The community does not require its members to accept any religion or ideology, but is based on ideals of cooperation between residents and care for the natural environment.

Among these were “to pay allegiance to our common humanity overshadowing religious, racial, economic or political differences.” Members are expected to work “at a calling that will provide simple but adequate living…to raise some of their own food and in doing so to conserve rather than deplete the land.” The community also stated as a central goal “to rear our children in a wholesome environment where they can become acquainted with nature and be stimulated by intellectual freedom.”[4] Historically and today, cooperation has been at the forefront of the community's mission.

In the words of the Celo Community Constitution, this system is meant to “encourage personal enterprise among members by making land and money available” for productive use.

[9] Physicians at Celo once ran a clinic open to people from outside the community and offering medical services for relatively low prices.

Regnery's beliefs seemed, at first glance, to clash with Morgan's vision for a communal settlement: he was a conservative and mild anti-Semite who opposed the New Deal and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

A board of directors was formed, including among its members Morgan, Regnery, and Clarence Pickett, executive secretary of the American Friends Service Committee.

[6] During the first few years, Celo experienced frequent turnover of residents and difficulty in recruitment of members as the community struggled to establish a clear identity and direction.

[1] In the midst of World War II, Morgan visited Civilian Public Service camps in an attempt to recruit community members.

[11] In these early years, Celo was populated mostly with Quakers and pacifists, a legacy left by Morgan's recruitment in the conscientious objector camps.

Families who are unable to live at Celo due to a long waiting list have begun settling on the community's periphery.