Volunteers . Value

WHAT does a WEconomy look like?A successful WEconomy is a robust, resilient local economy fueled by the Sustainable Communities Framework (SCF), a new economic paradigm designed by American 501c3 non-profit Sustainable Communities Foundation to provide the necessary technology and strategies needed to help restore communities in crisis and build sustainable prosperity in neighborhoods anywhere.Over a decade of research yielded detailed evidence of how prosperous communities historically thrived, and continue to, without the biases, constraints and limitations of the prevailing financial system embodied by national currencies issued primarily in debt by private banks, with interest.The SCF now brings historical models into modern context primarily via three breakthrough technologies: 1) a truly free marketplace open to all residents that can pay its users to set up shop and transact with each other; 2) a venture & workforce development ecosystem featuring incubation, acceleration, mentoring, apprenticing, fellowships and skills training; 3) a freely available digital community currency (a local dollar) spent into the community by trusted local non-profits, providing living wages and venture grants and no-interest loans. These three primary assets, together, support regional innovation, meaningful employment, and ample nutrition...all leading to sustainable prosperity.Please let us know your thoughts on how it would work for you. Here is a bit more detail:1. A truly FREEMARKETplace™ where residents freely list their goods & services for sale & hire, for free.• The FREEMARKETplace will even pay residents in local dollars "hang a shingle" in the marketplace and try out the platform. If they list a product, or introduce the marketplace to others—we pay for that promotion too! More local commerce among regional consumers and producers helps revenue and profits stay local longer—known as the "local multiplier effect"—leading to the creation of more community capital, shared more equitably among local stakeholders.• The FREEMARKETplace is “Better than Barter”™, not only for its convenience, like online platforms such as Facebook Marketplace or eBay or Etsy, but where the same local dollars can be used at any business wishing to attract more customers and increase their revenue—i.e., "Buy Local" campaigns. And, unlike profits at big box and chain stores where franchise fees, revenue and profits are extracted from the community to corporate banking centers domestic and abroad, WEconomy communities enjoy the local multiplier effect, circulating local dollars—typically 4-8x further than US dollars do.2. A powerful Entrepreneurship & Workforce Development platform, whether utilized physically or virtually, providing all the resources more commonly found in leading research universities and tech hubs.• If you have an idea, you'll have the tools and guidance to take it to market. Our Entrepreneurship programs have been refined over decades, supporting entrepreneurs by providing critical resources from product development to startup launch, including incubation, mentorship and even fundraising after you've proven your project is market-ready. Our program ensures that "when you complete, you can compete"™.• If you already have a small business, our online “roadmaps” guide innovators and job creators in growing their ideas and businesses safely before risking other people's money. And when finally ready to scale and seek outside investment, we can even show you how to thank your customers most—by sharing your success with them through Crowdfunding—as shareholders of a business they already support.• Support from both global experts and area mentors—currently relevant contributors are motivated to perform because the a) WEconomy offers competitive fees, plus b) generous incentives such as maintaining an option to invest your earnings into early stage ventures emerging from the hub, and 3) a deep sense of pride and belonging helping so many local job creators re-create their communities. Breaking through this common roadblock allows more talent to stay local, build legacy enterprises, generational wealth, and help their communities avoid crippling “brain drain”.• Businesses founded, funded and grown locally keep more neighbors employed and keep more profits local, not sending off homegrown capital to Wall Street brokers and offshore tax havens.• Our Workforce development and training programs build in-demand soft-skills and relevant work experience, helping businesses avoid mis-hires which can have devastating effects to both teams and a company's competitiveness.• All this access to local capital expands local production capacity and increases regional GDP. But Gross Domestic Product is a dated metric out of touch with the reality of local economic conditions. The WEconomy is driven by a metric we all relate to—Quality of Life (QoL, pronounced "kewl")3. A first-ever digital community currency is used in the marketplace to pay for goods and services made or offered locally.• WEconomy currencies are simply a medium of exchange, on par with the US dollar, no different than things you likely use already, like grocery coupons, loyalty programs, or airline mileage awards.• Local currencies are a historic standard and still facilitate most transactions worldwide, yet are crippled either by government control or margin killing printing and security costs. WEconomy's currency is digital, and we offer limitless ways to earn and spend. Freely available to all residents: there are no means tests, no FICO scores, no collateral, no subjective or artificial hurdles.• Your WEconomy balance can be used in more places than just at a “buy local” campaign participant's shop. You can spend your WEconomy money in the FREEMARKETplace just as you shop online now—same as using a debit/credit card, gift card, PayPal or Apple Cash. And with vendors who do business outside the FREEMARKETplace online, you can pay them Venmo style, with a digital “wallet” on your smartphone, or even with a plastic debit card featuring your own personal QR code. And unlike gift cards or paper coupons, you can’t accidentally lose your WEconomy money!• Blocks of WEconomy currency grants are issued to and administered by qualified, stable, local non-profits and organizations you already know and trust, and who live in your community and share your goals. These organizations will donate money for community projects, make personal and business grants that match their mission, hire more local workers, and expand operations; offer income to vital and otherwise hard-to-find volunteers...all offering living wages while expanding their organization's impact.

• Chevron Left

WHY are we here?Because we all know the current economic system is broken.• 3 individuals hold more wealth than 50% of all Americans combined, the top 1% have more wealth than 90% of all Americans combined (tax policy)• 90% of US jobs have been outsourced since 1980 (trade policy)• Creating public money is reserved for private banks (fiscal policy)• Only 7% of American small businesses that seek loans are approved.• 50% of Americans can’t get a loan to improve their lives or their communities (banking policy)So, if the Economic system is clearly broken, but each of the facts above are Policy related, do you think your political representatives have your best interest at heart?• The rules of elections, banking, taxation and trade are written by the same politicians commonly entering congress as median earners, yet most "coincidentally" become millionaires within two years of “public” service. What exactly are they teaching at the Capitol?In recent polls, 94% of Americans blamed wealthy political donors for political dysfunction, and 77% of registered voters said that “reducing the influence of special interests and corruption in Washington” was either the “single most” or a “very important” factor in deciding their votes.Are you better off than your parents?• 72% of Americans are not, and that # has increased 15% in just two years.Will you leave your children better off than you?• Barely half of Americans trade/own stock (other than what may be in their retirement plans)• More than 50% of Americans have less than $5000 in savings.Do you have enough money to pay your bills, much less chase your dreams?• 63% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and most will not qualify for an affordable loan.Do you love your job?• Most Americans surveyed say they only keep a job they hate because they literally cannot afford to lose their health insurance (that most can't afford to use for preventative care anyway—primarily just for catastrophes, which insurance companies regularly manage to deny by employing very small print deep in terms of service).• USA, the richest country in the history of the world, spends more per person on healthcare than any other country, yet American infant mortality is at 3rd world standards and our life expectancy has been shrinking for years, despite paying double, individually, for insurance than anywhere else.Do you believe that multinational mega-corporations are good for/to Americans?• 52 of the 100 biggest economies on earth are now corporations, bigger than most countries.• CEOs now make an average of 400x more than their workers. In 1965 it was 24x.• Corporations have never been larger or more profitable than right now.So, is "American" Capitalism really working for you?• The average American’s purchasing power has not risen since the 1960s.• Yet the richest 400 Americans now own 60% of US wealth. (https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/)So, does that help you see that status quo is not working for you. . .or for the vast majority of Americans? Because, if you weren't there to see it firsthand, quality of life was better for everyone, when everyone felt they had a fair chance. What if there was another economy built for the rest of us?• There is. Welcome to the WEconomy, "an economy for the rest of us"

• Chevron Left

HOW is a WEconomy different from the U.S. economy?Before we explain, it's important we all agree on what money is and is not. Many Americans are shocked to learn that there is no law against anyone creating money. In fact, Americans have always used "complementary" currencies. Often referred to as "scrip", prior to the Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall), many companies, associations, banks, co-ops and municipalities issued their own money, but typically only to counter cash shortages or financial crises that were somewhat common. And yet, we have since seen several national financial crises, despite legislation designed to prevent it.It is also a surprise to many that, in the US, private banks currently own the privilege of creating new US dollars (not paper currency, but in a digital ledger) often even by borrowing your tax dollars from the Federal Reserve and then lending it back to you for a tidy profit (or choose to deny you a loan, as is now the case for a vast majority of Americans) based on their sole assessment of the risk you pose to their collecting sufficient returns from "helping" you out. Starting more or less in 1980, Americans have been ill-served by this system, reflected in the buying power of the common family not having increased in that time, while politicians and the top 1% have grown astronomically wealthy in contrast. This is partly what the WEconomy is designed to fix...by putting communities in charge of their own destinies, financially and productively. Similar frustrations led to the State of North Dakota to found a Public Bank, which operates for-profit, but whose profits are shared with residents as opposed to shareholders. Good read here.Lacking access to capital is perhaps the main reason holding back entrepreneurs, small businesses, communities, and naturally, the national GDP. A WEconomy becomes the first path to rebuilding and restoring regional economies by providing ready access to virtually unlimited local capital. Alternative forms of money more common today are often referred to as "local", "community" or "virtual" currencies. These "people's" currencies take shape in the form of grocery coupons, airline miles and buy-local campaigns—things we all use happily every day. NOTE: WEconomy currencies, and most all local currencies are not "crypto" currencies—they can not be speculated on or lose value. They're just like U.S. dollars, only their use is limited to a regional area, just like how WEconomy digital currencies work regionally.In contrast to what our textbooks insist is already a "free market" economy (hint: it is by no means free), WEconomy's FREEMARKETplace ™ is like if Craigslist was safer, or if Facebook took payments, or if eBay sold only goods and services sourced locally, or if Bezos didn’t horde billions (without paying taxes) by selling cheap stuff on Amazon made by slave labor in China. For starters, the WEconomy's truly free FREEMARKETplace takes bartering into the 21st century by allowing anyone to shop for anything listed on the platform, or at local businesses that participate...without needing U.S. dollars. You can even open a shop of your own and sell anything you have or make. The FREEMARKETplace will even pay you just to try it out! And, yes, people with U.S. dollars can shop in the FREEMARKETplace, too, adding even more value to the regional economy in the process.WEconomy money is available to anyone in the region in several ways, including: 1) get paid a living wage by local non-profits to do the important work that volunteers are otherwise asked to do for free; 2) earn competitive wages by providing services locally as an entrepreneur or small business or even by just mentoring, advising, training the next crop of job creators; 3) apply for grants for community improvements, 4) seek a grant to launch or expand your own business; 5) even simply purchase the local currency with U.S. dollars and enjoy a promotional bonus by shopping as you likely already do every day—online. Because not only can you use your new local money while digitally browsing the regional FREEMARKETplace, but equally important, you will use it to hire local workers and support small businesses. For a graphic illustrating what kinds of jobs thrive in a WEconomy, just click here.“Want something you saw online? Check your FREEMARKETplace first, because a neighbor may have it for sale, too. And not only can you pay for it from your WE-bank.Us account, but that money then stays local and multiplies, enriching the local economy, not evaporating to Wall Street or to hidden accounts in foreign banks and tax havens.”

• Chevron Left

The graphic below illustrates how a WEconomy circular economy/virtuous cycle fuels prosperity for all residents in any distressed community

• Chevron Left