Just us, with a fancy number
A few weeks ago, someone told us how she was amazed by the love goes into support for the childless community. She listens to The Full Stop Podcast. Through it, she’s connected to a wealth of information including Facebook groups, World Childless Week, Fertility Network, Gateway Women, The Childless Collective and the work Michael does for men all by listening to the voices of the people. The bloggers, group owners, campaigners, creators, writers, leaders, actors, singers, speakers … all these talented folk who happen to be childless like us.
We've had a few questions around our recent changes and how they fit into all these amazing support networks. The answer is short - we’re still us.
That being said, we recognise the need to provide some clarity as clearly it has changed a little behind the scenes for The Full Stop. This post shares more of our vision to keep amplifying the work of others.
It shares why togetherness and conversation are at the heart of what we do.
Let’s start with what we're not doing
Creating another group that’s like other groups. We continue, as ever, to encourage our listeners to seek the resources that suit them best, to read books and other resources, to get involved with World Childless Week and other campaigns. We encourage that conversation on our podcast and in The Full Stop Community. We believe people can do good where ever they land and it is unlimited. You know we're quirky and original ;) . We keep that vibe in The Full Stop Community by intentionally creating a space on a new platform with different offerings based around the uniqueness of The Full Stop podcast.
Excluding people. We genuinely mean that we're open to all childless people, including those who run or create communities, podcasts, or anything else equally amazing. The Full Stop podcast has featured groups, choirs, meditation, chanting, books and more! The joy of what we do is sharing how these ventures came about to inspire others to join or have a go at creating too. We trust that people won't replicate our content and recognise that you, like us, are childless and how emotive that continues to be. We've found so many benefits in our friendship; we welcome all in our safe space so you may benefit too.
Making money. Over four years, we've run The Full Stop ourselves with donations. It was time to secure the future of this scribble on a Post-it note. We're not paying ourselves and it is not-for-profit. Any services we may employ are paid a fair wage or we ethically pay in kind.
Only selected people from The Full Stop Community appear on the podcast. Joining The Full Stop Community means something other than a seat at the podcast, most do not want to be a guest. Our guest invite is open for mid to late 2024 if you’d like to be on The Full Stop podcast. It is business as usual on the podcast with guests you may know and new voices. The only change is The Full Stop Community could meet the guest online which has increased the interest and enjoyment in our podcast for us, our guests, and our audience.
Closing or charging for The Full Stop podcast. Nope - never, not happening! The CIC simply means we are legally and financially covered, which was increasingly difficult with us being across Australia and UK. It now means our finances are safe, and we comply with trading laws. Carrying on as we were would have put us at more risk of closure. The Full Stop podcast remains free to air and share. The Full Stop Community helps us with the running costs so we can grow to welcome more guests and tell more stories. It also allows us to sense check what we’re doing and listen to feedback from the people who matter - our childless friends, it means the world to us.
And here's what we're all about.
Cheerleading others. We continue to share and support all ventures in The Full Stop Community. Our long-term goal is to do more of this. That might be practical help, skills matching, or something else, we are open to ideas and collaboration.
Providing conversation and support. Just like The Full Stop podcast, The Full Stop Community leads with words and shared stories. We also share other resources. We don't imagine that we can do it all or we're the best fit each time. We'll guide people to the best ones for them.
Championing causes. We welcome your event news, links to blog posts, and any words or media related to childlessness in our newsletter, which we are extremely proud to say has an average 70% open rate (the average ‘good’ rate is 40%). This newsletter is shared in The Full Stop Community too. It is completely free.
Sharing our knowledge. Since starting The Full Stop podcast, we've acquired new skills, 1 award, and lots of practical experiences. We share them.
Listen. We listen to feedback and create solutions. Our agile approach to The Full Stop Community CIC, along with our experience and connections, means we're here to offer flexible solutions and resources. We collaborate, never compete, and nurture supportive relationships which is the best way to help all - us, you and me - who are childless.
Remain unbiased. We're committed to being transparent, unbiased, and open to all. We've been through enough as childless people to want to create discourse in our own community.
Lastly, The Full Stop Community CIC. We're not 'The Community' - the name wasn't chosen to elevate our position. We could not call ourselves 'The Full Stop' as it was already used by someone else when we applied to Companies House. We've deliberately kept childless from our trading name as we've done from the start - parents and childfree are in our listener base too as they stumble upon us - and we appreciate that it's an important word for other ventures. We settled on Community to reflect the welcoming nature of what we do.
We remain as helpful, impartial, committed, and friendly as ever. Here to help those who helped us.
It's still us (but with an official listing on a legal website and some company numbers).
Let’s catch up!
If you're coming to Storyhouse, please say hello, let’s get a drink and share any ideas with us or in The Full Stop podcast live. We're also in London on 7th October (details to follow). You can also pop an email to any of us (firstname@thefullstoppod.com) if you'd like to share what's on your mind, we’d love a chat with you.
