The Common Good Agreement is at the heart of the the Common Good system. It is our agreement to accept Common Good payments from each other that assures the value of Common Good credit.
A Member is any individual person who has signed this Agreement and has an active Common Good account.
A Member Organization is any group, organization, or business that has signed this Agreement and has an active Common Good account.
A Common Good Community is a group of Members and Member Organizations in a particular geographic region, defined (by the Members there) by a set of zip codes. The purpose of the Common Good system is to create and fund community-centered participatory democracy. In a Common Good Community you decide together how much Common Good credit to issue (within safe limits) and what to fund with it.
There are no specific requirements for a group of members to become a sovereign Common Good Community. But these Clearness Questions will help you get ready for that responsibility.
Dollar Pool. A bank account, owned by your Common Good Community. When you buy Common Good credit by transferring funds from your bank account to your Common Good account, your Dollars go into the Dollar Pool and the system gives you that amount of Common Good credit. You can then use your credit to buy something from a participating business by presenting your member QR Code. You can also pay someone online by clicking a "Pay With Common Good" button on a website. Or sign in at CommonGood.earth and click "Pay" on the menu. Meanwhile, just as a bank can invest the money in your checking account, you and your Common Good Community can use the money in the Dollar Pool to invest in worthwhile projects for the community and the common good.
Backed. Backing [a Common Good Community] is a promise, made by supportive members and member organizations one year at a time, to buy additional Common Good credit in the event of a cash crunch or termination of the Common Good Community. These promises give you the security of knowing your Common Good credit is backed by Dollars held in the Dollar Pool and/or by promises, helping prevent the sort of panic that can lead to a cash crunch. Backing Promises are a key component of taking responsibility and control of our own local economy.
The promise you make in the Common Good Agreement is also a sort of Backing Promise. When you pay someone more than is in your Common Good account balance, that extra Common Good credit is backed by your promise to bring your balance back up to zero or more within 30 days.
Without limit or surcharge. As part of the Common Good Agreement, you promise to accept Common Good payments "without limit or surcharge".
"Without limit" means you will not tell a customer they have to use cash, credit card, or check to pay part of what they owe you.
"Without surcharge" means you will charge the same amount as for other payment methods, unless you choose to give a discount for Common Good payments.
Disputes. We expect Members will generally resolve disputes amicably, but in the event a more formal resolution is needed, you agree to follow this process.
You will have the opportunity to participate in any decision to change the Common Good Agreement. This means you will receive an email invitation to attend discussions of any proposed change. And you will have an equal vote with all other Members on any such proposal that comes to a vote. You and other Members have a responsibility to all Members of your Common Good Community to encourage participation, to value the wisdom of each individual, and to be as inclusive as possible in all stages of the democratic process.
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