Founders · Stay Zen

Founders

A new section is being added to the Announcements Classroom: Founders.

This will remain public because the purpose is larger than preserving history. It is also a record of how Stay Zen recognizes the people who help carry a community while it is still becoming itself.

The first recognition group is the Founding 25.

These members were not selected simply because they appeared on an early roster or kept an app activity clock from expiring. Founding status reflects early membership combined with substantive participation, meaningful presence, and contribution to the culture or continuity of the community.

That participation has never required constant visibility. It may have looked like joining conversations, attending events, completing work privately, encouraging another member, sharing creative progress, asking thoughtful questions, returning after interruption, or remaining genuinely connected in whatever capacity was available.

As the community developed, we learned that login activity alone could not tell us who was truly participating. Some members periodically returned only to restart the clock and avoid removal. We adapted the standard so that recognition would reflect meaningful presence rather than account maintenance.

What Founding 25 status carries

Founding 25 members retain priority access to limited-capacity groups, workshops, selected enrollment windows, and designated opportunities.

That benefit remains attached to their Founding legacy whether they remain in the complimentary community or move into paid membership.

Founding 25 members may also activate the full Premium membership experience at the protected rate of:

$19 per month

Enrollment must be completed by August 31, 2026 to secure that rate.

Once activated, the rate remains protected while the paid membership stays continuously active. Founding recognition and priority access remain even when a member chooses not to upgrade.

Why this section is public

The Founding 25 was always intended to be the beginning of a larger recognition structure.

As membership opens more broadly, the next seventy-five qualifying members will form the remaining part of the First 100. We started this with the intention of carefully selecting members, keeping our numbers down and manageable, and focusing on quality instead of quantity.

Keeping this section public allows future members to see the standard before they are ever asked to trust it.

Stay Zen recognizes participation that is consistent with a person’s actual capacity. We notice contribution, return, support, creative movement, and meaningful presence over time.

This is not a competition for visibility.

It is a record of who helped carry the institution through its earliest seasons.

The first 25 helped carry the beginning.

The next 75 will be able to see how that contribution is honored.

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Founders