ARROYO S.E.C.O NETWORK OF TIME BANKS
  • Home
  • About
    • Core Values
    • Guidelines
    • Town Hall
    • Organizations
    • Services
    • Economic Justice
    • Supporters
    • Press
    • Top 10 Tips
    • FAQ's
  • Neighborhoods
    • Altadena
    • Boyle Heights
    • Downtown Los Angeles
    • Echo Park
    • Glendale
    • Koreatown
    • Lincoln Heights
    • Los Feliz
    • Northeast L.A.
    • Pasadena
    • Silverlake
    • West Adams
    • Westlake
  • Projects
    • Repair Cafe
    • Garden Group
    • Fruit Harvest
    • Mind-Body Community Practices
    • Craft Club
    • Dog Cooperative
    • Neighborhood Marketplace
    • Revolving Loan Fund
    • Local Economy Incubator
    • Salon Series
  • Join
  • Get Involved
    • Blog
    • Facebook
    • Shop
  • Member login
  • Donate

Funding a Better Future for Time Bank Entrepreneurs

7/30/2013

9 Comments

 
Picture
By Sarah McGowan Dear

In the summer of 2011, Autumn Rooney, Janine Christiano and I went to western Massachusetts to visit the Schumacher Center for a New Economics. In the bucolic town of Great Barrington, we hoped to find out more about local economies, alternative currency and other powerful community building tools. The area is home to some pretty radical movements, not the least of which includes pioneering Community Sustained Agriculture at Indian Line Farm and minting BerkShares, a local currency that has helped a small community keep more of its money at home, rather than in the hands of outside corporations and interests.

After spending a few days picking the brain of the Center’s executive director Susan Witt, we came home to LA with a lot of big ideas, two of which are now in the final stages of research and development after receiving a development grant from the Metabolic Studio, a direct charitable activity of the Annenberg Foundation lead by artist and foundation director, Lauren Bon. This fall the Arroyo S.E.C.O. Community Revolving Loan Fund and Local Economy Incubator will launch, serving our Time Bank community.

Intended to help our community of artisans, entrepreneurs, visionaries and worker-owned cooperatives gain access to resources that often come with a great price tag in the extractive economy, the CRLF and LEI seek to educate, support and empower the Arroyo Seco Network of Time Banks (ASNTB) through micro-loans and access to professional development.

More and more, the mainstream economy offers fewer opportunities for local growth, community enrichment and personal empowerment. By supporting local small business, cottage industry and worker-owned businesses, the CRLF honors our essential interdependence and nurtures human-scale economics in our community.

Time Bank members are enterprising, resourceful and creative. Many have already launched local businesses, restaurants, co-ops and developed handmade products such as jams, jewelry, clothing, botanicals and bread. Our fund can provide them with low interest micro-loans to scale up production, upgrade equipment or purchase materials and supplies. The fund is especially supportive of women and the economically distressed, ventures that promote environmental and/or community sustainability, ventures that show direct and positive impact on the ASNTB community and social entrepreneurs or cooperatives with a social mission.

As an experiment in complimentary currency, the loan fund utilizes both federal dollars and time credits. The fund review panel approves loans of federal dollars to ASNTB members with either small businesses or worker owned co-ops through the fund’s financial partner, the Santa Fe Permaculture Credit Union. Members repay their loans with federal dollars, but pay associated loan fees for processing to the fund in time credits. The payment of these fees is calculated in time, or the time it takes fund officers to process the loan over the course of its life. As loans are repaid, more funds become available for new borrowers.

The Santa Fe Permaculture Credit Union is the first and only credit union in the United States that operates exclusively within permaculture values. By honoring care for the earth, care for people and investment in sustainability, our partner understands and is committed to supporting community-driven initiatives. By partnering with an established and federally regulated financial institution, we offer our members an opportunity to enhance their existing credit rating, making them even more viable in the mainstream economic system by offering them access to resources that might otherwise be prohibitive.

Time Bank members can also participate in the Local Economy Incubator (LEI), which matches Time Bank entrepreneurs with Time Bank mentors who provide business development expertise in areas such as business plan development, governance, strategy, sustainability, finances, legal, branding, marketing, and media.

To launch these programs, we’ve consulted with experts like Jenny Kassan of Cutting Edge Capital, Janelle Orsi of the Sustainable Economies Law Center, Greg Wendt of the Green Economy Think Tank, our own Lois Arkin of the LA EcoVillage and community organizer Nancy Berlin to develop our financial and implementation plan. We’ve studied micro-loan programs like Kiva and Grameen and culled through the handful of non-government funded community loan funds to determine the best model to pilot. And we’ve spoken to students from Mondragon University in Spain to learn how to support cooperatives. The more we share our plan, the more excitement we stir up. Many of these people are now waiting to see how we do with our fund so it can be replicated in other communities.

This experiment is yet another way for our community to exercise self-determination. Donating to or borrowing from this loan fund is an investment in the health of our community. It keeps resources flowing locally and is an opportunity to leverage the powerful social capital of the Time Bank network in a way that makes our members’ businesses even more viable in the mainstream economy.

Through this summer and fall, we’ll be raising the matching funds required in our grant to capitalize the loan fund for its pilot phase. Our goal is to raise $5,000 from our Time Bank community before the end of December. In September and October we’ll launch an Indiegogo fundraising campaign, but you can donate now via our homepage. Time Bank superstars Lee Conger and John Wingler have generously asked their wedding guests to donate to the fund in lieu of gifts. We encourage you to think of creative ways to support our fundraising effort. All donations are tax-deductible.

The CRLF will begin lending in 2014. Eligible Time Bank members with either a small business or co-op may apply to receive a micro-loan in the amount of $500-$5000. Our application will be available Fall 2013.

The Local Economy Incubator is now vetting Time Bank business development mentors and participants and will begin programming in Fall 2013.

To receive more information such as loan eligibility, criteria and terms or to get involved in these programs, email Sarah at asecolocaleconomy@gmail.com

To support our local entrepreneurial community, make a tax-deductible donation by clicking on our homepage Donate link today!
9 Comments
Powersurge fundraising link
8/20/2013 07:57:45 pm

I think I've come to a good idea of ​​how to make fundraising

Reply
mic mortgage link
8/25/2013 06:17:19 pm

I think you made a good program funding

Reply
mortgage investors corporation reviews link
8/26/2013 11:31:23 pm

Surely you can find a stable financial solution to these problems

Reply
mortgageinvestors.com link
9/13/2013 07:08:33 am

With good plan strategy and program you can have better future.

Reply
DLS custom software studios link
10/4/2013 06:41:56 pm

Each bank should have a quality management software

Reply
refinance information link
12/24/2013 07:29:56 pm

These are some financial options that us can be of assistance

Reply
Claire link
2/18/2014 06:23:57 pm

clearly like your web site nonetheless you want to take a look at the spelling on quite several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling difficulties and I to find it extremely bothersome to inform the reality nevertheless certainly come once more once again.

Reply
click here to read more link
3/17/2014 09:40:49 pm

Struggling hard for getting funds is a tough job but if you are motivated and innovative there must be plenty of ideas in your mind while doing just a single event and I am sure if you understand the things you are doing it will return you the best return.

Reply
James Carter
10/3/2019 06:26:30 pm

Good Day Everyone,

Are you a business man or woman? Are you in any financial mess or Do you need funds to start up your own business? Do you need a loan to start a nice Small Scale and medium business? Do you have a low credit score and you are finding it hard to obtain capital loan from local banks and other financial institutes? Our loans are well insured for maximum security is our priority, Our leading goal is to help you get the services you deserve, Our program is the quickest way to get what you need in a snap. Reduce your payments to ease the strain on your monthly expenses. Gain flexibility with which you can use for any purpose from vacations, To education, To unique purchases.

We offer the following types of loans:

* Car Loan
* Home Loan
* Mortgage Loan
* Investment Loan
* Commercial Loan
* Construction Loan
* Debt Consolidation Loan
* Business Loan [secure and unsecured]
* Personal Loan [secure and unsecured]
* Student Loan and so many more.

We offer a wide range of financial services which includes: Business Planning, Commercial and Development Finance, Properties and Mortgages, Debt Consolidation Loans, Business Loans, Private loans, Home Refinancing Loans with low interest rate at 2% per annul for individuals, Companies and corporate bodies. Get the best for your family and own your dream home as well with our General Loan scheme. Interested applicants should Contact us via

Email: info@financiallnservice.com
Text or call: +1-210-556-0342
Website: financiallnservice.com

WE OFFER ALL KIND OF LOANS - APPLY FOR AFFORDABLE LOANS

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Arroyo S.E.C.O. Network of Time Banks

    News and notes about the sharing economy.

    Archives

    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    January 2016
    October 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All
    Armory Cente For The Arts
    Arroyo Food Co-op
    Barn Raising
    Barnsdall
    Bernard Lietaer
    Ceanothus
    Class
    Climate Change
    Coconut Cow
    Community Connections Time Bank
    Community Revolving Loan Fund
    Consensus Training
    Cooperatives
    Craft Club
    Crsp
    Documentary
    Dreamworld
    Echo Park Time Bank
    Film Festival
    Filmmobile
    Food Security
    Fruit Harvest
    Fundraiser
    Garden Group
    George Patton
    Glendale Time Bank
    Grand Park
    Green City Award
    Group Decision Making
    Healing
    Highland Park
    Holiday Craft Fair
    Incubator
    Indigogo
    Ithaca Hours
    Jacqui Dunne
    Koreatown Time Bank
    LA2050
    L.A. Eco Village
    Land Trust
    Lenore Eklund
    Local Crafts
    Local Currency
    Local Economy Incubator
    Los Angeles
    Los Feliz Time Bank
    Mark Eklund
    Mt Washington
    Pacific Electric Coop
    Pasadena
    Paul Glover
    Pop Hop
    Potluck
    Repair Cafe
    Rethinking Money
    Rob Hopkins
    Seed Saving
    Shareable
    Sharing Economy
    Shift Change
    Silver Lake Library
    Silver Lake Time Bank
    Small Business
    Stephanie Rearick
    Sustainable Living
    Thank You For Coming
    The Shed
    Throop Church
    Time As Money
    Time Bank
    Time Banking
    Training
    Transition
    Transition Pasadena
    Visiting Nurses Of New York
    West Adams Time Bank
    Yuki Kidokoro

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.