Hey IRL Fam 👋💛
🦃 Happy Thanksgiving, IRL Fam!
November was a worldwide whirlwind - in the best “holy wow the movement is growing” kind of way.
We… wrapped the Clubsplosion finale in SF, flew to Atlanta for the Seeds of Connection Conference, zipped to Boston for the Social Capital Assembly, and quietly dropped a brand-new club funding campaign feature on our platform that’s already helped real clubs get real contributions from real members (more on that next newsletter). 🥹💥
We capped it all off with our favorite tradition - Builders Club Friendsgiving - where we literally wove a social fabric out of yarn and gratitude.🧶
Bonus: steal this activity for your friends & fam this Thanksgiving. Details below 💛
In this edition:
🚀 Clubsplosion wrap up: San Francisco
🌱 Seeds of Connection Conference: Atlanta
🏙️ Social Capital Assembly: Boston
🦃 Builders Club Friendsgiving: Gratitude, games & warm fuzzies
Back in September we asked SF: “How many new clubs can we launch before New Year’s?” After a month of workshops, idea jams, brainstorms, and chaotic Zoom energy, we celebrated with a pitch party featuring the next wave of SF clubs:
✨ Tea Club
🧘 Wellness & Chill Club
🎨 Artists Show & Tell
🤝 Non-Networking Club
… and more 👀
SF is buzzing with IRL creativity — and this is just the beginning.
Picture this: 400+ humans from design, tech, policy, nonprofits, public spaces, youth orgs, and club builders… all obsessed with one question:
How do we rebuild social connection in America? 🤝
Huge thanks to the Foundation for Social Connection for an energizing, heart-expanding week.
We reconnected with old friends and made hundreds of new ones.The range of ideas in this room was deeply inspiring:
🪑 From Wikiblock redesigning physical spaces and everyday objects so people actually talk to each other…
🏘️ To Englewood’s neighborhood association transforming an entire community through resident-led connection…
🎨 To the comeback of slow salon culture in the country …
🤖 To young tech founders like LookUpp and Seen, reimagining how tech can, support and not reduce, real-world connection …
🏋️♀️ To the YMCA, announcing that social connection will be their core focus …
We left feeling:
🌟 The movement is no longer “emerging”… it’s happening.
🌟 Cross-sector energy is REAL.
🌟 We are all in it: across cities & disciplines, Gen Z & Boomers, we are building this future together. Absolute goosebumps!
On our last day in Atlanta, we walked the streets where MLK grew up. A quiet reminder: Change happens when people from all walks take one step after another, together.
This field is bigger than one city or org - it’s becoming a movement.
Then we zipped to Boston for the first-ever Social Capital Assembly with The Common Group + an all-star crew of practitioners, thinkers, and funders.
The big Q: How do we expand the funding flowing into human connection?
It was incredible to be in room with other social innovators such as Thread, Climb Together, Experience Tulsa.
Our takeaway: the social connection movement is timely, urgent, and ready to scale. But we need stronger, shared narratives to unlock resources at every level, from local communities and funders to government and investors.
Huge gratitude to George and The Common Group for leading this conversation.
Our month is never complete without our Builders.
This Friendsgiving was:
🍲 Too much food
😂 Too much laughter
🧶 And a literal web of gratitude we created together
One year ago we were two people with a dream. Today? Hundreds of builders shaping social life in this city. Wild.
Even more rewarding: our community of builders is alive and connected. We shared our gratitude for other members of the Builders Club (activity below) - and literally built our own social fabric.
Activities you can steal:
Sit in a circle with yarn. Say what you’re grateful for → toss it to someone while holding your end. Keep going until a social fabric forms. Snap a photo for extra brag points.
Write a silly or heartfelt 2026 fortune for someone, drop it in the pot, grab one before you leave.
Examples:
– “You’ll start a legendary club ritual… accidentally.”
– “Your next big laugh will be obnoxiously contagious.”
– “A new friend will appear with snacks. Bless them.”
Simple. Sweet. Warm fuzzies guaranteed. 💛
Something is shifting. What used to feel like a tiny field is becoming a movement. As we dive into the season of turkey, pie, and cozy vibes, we’re feeling extra grateful to a part of it.
Wishing everyone a warm, cozy, and connected Thanksgiving. 🦃✨
See you next month, fam. ✨
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