Groups & Spaces
Groups Inside Groups
Spaces, membership, and who administers what
A Space is a Group that lives inside another Group: a chapter, a committee, a working group, a ministry. It has its own members, its own Decisions, its own record, and its own shared account if it wants one. Everything these guides say about a Group is true of a Space, because a Space is one.
What that looks like
A regional network, three chapters, and the working groups one of those chapters runs. Every level is a Group in its own right:
- Midwest Growers NetworkThe organization
- Chicago Chapter
- Seed LibraryOwn treasury
- Events CommitteeNo treasury
- Detroit ChapterNo Spaces yet
- Milwaukee ChapterNo Spaces yet
- Chicago Chapter
Belonging to the Chicago Chapter does not put you in the Seed Library, and belonging to the Network does not put you in any of them. Each level keeps its own members, its own record, and its own money.
Creating a Space
From your Group's Ecosystem view, an Owner can add a Space inside it. Creating one is a real setup step, not a default:
- Its name
- What this one is called. Youth Ministry, Chicago Chapter, Seed Library: Spaces in the same organisation don't have to sound alike.
- What kind it is
- A chapter or branch that could stand on its own, or a working area that only makes sense inside this Group.
- Its privacy
- Chosen at setup: secret and invite-only, visible to this Group's members with a request-to-join, or open to anyone.
- Who it starts with
- A Space can be seeded with people who aren't yet members of the containing Group.
Membership doesn't flow downhill
Being a member of the main Group doesn't make you a member of a Space inside it. Membership is given when the smaller Group is set up, and it doesn't flow downhill afterwards. But an administrator of the main Group can take over one of those Spaces at any time, and everyone in it is told when they do.
Taking over a Space's administration
An Owner of the containing Group can, at any time, make themselves an administrator of a Space it contains. It never happens automatically. It's recorded in the Space's own history, and the Space's members are notified.
Taking over administration never grants control of the Space's shared account. Claiming administration doesn't make anyone able to move a Space's treasury funds.
Money doesn't move on its own
A Space's shared account, if it has one, is entirely its own. Money doesn't flow between a Group and a Space it contains just because one contains the other.
Who can see the balance depends on the Space's own visibility setting, not on the containing Group. A Space set to “Just us” shows its balance only to its own members. A Space set to “Our network” or “Anyone” shows the balance figure to any signed-in person who looks, including members of the containing Group who are not in the Space — that is what makes the balances visible across the Ecosystem view. The transaction history behind that figure stays with the Space's own members either way.
Related guides
- Why Can't I Close This Group?: closing a Space you administer.
Still have questions? Check the FAQ or contact us.