Working in Partnership: Collaboration with Integrity
The International Pagan Society welcomes thoughtful collaboration with communities, scholars, cultural stewards, artists, creators, educators, institutions, and aligned organizations that respect spiritual diversity, autonomy, consent, and ethical stewardship.
Principles That Would Guide Any Collaboration
These are the principles we intend to hold ourselves to as we consider working with other organizations and communities — not the terms of an existing formal agreement.
Mutual Respect
Approaching every prospective collaboration as a relationship between equals, not a transaction of convenience.
Institutional and Community Autonomy
Recognizing that a partner's leadership, governance, and internal decision-making remain fully their own.
Informed Consent and Cultural Care
Seeking clear, informed consent before engaging with a community's practices, knowledge, or cultural material.
Transparency and Accountability
Being honest about what the Society can offer, what it expects, and how a collaboration is going.
Partnership with IPS would never grant the Society control over another organization's beliefs, spiritual practices, leadership, intellectual property, or community governance. Any collaboration is meant to leave a partner's autonomy fully intact.
Who IPS Hopes to Work With
IPS does not currently have an established network of formal partners. The categories below describe the kinds of communities and organizations we hope to collaborate with in the future — not a list of current partners.
Pagan, Occult, Esoteric & Mystic Communities
Groups and hearths practicing within the many traditions IPS exists to serve.
Educators and Scholars
Teachers and researchers working on religious studies, folklore, and related fields.
Artists, Writers, Creators & Publishers
People making work that documents, interprets, or celebrates these traditions.
Cultural-Preservation Organizations
Groups dedicated to safeguarding cultural knowledge, practices, and heritage.
Libraries, Archives, Museums & Research Institutions
Institutions that steward historical and cultural records and collections.
Community-Service & Public-Benefit Organizations
Nonprofits and civic groups working toward shared public-benefit goals.
Religious-Freedom & Interfaith Organizations
Groups working to protect spiritual freedom and foster interfaith understanding.
Ethical Businesses & Practitioner Networks
Enterprises and practitioner communities operating with transparency and integrity.
Possible Future Areas of Collaboration
These are areas where future collaboration might take shape. None of them describe a currently funded, staffed, or operational program.
- Educational programming
- Public scholarship
- Cultural and historical preservation
- Community outreach
- Events and conversations
- Responsible digital preservation
- Creative and artistic initiatives
- Ethical livelihood development
- Religious and spiritual literacy
- Cross-cultural dialogue
How a Responsible Collaboration Could Work
This is a conceptual illustration of the process we would want a collaboration to follow. It does not describe any project IPS has completed or is currently running.
- 1
Shared Goals Are Identified
IPS and a prospective partner discuss what each side hopes to accomplish together.
- 2
Authority and Ownership Are Respected
Cultural authority, intellectual property, and community ownership stay with the community that holds them.
- 3
Consent and Attribution Are Documented
Expectations around consent, credit, and attribution are written down and agreed to in advance.
- 4
Responsibilities and Resources Are Clarified
Both sides are clear about who is doing what, and what resources each is contributing.
- 5
Public Communications Are Mutually Approved
Any public statement about the collaboration is reviewed and approved by both parties beforehand.
- 6
Outcomes Are Reviewed Together
The partners revisit how the collaboration went and what, if anything, should change going forward.
What Each Side Would Bring to the Table
What IPS Seeks to Contribute
- Mission alignment. A shared commitment to spiritual freedom, cultural respect, and ethical stewardship.
- Public education and communication. Help sharing accurate, respectful information about a collaboration with the public.
- Convening and relationship building. A willingness to help connect aligned communities, educators, and organizations.
- Respectful amplification. Thoughtful promotion of a partner's work, with their consent and on their terms.
- Collaborative planning. Genuine participation in shaping how a shared project or initiative takes form.
- Commitment to ethical practice. Adherence to the principles described on this page throughout any collaboration.
What IPS Expects from Partners
- Respect for spiritual and cultural autonomy. Recognition that IPS does not seek control over a partner's beliefs or governance.
- Honest representation. Accurate description of who a partner is, what they do, and their relationship to IPS.
- Informed consent. Clear agreement before any shared use of practices, knowledge, or cultural material.
- Clear responsibilities. A shared, documented understanding of who is responsible for what.
- Non-discrimination. Treatment of people and communities without discrimination in any shared work.
- Appropriate credit and attribution. Fair acknowledgment of everyone's contribution to a collaboration.
- Transparent financial arrangements. Honesty about any funds, costs, or resources involved in a shared project.
- Respect for confidentiality and restricted knowledge. Care around knowledge a community considers private, sacred, or restricted.
- No exploitation, coercion, or deceptive promotion. A shared refusal to pressure, mislead, or take advantage of any party or community.
IPS does not currently provide emergency legal funds, grants, fellowship funding, archival infrastructure, digitization laboratories, international legal representation, or annual funding pools.
How We Would Think About Evaluating a Collaboration
These are general principles for thinking through whether a collaboration makes sense — not a formal accreditation, certification, or verification process, and not a legal due-diligence determination.
We do not promise background checks, legal screening, financial audits, site inspections, or a set review timeline. These principles describe the kinds of questions we would want to ask, not a guaranteed procedure.
Partnerships IPS Would Decline
IPS would not pursue a collaboration that involved any of the following. This describes principles for future decisions, not a record of arrangements that have actually been proposed or rejected.
- Discrimination or supremacist ideology
- Spiritual coercion
- Fraud or deceptive practices
- Exploitation of vulnerable people
- Cultural theft or deliberate misrepresentation
- Environmental destruction
- Undisclosed conflicts of interest
- Pressure to compromise IPS's independence or mission
- Misuse of IPS's name or affiliation
A Mission Without Borders
The Society's mission is international in scope, and the traditions it hopes to support exist across many countries, cultures, and regions. Any future collaboration is likely to reflect that diversity — different communities, contexts, and local circumstances will shape what a partnership looks like in practice.
We do not publish partner counts, regional totals, or maps of existing alliances, because no such network currently exists. This section describes an outlook, not a record of established international relationships.
Partnership Interest
A verified partnership-interest contact channel has not been established yet. It will be published here once it is available. In the meantime, you can learn more about the Society through ourMission & ValuesandGovernance & Accountabilitypages.
Future Partner Recognition
As verified partnerships are established, they may be published here — but only with the mutual approval of both organizations. We will not display placeholder logos or partner listings that could be mistaken for an existing endorsement.
Help Us Grow into an Organization Worth Partnering With
Your support helps IPS build the kind of accountable, ethical foundation that responsible collaboration depends on.