community building.
Rationale and Roots of the Connective Collective:
The Knight Foundation commissioned the Soul of the Community study to discover why people who love where they live love where they live. Out of ten variables, the top three across the 26 cities that were studied were:
- Belongingness: the degree to which everyone in the community feels welcome here.
- Aesthetics: the natural and created beauty in a community.
- Social offerings: the feeling that there are interesting things to do out in the community.
History of Soul of the Community Aligned Events:
Belongingness:
International Day of Friendship
July 30, 2017
www.facebook.com/events/1866850833592558
Happiness LNK (Love, Nobleness, Kindness)
December 4, 2016
www.facebook.com/events/338267529884694
Social Offerings:
For the Feeding the Soul of the Community conversation series, I brought together people who were organizing community events that were free and open to the public to share about their projects with each other and the community. These events were generative and form the experiential reference point from which the Connective Collective emerged.
Feeding the Soul of the Community II
October 12, 2013
www.facebook.com/events/533503973365410
Feeding the Soul of the Community
January 26, 2013
www.facebook.com/events/285356094917846/
Aesthetics:
Placemaking for Wellbeing
November 6, 2016
www.facebook.com/events/191123291313809
The Lincoln Journal Star published an article about our creative placemaking conversation and it was published in a dozen or so communities across the nation through the AP.
Interplay: Wellbeing and the Arts
September 18, 2016
www.facebook.com/events/1757802094435571
We eventually started hosting an annual celebration on March 20th, the International Day of Happiness!
Nick Hernandez
Mobile: 531-739-8372
[email protected]