Imagine you had a voice in setting the interest rate for your loan. Imagine if your savings not only earned you interest but directly benefited nonprofit organizations working for social and environmental good in the world. Or if you could meet representatives from the companies you were invested in to hear firsthand about the projects your money was helping to fund. In an age of impersonal, disconnected finance, imagine stepping out of the conventional economic model and finding a more transparent, participatory way of using money. This is already happening at RSF Social Finance. By questioning assumptions about how money works, RSF is creating new models for engaging with finance, and for forming collaborative financial relationships with communities and organizations. RSF envisions a world in which money serves the highest intentions of the human spirit and contributes to an economy based on generosity and interconnectedness.
John Bloom, Vice President – Organizational Culture at RSF, will visit MWS on November 30, 2016 to explore how we as individuals might reach a new understanding of our economic selves. By re-imagining money, reconsidering our personal habits and cultural conditioning, we can participate in creating a new economic story for ourselves and our communities. Inquiry and dialogue are essential to transforming our relationships with money. By coming together, as investors, donors, and entrepreneurs, we can explore the role of money in achieving our shared goals and find new ways to connect more deeply with what we care most about. Each of us has a purpose in life, a journey of discovery and recognition. When we are able to serve that purpose to the benefit of others, and to recognize that we in turn benefit from others’ gifts, then money can move in a way that brings greater equity to our economy and compassionate action becomes possible.
Join us for a conversation about money, values, and the need for a new economic story. This community education event is open to all. November 30, 6:30pm ~ Admission is free. Your RSVP is appreciated to assist with planning – please type RSF in the comments section below.
Further Resources
An article describing how Community Pricing Gatherings inform the RSF process for deciding interest rates for Social Investment Fund investors and borrowers.
A Social Lender Pursues a Radical Experiment in Financial Transparency and Participation
Visit the RSF Social Finance website to learn how it aims to transform the field of philanthropy. Shared Gifting Circles bring collaboration, transparency and community wisdom into the grant-making process and give distribution and allocation authority to the recipients of gift money to create mutually beneficial collaborations.
After walking the path, families often take a short time to sit together quietly. Participating in our Advent spiral is a lovely way to model a quiet reverence of nature to our little ones. Often the youngest of our visitors take many turns walking the spiral, first holding a parent’s hand and then becoming brave enough to test their independence and walk the path alone.
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