RAISING LUMINARIES WINTER COLLECTIVE

Frequently Asked Questions

"I really, really need this! Buuuut..."
Do you have some... hesitations?
No worries if you're unsure how to weave the Winter Incubator into your limited budget, packed schedule, and distracted brain.
We built this just for you.

join the waitlist

Enrollment is full. Our next session starts January 2026

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How can you change the whole world without neglecting your kids - or yourself?

I don't have time!

How well is scrambling to keep up currently working for you? Using our strategies, members <b>save an average of 5 hours weekly</b> - even long after the winter incubator ends.

I can't afford it!

50% of members use our sliding scale, deferred payment plans, or reciprocate by supporting the group in non-monetary ways.

I'm not ____ enough!

While a few of us are Certified Badasses, none are Official CTOs of Activism or whatever. We're just caregivers who want to make a difference without melting into a puddle of goo.

I wouldn’t have had any idea how to make a space like that, if I hadn’t had the opportunity to watch Ashia make these spaces that are so welcoming and supportive and effective for people.

I adapted the way Ashia built community norms for the Winter Incubator to determine what my decolonizing research faculty group wanted. What would it look like to have a space that was just for us, rather than a space designed by and for rich white dudes?

We landed on green and growing things, warm drinks, and personal squishmallows. Our first meeting was yesterday and it was so exciting.

Alison L.

join the waitlist

Enrollment is full. Our next session starts January 2026

Already a member? Log in

RAISING LUMINARIES CAREGIVER WORKSHOP

Winter Incubator General FAQ

  • The Winter Incubator is an annual online six-week workshop hosted by Raising Luminaries. 
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  • Gathering in small-group discussions, we identify the support you need to juggle advocacy, life, and caring for your community. Learn how to weave social justice, equity, and decolonization into your days without burning out.
  • Designed for parents, educators, and caregivers who feel isolated and overworked, this is our chance to connect and refuel so we can keep caring for others.
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  • We welcome both self-advocates and accomplices striving for collective liberation.
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  • To learn more, check out our About Page.

The Winter Incubator is available on a sliding scale and payments are distributed over 12 months to help balance your contributions.

To check out our sliding scale options, visit the Pricing Page.

  • Each winter, we’ll gather for six weeks in small group cohorts. When you register, we’ll pair you up with the right cohort based on your availability and preferred method of connection.
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  • The main way we’re connecting with each other as busy caregivers is in small 3-5 minute chunks of time throughout the week using asynchronous video or text chat. This makes it easy to participate while loading the dishwasher, waiting at the bus stop, or walking your dog.
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  • However – recorded video chat might not be accessible for everyone. Which is why we include a comment forum, text-based chat, and/or live online meeting cohorts.
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  • For those cohorts who want to meet in real time, we also host live drop-in Tea Times once a week on Zoom.
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  • For more information on our schedule, check out the Scheduling Page.
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  • When won’t you feel overwhelmed? Let’s be honest. Your life isn’t going to get any simpler. When you’re too scattered to think straight, you’ll always take on more than you can handle.
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  • Wrangling kids, work, and a world that’s literally on fire – we’re here to help you get a grip without drowning in everybody else’s demands, so you can give them what they need.
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  • We’ll help you feel less overwhelmed now and in the future, no matter what complicated horrors await next.
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  • However – are you up to your neck in crisis?
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  • > Is it impossible to get 15 minutes to yourself for five days a week?
  • > Would the lowest cost on our sliding scale prevent you from paying for rent or medicine?
  • > Is the car you live in currently on fire?

 

  • If so – you have more urgent things to attend to! Join us next year.
RAISING LUMINARIES CAREGIVER WORKSHOP

Winter Incubator Scheduling FAQ

  • These seasonal collectives aren’t for you. You practice sustainable care work so you don’t burn out and become someone else’s problem.
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  • If you keep setting yourself on fire to keep others warm, you’ll end up a crispy mess.
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  • If you keep running on empty, you’ll let people down in catastrophic ways.
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  • You’re already causing damage that you don’t even know about yet. But it’s not too late to change course.
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  • Whether it’s your kids, those you show up for, or others who follow in your footsteps – you’re leaving vulnerable people who rely on you to deal with the consequences of showing up to run on fumes.
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  • Everything Raising Luminaries creates (particularly our seasonal collectives) is to help progressive caregivers stop harming those they care for under the guise of performative activism, saviorism, and martyrdom.
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  • Stop raising incels. Stop prioritizing comfort over community well-being. Stop doing saviorism, martyrdom, and performative busywork. Stop ignorantly upholding the kyriarchy. 
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  • If you only want to join us for the appearance of getting your shit together, then this isn’t the space for you. But if you genuinely wish to reorient how you show up for others from the roots up, invest the time it takes to be the change you want to see in the world.
  • We run for 6 weeks every winter, starting in early January and continuing through mid-February.
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  • Upcoming Winter Incubator Dates:
  • 2026: January 4 – February 14
  • 2027: January 3 – February 13
  • 2028: January 2 – February 12
  • 2029: January 7 – February 17
  • … and so on

 

  • After you register, we ask you to share your availability and the ways you’d like to be supported.
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  • Based on your needs, we’ll pair you up in a 2-6 person cohort of like-minded caregivers to connect in a way that works for you.
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  • Regardless of which group you belong to, you’re welcome to drop in for our weekly virtual hangouts – helpful when life gets chaotic and you find yourself scrambling to stay connected.
  • Life with kids can get chaotic; we all get sick, and many of our members are managing multiple disabilities. 
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  • Not only are you welcome to take what you need and leave the rest for next year (which you’ll be invited to at no cost) – you don’t need to wedge any live sessions into your schedule if you don’t have the time. Just show up as you are and get the support you need.
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  • After registering, you’ll be paired up in small cohorts based on how you like to connect (via Zoom, asynchronous video chat, and/or text chat) and how often you’d like to engage.
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  • In addition to your caregiver cohort, we host a live drop-in session once a week on Zoom for extra support.
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  • If you ever feel like this is all coming at you too fast, remember that we’ve designed the Winter Incubator specifically for overwhelmed caregivers. So if something comes up and you need to step away, you can join us again next year at no additional cost.
  • The winter incubator is for caregivers who feel overwhelmed by the demands of caring for everyone else.
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  • We’re disrupting toxic hustle culture because scrambling to keep up, consume, and produce upholds the kyriarchy we’re fighting to dismantle.
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  • But we’re not doing that here. With our cyclical approach to growth, there is no such thing as ‘falling behind’ here.
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  • Attending at least four of our live virtual gatherings may help you connect and develop supportive relationships. However, we also offer a 24/7 asynchronous chat group and written portal discussion threads for members who need accessibility support, play at a different pace, or can’t attend live gatherings.
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If you ever feel like this is all coming at you too fast, remember that we’ve designed the Winter Incubator specifically for overwhelmed caregivers. If something comes up and you need to step away from active participation, you can defer to a future winter session at any time for no additional cost.

You’ll have online access to the winter portal and all downloadable bonus resources for as long as our portal exists. Year-round access means you can download the discussion guides, guidebooks, and resource library materials at your own pace and access them forever.

  • Our cohort discussions welcome you into a brave space to pause, reorient yourself, and refuel. These spaces help caregivers who feel frustrated, isolated, and overwhelmed practice and allow us to connect with others who understand our challenges and provide real-time support.
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  • These live or asychronous hangouts are a warm and cozy place to explore advocacy tools and how these strategies help us juggle caring for others without burning out.
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  • Returning members revisiting these strategies are welcome to join our 24/7 chat group. If you need to talk out a problem at 2 am, we’re here for your chaotic schedule.
  • We don’t record our weekly drop-in sessions. Not worrying about being ‘observed’ helps our members share personal stories and challenges without feeling self-conscious.
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  • If you’d like to leave personal messages in your cohort’s video chat group, these recordings last one year before being automatically deleted. You can remove your personal messages from the group anytime, no questions asked.
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  • And at the end of the winter, we retire our cohort discussions to start fresh for our next session.
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  • Most importantly – there is no need to perform, stay anything brilliant, or be charming. We have a ‘no itchy underpants’ rule where you’re encouraged to show up as you are, messy and wearing your coziest stained and threadbare pajamas.
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  • We’ll ask a few questions when you register to tailor our group norms, level of engagement, and the ways you feel most comfortable connecting to your preferences and availability. 
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  • We’re aiming for cozy and intimate conversations to get to know each other. Of course, our kids will interrupt us. We’ll make space for each other’s chaos, and our sessions are not recorded or shared beyond the group.
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  • We use automatically generated live captions on Zoom. Unfortunately, we can’t afford a live ASL interpreter at this time.
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  • If you miss a live hangout, you can still connect with us using the 24/7 chat group whenever it works for you.
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RAISING LUMINARIES CAREGIVER WORKSHOP

Winter Incubator Registration FAQ

  • Educators, parents, and caregivers who feel spread thin caring for others are welcome here – particularly those who may not feel welcome or safe in traditional ‘parent’ groups.
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  • We expect our members to have a cursory understanding of systemic oppression (ex: racism exists, oppression is systemic, and we are all responsible for ending it). We’re all expected to have self-awareness and be mindful of our individual power and group privilege when in conflict with other members.
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  • If you’re not sure whether you are welcome in this space, let me know what’s on your mind so I can help you find the support you need – even if it’s not in this particular group.
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  • But if you believe you *already know everything* about social justice and parenting, this is not the space for you.
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  • If you are offended by targeted people finding ways to laugh through hardship, this is not the super-serious space you need.
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  • We are not your people if you can only tolerate polite, restrained conversations that center white comfort over curiosity and honesty.
  • We welcome eight new members each winter. Our enrollment period typically starts in December, giving first dibs to folks who have signed up for the free winter waitlist and members of the Luminary Braintrust.
  • If by our fourth week, you have attended at least four live hangouts and have engaged in the chat group – and you realize this isn’t the support you need – you can request a full refund.
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  • Since there is such limited space in the collective, I can’t offer refunds if you don’t attend or engage with our group. 
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  • For more info, check out our generous and flexible refund policy.
  • You have lifetime access to the Winter Portal and all existing and future Winter Incubator resources. But you’re never obligated to join us for future collectives.
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  • I invite returning members each year to see if you’d like to join an upcoming session, support new members, or take a break this year.
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  • Unsubscribing from these check-ins is easy, and I don’t monitor the alumni list (so you don’t have to worry about offending anyone.)
  • Don’t worry about ‘taking up space.’ In addition to limiting enrollment to only eight new memberships each year, we also break larger groups into cohorts to ensure everyone gets the time and attention they need.
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  • If you’re concerned with making space for others, you should join sooner rather than later. We help you gain free time, strengthen your relationships, and keep others warm without setting yourself on fire.
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  • The longer you put this internal work off, the harder it’ll be to support those who need your help.
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  • If you are a person of privilege and want to show your kids how to care for others without saviorism or burnout – start now – before they pick up more of your most self-destructive habits.
  • Our live hangouts are deeply interactive and not designed for passive consumption. We include 3-8 members in each cohort to build trust and get to know each other. 
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  • I tailor the resources for each collective to be accessible for every member’s accessibility needs and individual goals, so we keep our groups small to give you the breathing space you’ll need to dive deep into our unique challenges.
  • Contact me for a discounted group rate if you’d like to join the collective with a friend or as a group.
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  • However, if your friend wants access to the portal and resources but can’t afford the enrollment cost, encourage them to take advantage of our sliding scale or contact me for support.
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  • Please keep your portal login and the resources from our library private unless you have express permission from Raising Luminaries. Sharing these outside our membership is a violation of our terms & conditions.
  • Returning alumni are welcome to work through the Winter Incubator process as a group or host your cohort for your own organization through our Collaborative Starling Program.
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  • To learn more about hosting, licensing, restrictions, and customizing the incubator for your group, reach out to me, and we can coordinate something that works for you.
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  • Outside this program, please keep your portal login, the resources from our library, and the workflow and trainings from our Winter Incubator private unless we’ve worked out a consensual hosting and licensing agreement. Sharing our material for profit beyond our membership is a violation of our terms & conditions.

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©2025 Ashia Ray of Raising Luminaries™. All rights reserved.

Raising Luminaries
Igniting the next generation of kind & courageous leaders
©2024 Ashia Ray of Raising Luminaries™. All rights reserved.
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