I had the pleasure of visiting Traverse City, Michigan this summer, during their annual Traverse City Film Festival.  Started just six years ago, the festival now draws thousands of visitors to this small resort town with 135 screenings of 80 films and 40 shorts. How many paid staffers are required to run this six-day event, covering six different venues (including free outdoor movies at a local park)?  Think about that while you take a look at this video re-cap of one day during the festival:

Okay, any guesses? Would you believe two paid staffers?  I'm told that thousands of volunteers step forward every year to make this event possible.

Which got me thinking. How does an area this size (population 14,000 for the town of Traverse City, and ten times that for the surrounding four-county area ), get so many people to contribute their time and energy, for free?   It sounded to me like a community in action. 

I interviewed several long-time residents as well as one of the volunteers for the festival.  I asked the questions, "What makes this town so special?" and "What makes this festival so special?"  The answers give clues for creating a thriving community:

• Provide lots of opportunities to contribute and belong. Among the many festival volunteers, I noted a father-daughter pair. The daughter appeared to be mentally handicapped, and proud to be part of the festival.  Here's a short interview with another volunteer, talking about her reasons for volunteering:

• Make it easy for contributors to be recognized. When I asked a local journalist what makes this town so special, she replied, "You don't have to do a whole lot to get recognition. If you do a food drive, you'll get recognition."  

• Thriving communities are self-selecting.  One resident, a health care executive, stated simply, "People are here because they want to be here." 

• Pick a cause that's accessible and approachable. The tagline for the festival is "Just Great Movies." It's concrete enough for anyone to understand, yet special enough to get people involved. Several of the people interviewed talked about how the festival brings movies that they normally wouldn't be able to see.

• It takes just a few people to get something started. Watch this video of Rich Brauer, a local businessman who has been involved in the festival since the beginning:

What are you learning about creating a thriving community (either online or in-person)? Provide us with some tips by leaving a comment.