Common Good Finance
the revoLution with a bank



wherever you are
here's why

Help Wanted: Common Good Bank Organizer

illustration

Common Good Finance is hiring dozens of organizers throughout the United States, full or part time, to promote the Common Good Bank concept for sustainability, economic justice, and community-based democratic funding. Experience in marketing, fundraising, or community organizing helps but is not required.


About Common Good Finance
a social mission with a bank

Common Good Finance™ creates democratic, community-based economic solutions for sustainability, economic justice, and the good of all. Without democratic economics, communities are at the mercy of big business and distant government. We need a way to plan and invest locally, for thriving local economies and a sustainable future.

We envision a society in which communities everywhere gather to decide for themselves what their funding priorities should be — for sustainable agriculture and energy systems, for local self-reliance, for ensuring that everyone has enough to eat, a home, and satisfying work.

About Common Good Bank

Common Good Bank™ is designed to be the framework for a community-based democratic economic system that can also compete effectively within the current economic system. This design combines the spirit of a credit union with the power and growth potential of a stock savings bank.

Any geographic community can have its own democratically-guided virtual bank, simply as a cooperative depositor group within Common Good Bank. Deposits, investments, and profits will be tracked separately for each community. All profits from the community's investments will go to schools and other nonprofits as decided by the members.

The Work

  • Promote the Common Good Bank concept
  • Invite your friends, neighbors, and relatives to join as Founding Members
  • Report progress and share ideas with other Organizers

What It Takes

  • Enthusiasm about the Common Good Bank idea
  • Courage
  • Integrity
  • Respect and friendliness
  • Passionate commitment to social and economic justice
  • Can work independently and as part of a team
  • Can talk easily with anyone and say things simply and clearly
  • Basic computer skills

Support

Common Good Finance and the other Organizers will supply:

  • promotional materials (brochures, model posters, business cards, handout cards, press releases, emails, displays and videos)
  • training on the Common Good Bank idea
  • ongoing advice, encouragement and feedback

Pay

Common Good Bank Organizers will work as independent contractors. (That means no insurance benefits and different income tax forms.) Common Good Finance is prepared to pay $15 to $25 an hour, based on the contractor's success.

How to Become a Common Good Bank Organizer, Step By Step

  1. You join as a Founding Member (see also the "Sweat Equity" variation, below).
  2. You send an email to Amie Chaudoir, Personnel Director (jobs @ commongoodbank.com). You ask for publicity materials and tell us why you want to be a Common Good Bank Organizer. We send you two dozen handout cards, 3 brochures, and 3 Membership Agreement forms.
  3. You (on your own, not as a Common Good Finance staff member) get two other people or organizations to join.
  4. You attend a 90-minute webinar and send us a digital photo and a couple sentences on what you find compelling about the Common Good Bank idea.
  5. We (almost always) hire you as an independent contractor. You sign a contract and send us your social security number, for tax reporting. We send you personalized Common Good Finance business cards and plenty of brochures and Membership Agreement forms. You go to it.
  6. You begin recording your hours online and get $25 an hour, limited to at most 60% of the donations that you raise (the donation part of the Founding Member signups) — including the two donations you already raised.
  7. You attend weekly phone meetings for additional training and support.

Note that your hourly rate will only be as high as $25 an hour if you are very efficient and successful at recruiting members. For most organizers, you will do best to approach people who can afford the Oak level or higher (a donation of $250+) and invite them specifically to consider that membership level. If you are highly efficient and successful, you will get $25 an hour. If you are less efficient, you will get 60% of what you raise in donations (at a lower hourly rate).

Sweat-Equity Variation

Here is a sweat-equity variation for low-income organizers (if you can't afford to join as a Founding Member at the Half a Brick level). All steps are the same as above, except numbers 1 and 6:

    1. You donate $25 (the donation part of your Half-a Brick membership).

    6. You begin recording your hours online and get $25 an hour, limited to at most 40% of the donations that you raise (the donation part of the Founding Member signups) — including the two donations you already raised. 20% of the donations you raise are held as a loan from you to Common Good Finance, to be repaid under the same terms as loans from other Founding Members. Once you have raised $5,625 in donations (the equivalent of about 23 Oak members), your percentage limit goes up to 60% and you make no further loans to Common Good Finance. You are then a Founding Member and Common Good Finance owes you a total of $1,125.

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PersonComment

1:38 am
January 4, 2011


Michelle S

Guest

This sounds like such a great idea! I wanted to start a matching individual investment account (IDA) based non-profit soon for low-income and foster youth in the East New York/Brownsville section of Brooklyn, NY soon. I was thinking of doing this through another credit union but this seems like a great way to maintain control of where our money goes and using it to match the youth's deposits. If I could gain enough depositors in a single community, could we decide to funnel the money back into specific accounts to match their deposits and pay for services (money management courses, mock interview sessions, etc.) ? If so, I will SO wait until this bank is on started and even try to get the word out there. Thanks!

9:30 pm
April 1, 2010


wspademan

Admin

posts 218

Jonathan P. Chance said:

We hope the Common Good Bank creates a community land trust leased from a county and constructs a 15-MW wind farm that also produces organic food and vegetable oil to fuel vehicles. 


 

Sounds great. Let's do it!

6:37 pm
April 1, 2010


Jonathan P. Chance

Guest

We hope the Common Good Bank creates a community land trust leased from a county and constructs a 15-MW wind farm that also produces organic food and vegetable oil to fuel vehicles. 

JPChance.Org

 

11:43 pm
February 27, 2010


wspademan

Admin

posts 218

Lee Van Ham said:A green investor (financial adviser) has confirmed now that he wants to work with me to form a team to create a Common Good Bank division in San Diego.


Lee, that's great! Let us know how it progresses. We're here to help.

11:35 pm
February 27, 2010


wspademan

Admin

posts 218

William Cerf said:I love the idea of this bank and would just love to be part of starting one in South Bronx.


Great! We'll talk about the details by phone and email.

1:23 am
February 8, 2010


ekrawczyk

Gunnison, CO

Member

posts 15

Join the Common Good Bank of Gunnison facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Common-Good-Bank-of-Gunnison/124972337536

11:08 pm
November 29, 2009


Marlin Benton

Guest

I want to start--please send me the stuff--i have been brain-storming this type of approach for years, but until now, had not found a vehicle. I have alot of connections and am starting a consumer-oriented financial education biz as we speak, which will go hand-in-hand.

4:29 pm
October 26, 2009


Lee Van Ham

Guest

A green investor (financial adviser) has confirmed now that he wants to work with me to form a team to create a Common Good Bank in San Diego. I am giving a presentation in two days on banking choices and will use the 14 minute presentation from the website at some point during the 2 hour workshop. A local Fair Banking group that has been focused on getting banks to use more fair practices has lost some steam, so I am in the early stages of conversation with them. We will add information to what we already have on our website and link to the Common Good Bank website.

9:17 pm
October 29, 2009


William Cerf

Guest

I'm one of three partners who are planning to open a worker-owned cooperative restaurant - a traditional New York style diner. We will be located in or near South Bronx, NY, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. We plan to create bilingual (English/Spanish) and multicultural space. I love the idea of this bank and would just love to be part of starting one in South Bronx. I invite you to look at our website and contact us if you have any interest or feedback about our venture. http://www.workersdiner.org

Cheers!
William Cerf
South Bronx, NY

9:20 pm
February 21, 2010


wspademan

Admin

posts 218

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