Common good banks will do all the usual things that banks do. But a common good bank goes way beyond that. Beginning with our shared visions for a better world, the common good bank design evolved as a system of four new organizations collaborating with local businesses and community organizations.  [DETAILS]

This bank system is designed expressly for economic justice, sustainability and strong local economies. Designed to be good for you, good for your business, good for the community and good for the world, so that we can all flourish, as communities, even in difficult economic times.  [DETAILS]

Common good banks will be different from ordinary banks in ten important ways:

Common Good Mission. Above all, common good banks will be committed to advancing the greater good. They will lend only to socially and environmentally responsible borrowers for socially productive purposes. Common good banks can create a better world for everyone.  [DETAILS]

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Community Profits. The common good bank concept speaks to people's hearts, balancing benefit to individuals with equal benefit to the greater good. By regulation, mutual banks and credit unions must retain most of their profits. Ordinary stock banks pay their profits to investors, as dividends. Common good bank profits will go to a Community Fund to advance the common good -- half locally and half to empower those in need elsewhere.  [DETAILS]

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Local Jobs. Providing a low-risk pool for private investments, common good banks can strengthen our local economies, resulting in more jobs, higher pay and greater financial security.

Common good banks will focus on investment in locally-owned businesses. They will identify new industries needed in the community and will create entrepreneurial opportunities by providing capital and microloans for small business startups and cooperative initiatives.

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Local Credit Card. Depositors will use a local credit/debit card for purchases from participating local businesses. Even the smallest business can accept the card, using a card-swipe, cell phone or the internet. Ordinary credit cards typically cost businesses 2% plus a per-transaction fee. Accepting the Common Good Card will cost the merchant nothing at all.

Since there are no fees, customers can deposit or withdraw cash through a participating business, even in small towns far from a bank or ATM. This system can save local businesses (and the community) many thousands of dollars every month.

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Local Rebates. Many local businesses will offer a percentage rebate to common good bank depositors. Half the rebate goes to the Community Fund, half to the customer.

The customer pays the usual price, by check or Common Good Card. The bank calculates and distributes the rebates. In compensation for the rebate, the bank advertises the business on the radio, in print and 24/7 on the internet.
 

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Local Currency. An integrated local currency credit system will keep money local and create economic security. Whenever you write a check or use your Common Good Card, part of the transaction will automatically be in Common Good credits, and the rest in dollars. Your Common Good credits also get traded for dollars securely and automatically, as needed.

Using local currency to track credit that circulates within the community will free up many thousands of dollars for local grants and loans. The community can actually CREATE local money, just like the Federal Reserve creates dollars, but for the common good, not for private profit. Common Good credits will be managed by the Depositors Association computers, so that they can maintain a constant value, and need not fall with the dollar.  [DETAILS]

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Community-based. Any community with 50 or more member depositors can have its own Community Fund, for local currency grants, rebate contributions and bank profits generated there. Each community decides independently how to spend that money, for the greater good. Together, common good bank communities will be able to invest in energy coops, agricultural infrastructure, cooperative healthcare, community-owned department stores and corporate reforms.  [DETAILS]

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Hands-on Democracy. Depositors in each community decide what to invest in and how to use the bank's profits, using a combination of proven democratic systems. Here’s how it works: Each member depositor gets one vote. You can always vote directly on any issue. You also choose another member as your ongoing Proxy. Then, whenever you do not vote, your Proxy's vote counts for you too. If your Proxy doesn't vote, then your Proxy's proxy votes for all three of you, and so forth.

For budget-type issues, each voter is given 100 virtual pennies on the internet. Each penny represents one percent of the total budget to be decided. Voters are charged with distributing the pennies among the various options, as they see fit. Each budget item gets funded in proportion to the total votes it received.

A multiple choice vote will be used for single-winner issues, such as choosing a new board member for the bank. Voters grade each option according to how well they like it: A B C D E or NO, if they feel an option is wasteful, immoral or unethical. The most preferred, widely acceptable option wins.  [DETAILS]

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Affordable Stock. Investments in common good banks are intended to have a completely reliable resale value, working like a high-interest one-month certificate of deposit. Depositors will be able to buy even a few dollars-worth of stock, to become an owner of the bank. Voting is one vote per person, not one vote per share.

The planned resale price per share is based on an annual financial return equal to the true rate of dollar inflation, calculated and compounded monthly, typically about 6%. For every dollar invested in common good bank stock, the bank can invest TEN dollars back into the community.  [DETAILS]

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Transparency. All the bank's operations will be reported openly and will be subject to productive public comment, except as required by law or where necessary to protect personal information. All of the bank's organizational procedures, business plans and operational procedures are freely available to everyone, to make it easy for communities to adapt the common good bank model to local needs.

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Tremendous Potential. The bank's combination of competitive rates with an unbeatable focus on benefit to the community and the greater good will make it a very strong competitor in the financial services market. Unlike credit unions and mutual banks, common good banks can expand to meet the demand, without being held back by regulatory capital requirements. With a separate nonprofit sponsor dedicated to promoting the model and helping communities start common good banks, these banks could spread quickly. Common good bank projects are already underway in five states.

The common good bank's success in hands-on democracy will lead to improvements and greater participation in our existing democracies, resulting in a progressive shift from centralized authority to more local government. Together, common good banks can initiate world-changing cooperative projects. Social and financial pressures will force corporations to restructure for sustainability and dedication to the common good.

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As common good banks spread, they will empower all of us to realize our dreams, in community. You can help make it happen! Sign up NOW, without obligation, as one of our 4,000 founding depositors.