Tell us who you are
What you do, what you'd bring, and who sent you if anyone did. Fifteen minutes, and you can save nothing halfway — so make a cup of tea first.
Membership
The Fellowship
Free to join, read by a person, and small enough that people recognise each other.
What it is
A directory,
and the people
behind it
At its simplest, the Collective is a public list of women working across North Brooklyn — what they do, what they're building, and the public link they've chosen to share.
What makes it worth joining is the part that isn't a list: monthly events in members' own spaces, a weekly spotlight on one member's work, and a group of people who answer when you write to them.
There are no tiers, no dues, and no upsell. The only thing membership asks of you is that you participate.
How membership works
Four steps,
about two weeks
Every application is read by a person, not scored by a form. That's slower than an instant signup and it's the reason the directory is worth being in.
A person reads it
We're looking for people who'll participate, not for a particular job title. Expect an answer inside two weeks, whichever way it goes.
You get a link
Approved applicants receive a single-use link to set a password. It expires after fourteen days — ask for a new one if it lapses, it's not a problem.
You choose your listing
Public listing is optional. If you opt in, NBWC confirms the fields you want to share before publishing them, and you can ask us to change or remove your listing later.
Who it's for
Where the
line sits
You'll fit here if
- You live or work in Greenpoint, Williamsburg, East Williamsburg, or Bushwick.
- You're building something — a business, a practice, a body of work. Employed, freelance, or founding all count.
- You'd actually come to things. This doesn't work as a logo on a list.
- You're happy to be asked for help, and to ask.
It probably isn't for you if
- You're mainly looking for a list of prospects.
- You're based well outside the three neighbourhoods and won't make it to anything.
- You want visibility without participation.
None of this is a hard rule. If you're not sure whether you fit, write to us before you apply — it's a faster conversation than an application.
Community principles
What we
expect of
each other
Show up. Give first. Say the real thing rather than the polished thing. Keep what's said in a room in that room unless you're told otherwise.
And the one that matters most, because it's the one that would actually kill this: the directory is not a mailing list. Members' details are there so people can connect, never so anyone can broadcast. No bulk outreach, no cold pitching, no adding people to lists they didn't join.
That one costs you your membership, and we've used it.
Questions
Asked and
answered
If yours isn't here, ask us directly. We'd rather answer it than have you guess.
No. Referrals help us place you faster, but the application stands on its own and plenty of members arrived without one. The two referral fields are optional and we mean it.
Two weeks. If it's been longer than that, something went wrong on our end — write to us and we'll find it.
No. Membership is free, there are no tiers, and there are no plans to change that. Events are occasionally ticketed at cost when a venue or a meal has to be paid for, and that's always stated up front.
That's fine, and it's true of a good number of members. The question we're really asking is whether you'll make it to things — if your studio is on Meserole and you're here five days a week, you're North Brooklyn.
Your application is read by the review team and nobody else. Once you're a member, public listing is optional. If you opt in, only the fields you approve appear on the public directory. Your application answers, email, phone, and referrals stay private.
Your email address is never shown to anyone. Messages route through a contact form so you decide whether to reply. The full detail is in the privacy policy.
Yes. Public listing is optional. Ask us through the contact page and we'll remove your listing; you stay a member and keep event access.
You'll hear either way, and it usually isn't personal — more often it's timing or fit with what the Collective needs right then. You're welcome to apply again after six months, and people do.
As much as you want it to. Most members come to something every month or two and dip into the directory when they need someone. There's no attendance requirement — but a profile nobody ever hears from stops being useful to anyone, including you.