Roadmap
How we’ll grow.
This is how we plan to grow, the evidence we’ll look for at each step, and where you can help. Each phase begins when the one before it shows us it’s ready, not on a fixed date.
Open any section for the detail. Last updated September 2026. We’ll update this page as things change and say what changed.
01The phasesFrom groundwork and four pilot events to a first season, a residency and a permanent home.
Phase 1 · Fall 2026
In progressGroundwork
Setting up an organization that can be trusted with other people’s time and money.
What we’re doing
- Forming the nonprofit corporation and applying for 501(c)(3) status
- Recruiting a founding board with an independent majority
- Adopting a conflict-of-interest policy and simple, open bookkeeping
- Confirming first program, venue and education partners
How we’ll know it’s working
- Filings are complete and posted in Transparency
- At least three independent directors are seated
- At least three partners have agreed to host or co-present
Ways to help now
- Express interest in the board
- Introduce a partner
- Offer professional help in law, accounting or design
Phase 2 · When ready
NextFour pilot events
Small pilot events with partners, so the first nights are real, documented and shared.
What we’re doing
- Four pilots selected from the Lounge, Library, Retreat and Workshop concepts with local partners
- At least one free program for students or a youth group
- Optional feedback after each program, with photography only where consent is given
How we’ll know it’s working
- People come, stay to the end and ask when the next one is
- Survey responses show people heard something new
- We know the true cost of a program
Ways to help now
Phase 3 · After the pilots
PlannedA first season
Regular ticketed programs in the formats the pilots support, each run more than once so we can improve between them, plus the first Listening Lab cycle.
What we’re doing
- Programs in welcoming partner spaces across Southwest Florida
- Access seats in every program
- A published Season One Learning Report
How we’ll know it’s working
- Returning attendance and waitlists
- A real mix of ages in the room
- Learning responses and a credible way to pay for delivery
Phase 4 · When demand supports it
PlannedA residency
Several weeks in one place to test the daily and weekly rhythm of a permanent home before signing a lease.
What we’re doing
- Weekly programs and open listening hours
- A pop-up collection of records and music writing
- A trial membership
How we’ll know it’s working
- The weekly rhythm holds attendance
- People join, renew and bring others
- Income and costs support a permanent plan
Ways to help now
- Offer a storefront or space for a residency
- Sponsor the residency
- Contribute records and music books
Phase 5 · When the evidence supports it
FutureThe Listening Place
A permanent home for the programs, a collection of records and music writing, and everyday hospitality.
What we’re doing
- Finding a feasible site
- Raising committed capital
- A reviewed cash-flow plan
How we’ll know it’s working
- Only when all three are in place will we sign a lease
- Hospitality must sustain its own costs
Ways to help now
- Introduce a property owner or developer
- Help plan a capital campaign
- Read the vision
02How we’ll measure itWhat we record before, during and after every program, and how we decide what to grow.
Before each event
Define what this pilot should help us learn about participation, connection, discovery, rest or making. Record the capacity, access arrangements, agreed costs and staff time. Ask attendees what drew them in and what might make participation difficult.
During the experience
Track attendance and timing. Observe which parts of the format engage people and where they encounter barriers. Participation and feedback are always optional.
Afterward
Ask what listeners noticed or understood differently. Record feedback response rates and actual return visits. Reconcile the full cost, including paid preparation.
The decision
After each phase, share what worked and what changed. Expand the formats that show learning, repeat demand and a credible way to pay for delivery.
03What we promiseCommitments we’ll hold ourselves to in public.
- We’ll share what worked and what didn’t after every season, not only the good news.
- We won’t lease a permanent space before the evidence and funding support it.
- Every ticketed program will hold access seats.
- Founder and collaborator time will be counted in the real cost of every program.
- We’ll post our filings, board and annual reports as they exist.
- Plans will change as we learn. When they do, we’ll say so here.
04How we’re organizedLegal name, tax status, governance and documents.
- Legal name: The Listening Project, Inc., a Florida nonprofit corporation, working publicly as The Listening Project of Southwest Florida. Articles of Incorporation filed with the Florida Division of Corporations in September 2026.
- Tax status: We’re preparing our application to the IRS for recognition as a 501(c)(3) public charity. We’ll post our EIN and the status of the application here as each is issued.
- Florida charitable registration: We’ll register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before we invite any donations, and post the registration number here.
- Governance: We’re forming a founding board with a majority of independent directors, a written conflict-of-interest policy, and decisions about any compensation made only by directors without a personal interest.
- Documents: Our filed Articles of Incorporation will be posted here, followed by our bylaws and conflict-of-interest policy once the board adopts them. Later filings, including our IRS application and annual reports, will be added as they exist.
- Learning reports: Published after each phase. See the roadmap.
Where you come in
Every phase needs people.
If you run a venue, teach, collect, write, build, fund or simply love listening, there is a phase on this page where you’d make a difference.