SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES FRAMEWORK
On the SCF home page we introduced the idea that we the people can issue our own money and thereby solve many of the problems facing society today.
Success, however, depends on achieving a sufficiently large group of adopters who will use the complementary currency in their communities and a system for deploying it.
OBTAINING THE CURRENCY
The Universal Exchange (UNIEX.NET) issues a unique currency in each state (including Washington DC and Puerto Rico). UNIEX will function like a complementary currency bank, allowing users to establish accounts via a digital wallet.
Sustainable Communities Corporation1 (SCC), the owner of UNIEX, puts the currency into circulation in each state currency primary in two ways: grant it to non-profit and other beneficial organizations, and sell it. A user’s currency is credited to their wallet, enabling them to engage in transactions with other users.
1 Sustainable Communities Corporation is a 501(c)(4) non-profit economic development organization headquartered in Ohio
WHERE CAN I SPEND IT?
We have built a digital marketplace for each state to enjoy as the primary platform to exchange of goods and services using the local currency.
The platform resembles a hybrid of Craigslist, eBay and Etsy, meaning individuals and businesses can list goods and services on the site. Like Craigslist, users can quickly and easily sell personal items. But unlike sites like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, users of the SCF marketplace make payments directly on the site, unlike other digital marketplaces which put users at risk by requiring them to deliver cash directly to sellers.
If a user does not have enough local currency in their account to make a particular purchase, they can use a credit card to top up their account and make purchases. At the same time, local businesses can list products as they would on eBay or Amazon. Thus buyers can buy both new and used items on one site.
The SCF digital marketplace answers the first question people have when learning of local currencies: If this is real money, where can I spend it?
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES FRAMEWORK (SCF)
By integrating the building blocks of the bank and the marketplace, SCC enables the Sustainable Communities Framework (SCF) to serve, in essence, as a parallel economy for un/underbanked citizens and those unable to qualify for loans. The SCF is similar to the proposed federal Green New Deal (GND), which is aimed at addressing major environmental, economic and social problems. The key difference between the GND and the SCF is that the GND is a nationwide program funded with US dollars, whereas the SCF is designed to be regional (state-by-state) and funded by our own money. Instead of waiting for the government to solve those problems for us, we the people can solve them ourselves.
By utilizing the SCF, communities can accomplish the visionary goals listed on the SCF home page. To facilitate those objectives and help organize state efforts, we organized this section, Implementation of the SCF that lays out the framework for deploying the SCF. And the Ways to Participate, section provides guidance on how individuals and organizations can get engaged and help to drive the effort locally.
GETTING STARTED
Whether you are interested in helping to build and deploy the SCF in your state, or just want to help yourself, your neighbors and friends take advantage of a new economy that benefits everyone, not just the wealthy few, it begins with registering and setting up an account to use your state’s complementary currency.
Follow the directions on the signup page to get started .