Context of the Project

The Community Support Cycle

Raising funds for community needs has never been easy, and it's becoming increasingly difficult as governments cut back, and business, in the uncertain economy, cannot give as much they might like.

All sectors of the community are feeling the effects, with many projects, charities and other 3rd sector organizations competing for scarce funding - for social programs, education, health, arts, sport. Ecological restoration work for the long term has a particularly low priority in a "crisis of the month" context - givers often respond most easily to short term issues, and having given, give out when invited to support less immediately appealing programs.

The tasks that lie before us must be addressed realistically; there is a critical need for a better way to apply our economic resources, the way we spend our money to support the restoration and maintainance of living systems, the social and the ecological communities.

The Community Support Cycle is a model for such change. We propose to demonstrate how local currencies can be used to raise substantial funds for local or regional needs both easily and cheaply. A project based on this design is self-funding; implementation costs should be recoverable from a fee of 10% of the money raised during the first phase alone.

The design combines social good and good business. The costs of giving - by the business and the supporting sponsor - are very substantially reduced, almost eliminated, but the benefits to the beneficiaries are maintained, $ for $. And the cycle brings customers to the businesses.

Once installed, the accounting systems can be used thereafter to generate funding for other community needs. Further community economic development strategies have been designed to exploit the ideas of local currencies.

LETSystems connection

The Community Support Cycle is presently the most advanced design for achieving this introduction. Applications are planned or begun in Canada in the Comox Valley and Victoria, B.C., and in Manchester, UK.

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